Metacognitive awareness and creativity: The mediating role of critical thinking

Abstract

Due to its complex nature, creativity inherently involves a wide range of elements, including sociocultural, cognitive, as well as individual aspects. This study aimed to investigate the association between metacognitive awareness and creativity, examining the mediating influence of critical thinking. The study group consisted of 209 college students in İstanbul attending a public university, and the participants were administered the Marmara Creative Thinking Dispositions Scale, the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, the Critical Thinking Scale. The findings obtained from the data revealed that the variables correlated with each other in a significant and positive way. In addition, it was found that there was a significant and positive effect of metacognitive awareness over creativity through the mediation of critical thinking (b = 0.079, p = 0.025). Furthermore, without addressing the mediating role of critical thinking, it was positive and significant, as well (b = 0.327, p = 0.017). The practical implications are discussed. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.