Dean Simonton

Dean Keith Simonton (nacido el 27 de enero de 1948) es un Profesor Emérito Distinguido con sede en Davis, California , afiliado al Departamento de Psicología de la Universidad de California, Davis .

Simonton es conocido por su investigación en los campos del genio , la creatividad , el liderazgo y la estética . Su trabajo se centra en los factores cognitivos, personales, del desarrollo, sociales y culturales que contribuyen a la eminencia, la superdotación y el talento en diversos ámbitos como la ciencia, la filosofía, la literatura, la música, el arte, el cine, la política y la guerra. ^{[ 1 ]}

Tiene más de 550 publicaciones, incluyendo 14 libros. Uno de sus libros, Los orígenes del genio , recibió el premio literario William James . ^{[ 2 ]}

Simonton completó su Licenciatura en Psicología en Occidental College en 1970, graduándose con honores (magna cum laude) y como miembro de Phi Beta Kappa y Psi Chi . ^{[ 3 ]}

Continuó su formación académica en la Universidad de Harvard , donde obtuvo una Maestría en Psicología Social en 1973, seguida de un Doctorado en Psicología Social en 1975. Durante su estancia en Harvard, Simonton recibió becas de la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias y de la Fundación Danforth . ^{[ 4 ]}

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]

• Genius, creativity, and leadership: Historiometric inquiries Harvard University Press, 1984 (out of print);
• Why presidents succeed: A political psychology of leadership Yale University Press, 1987 (out of print);
• Scientific genius: A psychology of science Cambridge University Press, 1988 (in print);
• Psychology, science, and history: An introduction to historiometry, Yale University Press, 1990 (out of print);
• Greatness: Who makes history and why Guilford Press, 1994 (in print);
• Genius and creativity: Selected papers, Ablex (Praeger) Publishing, 1997 (in print);
• Origins of genius: Darwinian perspectives on creativity, Oxford University Press, 1999 (in print; ebook);
• Great psychologists and their times: Scientific insights into psychology's history, American Psychological Association, 2002 (out of print);
• Creativity in science: Chance, logic, genius, and zeitgeist, Cambridge University Press, 2004 (in print);
• Genius 101, Springer Publishing, 2009, (in print; ebook);
• Great flicks: Scientific studies of cinematic creativity and aesthetics, Oxford University Press, 2011 (in print; ebook);
• The social science of cinema (with J. C. Kaufman, co-editor), Oxford University Press, 2014 (in print, ebook);
• The Wiley handbook of genius (editor) Wiley, 2014 (in print; ebook)
• The Genius Checklist: Nine Paradoxical Tips on How You Can Become a Creative Genius, 2018

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]

• Miembro de la Asociación Estadounidense para el Avance de la Ciencia (1998)
• Miembro de la Asociación Americana de Psicología (1983-), 12 Divisiones
• Miembro de la Asociación de Ciencias Psicológicas (1990)
• Miembro de la Asociación Internacional de Estética Empírica (1998)
• Miembro de la Asociación Psicológica Occidental (2010)
• Miembro fundador de la Asociación Estadounidense de Psicología Aplicada y Preventiva (1992)

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• Si crees que eres un genio, estás loco.