Dean Simonton Explained

Dean Simonton
Nationality:American
Education:Occidental College (BA)
Harvard University (MA, PhD)

Dean Keith Simonton is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus based in Davis, California, affiliated with the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. Simonton is known for his research in the fields of genius, creativity, leadership, and aesthetics. His work focus into the cognitive, personal, developmental, social, and cultural factors contributing to eminence, giftedness, and talent across various domains such as science, philosophy, literature, music, art, cinema, politics, and war.[1]

He has over 550 publications, including 14 books. One of his books, The Origins of Genius, received the William James Book Award.[2]

Early life and education

Simonton completed his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Occidental College in 1970, graduating magna cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Chi.[3]

He furthered his education at Harvard University, earning a Master of Arts in Social Psychology in 1973, followed by a Ph.D. in Social Psychology in 1975. During his time at Harvard, Simonton received fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the Danforth Foundation.[4]

Career

Teaching

Since 2016, Simonton has served as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. In 2013, Simonton was honored as the Ida Cordelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Iowa.[5]

Prior to his current position, he held the title of Distinguished Professor from 2004 to 2016 and served as a Full Professor from 1985 to 2016, both within the Department of Psychology at UC Davis.[6]

Before joining the faculty at UC Davis, he held positions as an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and as a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University. He also served as a Section Leader in the History of Civilization at Occidental College from 1969 to 1970.

Simonton has been recognized with Robert S. Daniel Award for Four Year College/University Teaching from the American Psychological Association (APA).[7]

Professional service

Simonton served as the president of the Society for General Psychology (APA Division 1), the Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts (APA Division 10), and the Society for the History of Psychology (APA Division 26).[8]

From 1993 to 1999, he served as the editor of Journal of Creative Behavior.[9]

Research

Simonton's research examines cognitive, personal, developmental, social, and cultural factors that underpin eminence and creativity. He employs archival data analysis techniques, including cross-cultural, transhistorical, biographical, and content analytical measures. His historiometric analyses shed light on eminent personalities, notable events, and creative products throughout history. He has also conducted laboratory experiments, mathematical models, meta-analyses, and other more mainstream methods. Additionally, Simonton explores the history of psychology, particularly focusing on the psychology of science and eminent scientists.[10]

One of his findings was that the 10 years' experience of deliberate practice is not a rule, but an average with significant variation around the mean. He found that the people who achieved the greatest lifetime productivity and highest levels of eminence required the least amount of time to achieve expertise. He also found that while too much expertise can hurt one's chances of greatness, the downsides of overtraining in one domain can be ameliorated by the acquisition of expertise among numerous different domains.[11]

He also found that an association of creativity with psychopathic traits was more apparent in artists than in scientists, and that artists who operate in expressive, subjective, or romantic styles display more psychopathology than those who operate in classical or academic styles.[12]

In 2006, he published a paper that ranked the IQ, Openness, Intellectual Brilliance, and Leadership of all past 42 US presidents.[13]

Books

Awards and memberships

Simonton is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi (The Scientific Research Honor Society), and many divisions of the American Psychological Association (APA).[14]

Research awards

Research publication awards

Fellowships

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dean Keith Simonton, PhD . University of California, Davis.
  2. Web site: Congratulations to 2013 convention award winners . 2024-04-24 . www.apa.org.
  3. Web site: Biographical Data » Dean Keith Simonton, PhD . University of California, Davis.
  4. Web site: Curriculum Vita . Simonton . Dean . August 13, 2021.
  5. Web site: Media picks: Dean Keith Simonton, PhD . . en.
  6. Web site: Dean Simonton — People in the Social Science Departments at UC Davis . . en.
  7. Web site: Robert S. Daniel Teaching Excellence Award (Division 2) . www.apa.org.
  8. Web site: The Ernest R. Hilgard Lifetime Achievement Award . . en.
  9. Web site: The Journal of Creative Behavior . Journal of Creative Behavior.
  10. Web site: Dean Keith Simonton, 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award winner . . en.
  11. Web site: The Complexity of Greatness: Beyond Talent or Practice . Blogs.scientificamerican.com . May 12, 2015.
  12. Web site: Are Genius and Madness Related? Contemporary Answers to an Ancient Question . Psychiatrictimes.com . May 12, 2015.
  13. http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/28085#sthash.oe1TIlyT.dpuf Rating American presidents' IQ's
  14. Web site: Dean Keith Simonton . Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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