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This study provides an empirical test of the relationship between creative potential, mating, and reproductive success in a sample using natural methods of fertility control: the Meru tribe living in the regions of Laare and Mutuati in Kenya. The participants (N = 133; 65 females) solved a figural creativity test (the Test of Creative Thinking--Drawing Production, TCT-DP) and provided information about the number of spouses, children, length of their schooling, as well as wealth. Analyses demonstrated that creative potential negatively predicted the number of offspring, but this relation was fully mediated by the number of spouses: more creative people more often stayed single and did not have offspring. The theoretical consequences of these findings are discussed in light of the evolutionary psychology of creativity.

Recent studies in creativity literature have demonstrated higher variability of creative ability between males and females, despite the lack of systematic sex differences in average scores on creativity tests. However, little is known about the causes of this variability and its generalizability beyond industrialized societies. This study presents the first evidence of the greater male variability in a sample of nonindustrialized, traditional Meru people residing in Kenya, Africa. The effect size of this difference was even greater than that reported in the majority of studies conducted on industrialized populations. Implications of these findings are discussed.