Showing papers by "Dean Keith Simonton published in 2016"
TL;DR: A 4-decade long research program that had started out focusing on creative genius unexpectedly produced a general response typology potentially applicable to the average person on the street as mentioned in this paper...
Abstract: A 4-decade long research program that had started out focusing on creative genius unexpectedly produced a general response typology potentially applicable to the average person on the street. In pa...
33 citations
TL;DR: The difference between historical genius and intellectual giftedness with respect to heterogeneous intellects, personality differences, and early development and the actual relation between IQ and genius is small and heavily contingent on domain‐specific assessment, the operation of traits like persistence and openness to experience, and the impact of diversifying experiences.
Abstract: Although genius has been defined in the dictionary as requiring an IQ above 140, this definition depends on an arbitrary methodological decision made by Lewis Terman for his longitudinal study of more than 1500 intellectually gifted children, a study that occupies four of the five volumes of Genetic Studies of Genius. Yet, only the second volume, by Catharine Cox, studied bona fide geniuses, by applying historiometric methods to 301 highly eminent creators and leaders. After defining historiometric research, I examine the difference between historical genius and intellectual giftedness with respect to heterogeneous intellects, personality differences, and early development and show that the actual relation between IQ and genius is small and heavily contingent on domain-specific assessment, the operation of traits like persistence and openness to experience, and the impact of diversifying experiences, including both developmental adversity and subclinical psychopathology. Hence, the dictionary definition of "genius" has minimal, if any, justification. If, using historiometric methods, one works backward from recognized geniuses, such as those studied by Cox, one might not obtain the kind of sample that Terman obtained for his longitudinal study. The two methods produce two distinct subgroups of the larger population.
16 citations
TL;DR: In this article, competition, a topic closely associated with outstanding performance, continues to be a contentious topic (Bonta, 1997; Murayama & Elliot, 2012a, 2012b), particularly in the realm of education and competition.
Abstract: Competition, a topic closely associated with outstanding performance, continues to be a contentious topic (Bonta, 1997; Murayama & Elliot, 2012a, 2012b), particularly in the realm of education and ...
15 citations
TL;DR: After discussing both productivity and citation indicators, the treatment turns to critical precautions in the application of these indicators to psychologists, concerned with both predictive validity and interjudge reliability.
Abstract: More than a century of scientific research has shed considerable light on how a scientist's contributions to psychological science might be best assessed and duly recognized. This brief overview of that empirical evidence concentrates on recognition for lifetime career achievements in psychological science. After discussing both productivity and citation indicators, the treatment turns to critical precautions in the application of these indicators to psychologists. These issues concern both predictive validity and interjudge reliability. In the former case, not only are the predictive validities for standard indicators relatively small, but the indicators can exhibit important non-merit-based biases that undermine validity. In the latter case, peer consensus in the evaluation of scientific contributions is appreciably lower in psychology than in the natural sciences, a fact that has consequences for citation measures as well. Psychologists must therefore exercise considerable care in judging achievements in psychological science-both their own and those of others.
14 citations
4 citations
01 Dec 2016
3 citations
01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: Most of us writing chapters for this volume as well as those who read these chapters are likely deeply immersed in modern Western civilization as mentioned in this paper. And one of the hallmarks of that civilization, at least since the Renaissance, is the belief in progress.
Abstract: Most of us writing chapters for this volume as well as those who read these chapters are likely deeply immersed in modern Western civilization. And one of the hallmarks of that civilization, at least since the Renaissance, is the belief in progress. Everything will get better and better.
2 citations
TL;DR: McKay and Kaufman as discussed by the authors pointed out that poets tend to die young and this liability is especially prominent among lyric poets, those who author relatively short poems rather than more ambitious dramas or epics.
Abstract: Poets tend to die young (Kaufman, 2003). At least this liability is especially prominent among lyric poets—those who author relatively short poems rather than more ambitious dramas or epics. This lowered life expectancy is no doubt related to the fact that poets also tend to display earlier career peaks than the norm (McKay & Kaufman, 2014). In a sense, because great lyric poetry can be composed by creators in their late teens and early 20s, a person can leave a lasting impression on literary history even if they die young (cf. McCann, 2001). In contrast, authors who contribute to creative domains that require greater maturity, such as writing novels, will not be able to make their mark if they die too young. At best, only juvenilia will survive to hint at what might have been.