Although we may like to be like others in some ways, we may also like to be different in some ways. We may wish that some of our attitudes, ideas, or talents are different from others. Feeling unique may help to foster a sense of self-worth.
The need to be unique may be related to the need to be creative. Expressing creativity may be one way that we can express our uniqueness. For example, we may write a story that reflects some of our original ideas.
Dollinger (2003) found that greater need for uniqueness was associated with higher scores on the Creative Behavior Inventory. Need for uniqueness reflects our desire to be unique. The Creative Behavior Inventory involves having people indicate how many times they have done certain creative activities. One possible interpretation of this finding is that people who have a higher need for uniqueness are more motivated to be creative. However, because the finding is correlational, we cannot make causal conclusions. There may be other possible explanations for the finding. For example, it is possible that creative behavior fosters a need for uniqueness. (1)
Notes
1. See Dollinger's article for other findings.
References
Dollinger, S. J. (2003). Need for uniqueness, need for cognition, and
Creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 37, 99-116.