Latent Profiles of Personality and Imaginative Thinking: Student Differences in Enrollment Across College Disciplines

In a society where creativity is increasingly emphasized, imagination remains underexamined despite its foundational role in creative processes. This study used a person-centered approach to examine latent personality and imaginative capability profiles, sex differences, and how these profiles relate to students’ enrollment across college disciplines. Latent Profile Analysis identified three typologies among university students: Profile 1, Reactive Realists (10.5%), characterized by lower imagination and emotional stability; Profile 2, Reserved Idealists (53.3%), characterized by lower extraversion and moderately elevated imagination; and Profile 3, Balanced Visionaries (36.2%), characterized by high imagination and greater emotional stability. Profiles were primarily differentiated by overall levels rather than distinct patterns across traits. Although chi-square analyses indicated statistically significant differences in profile membership by sex, these effects were small. Multinomial regression analyses showed that profile membership, sex, and race/ethnicity were associated with discipline enrollment. Balanced Visionaries had lower odds of enrollment in the College of Science relative to Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Females were less likely to enroll in Business, Engineering, and Music, but more likely to enroll in Education and Visual Arts and Design. These findings highlight the value of person-centered approaches while also showing that sex and race more consistently predict college discipline enrollment.