Mediating Effect of Self-expression in the Influence of Social Support on Creative Behavior: On University Students Majoring in Visual Design in Henan Province of China

Objectives The purpose of this study is to reveal the structural relationship among social support, creative behavior, and self-expression to increase creative behavior of university students majoring in visual design, and to verify the mediating effect of self-expression in the effect of social support on creative behavior. Methods The subjects of this study are 280 university students majoring in visual design at N University in Henan of China, and reliability analysis, average differences analysis, correlations analysis, simple regression analysis and multiple regression analysis are conducted using the SPSS 25.0 program. And to find out the mediating effect of self-expression between the social support and creative behavior, simple regression analysis of self-expression according to the social support is performed, simple regression analysis of creative behavior according to the social support, and multiple regression analysis of creative behavior according to the social support and gself-expression is performed. Results There is a positive(+) correlation between the social support, self-expression, and creative behavior. The effect of informational support, emotional support, material support, and evaluative support, which are sub-variables of the social support, on creative behavior explains 47% of the total variance of creative behavior. As a result of analyzing the effect of self-expression on creative behavior, self-expression explains 42% of the total variance of creative behavior. Predictors of ‘sub-variables of the social support’ and self-expression explain 56% of the total variance of creative behavior. The effect of informational support, emotional support, material support, and evaluative support, which are sub-variables of the social support, on self-expression is analyzed, and the social support explains 41% of the total variance of self-expression. There is a partial mediating effect by self-expression in influence of social support on creative behavior of university students majoring in visual design. Conclusions In this study, it is confirmed that the social support and self-expression is a causal variable that increases creative behavior, and the self-expression partially mediates the positive effect of the social support on creative behavior. Therefore, in order to cultivate the creative behavior of university students majoring in visual design, it is necessary to promote the social support and self-expression. On the other hand, each variable of goal orientation and belief in intelligence change will affect the creative behavior of university students majoring in visual design. And so, it will be necessary to conduct a study on the creative behavior of university students majoring in visual design according to the variables of goal orientation and belief in intelligence change in future studies.