Wiley Handbook of Genius

Dean Keith Simonton is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. His research concerns various aspects of genius, creativity, leadership, talent, and aesthetics. Simonton’s numerous honors include the William James Book Award, the Sir Francis Galton Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Study of Creativity, the Rudolf Arnheim Award for Outstanding Achievement in Psychology and the Arts, the SPSP Theoretical Innovation Prize, the George A. Miller Outstanding Article Award, and three Mensa Awards for Excellence in Research. He has produced more than 460 publications, including more than a dozen books. His most recent books include The Social Science of Cinema (2014), Great Flicks: Scientific Studies of Cinematic Creativity and Aesthetics (2011), and Genius 101 (2009).

“A short review cannot do justice to all of these diverse contributions, which reflect the full range of approaches on Gordon Allport’s idiographic to nomothetic dimension, entail varying degrees of mathematical and statistical analysis, offer differing views on the nature-nurture question, and concern themselves with innumerable varieties of genius and its components.  Few readers (apart from reviewers) are likely to devour this book from cover to cover, but it is safe to say that almost everyone will find something within it to capture their attention, to agree with or to question, and above all to ponder with interest.”  (PsycCRITIQUES, 27 April 2015)

• List of Contributors ixPreface xviiPart I Perspectives 11 The Genius in History: Historiographic Explorations 3Laura C. Ball2 The Psychobiography of Genius 20William Todd Schultz3 Interviewing Highly Eminent Creators 33Jeanne Nakamura and Jeff Fajans4 Psychometric Studies of Scientific Talent and Eminence 62Gregory J. Feist5 Historiometric Studies of Genius 87Dean Keith SimontonPart II Processes 1076 The Neuroscience of Creative Genius 109Nancy C. Andreasen and Kanchna Ramchandran7 Artistic Genius and Creative Cognition 120Paul Thagard8 Case Studies of Genius: Ordinary Thinking, Extraordinary Outcomes 139Robert W. Weisberg9 Virtual Genius 166David CopePart III Attributes 18310 Varieties of Genius 185Robert J. Sternberg and Stacey L. Bridges11 Cognitive Disinhibition, Creativity, and Psychopathology 198Shelley H. Carson12 Openness to Experience 222Robert R. McCrae and David M. Greenberg13 Political and Military Geniuses: Psychological Profiles and Responses to Stress 244Peter SuedfeldPart IV Origins 26714 Genetics of Intellectual and Personality Traits Associated with Creative Genius: Could Geniuses Be Cosmobian Dragon Kings? 269Wendy Johnson and Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr.15 Child Prodigies and Adult Genius: A Weak Link 297Ellen Winner16 Creative Genius: A View from the Expert-Performance Approach 321K. Anders Ericsson17 Cognitive Processes and Development of Chess Genius: An Integrative Approach 350Guillermo Campitelli, Fernand Gobet, and Merim Bilali´c18 Diversifying Experiences in the Development of Genius and their Impact on Creative Cognition 375Rodica Ioana Damian and Dean Keith SimontonPart V Trajectories 39519 The Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth at Maturity: Insights into Elements of Genius 397Harrison J. Kell and David Lubinski20 Age and Scientific Genius 422Benjamin F. Jones, E.J. Reedy, and Bruce A. Weinberg21 Musical Creativity over the Lifespan 451Aaron Kozbelt22 Literary Geniuses: Their Life, Work, and Death 473Alexander S. McKay and James C. Kaufman23 Lifetime Biopsychosocial Trajectories of the Terman Gifted Children: Health, Well-Being, and Longevity 488Katherine A. Duggan and Howard S. FriedmanPart VI Contexts 50924 Evaluating Excellence in the Arts 511Victor Ginsburgh and Sheila Weyers25 The Systems Model of Creativity and Its Applications 533Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi26 Openness to Scientific Innovation 546Frank J. Sulloway27 Prominent Modern Artists: Determinants of Creativity 564Christiane Hellmanzik28 Genius in World Civilization 586Charles MurrayPart VII Prospects 60929 Does Genius Science Have a Future History? 611Dean Keith SimontonAppendix 619Index 629Color plate section is between pages 170 and 171