The Wiley Handbook of Genius

Book description

With contributions from a multi-disciplinary group of expert contributors, this is the first handbook to discuss all aspects of genius, a topic that endlessly provokes and fascinates.

  • The first handbook to discuss all aspects of genius with contributions from a multi-disciplinary group of experts

  • Covers the origins, characteristics, careers, and consequences of genius with a focus on cognitive science, individual differences, life-span development, and social context

  • Explores individual genius, creators, leaders, and performers as diverse as Queen Elizabeth I, Simón Bolívar, Mohandas Gandhi, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Leo Tolstoy, John William Coltrane, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Martha Graham.

  • Utilizes a variety of approaches—from genetics, neuroscience, and longitudinal studies to psychometric tests, interviews, and case studies—to provide a comprehensive treatment of the subject

  • Table of contents

    1. List of Contributors
    2. Preface
      1. References
    3. Part I Perspectives
      1. 1 The Genius in History
        1. The Relationship between History and Genius
        2. History and the Psychology of Genius
        3. The Psychology of Genius: Theory Across History
        4. The Psychology of Genius: Historical Methods
        5. The Genius in History
        6. Notes
        7. References
      2. 2 The Psychobiography of Genius
        1. Introduction
        2. George W. Bush
        3. John Lennon
        4. Truman Capote
        5. Implicit Prescriptions
        6. References
      3. 3 Interviewing Highly Eminent Creators
        1. Why Interview Eminent Creators?
        2. Interview Research on Eminent Creators and Its Place in the Study of Creativity
        3. Major Interview Studies of Eminent Creativity
        4. Other Interview Research on Creativity
        5. Best Practices for Interviewing Eminent Creators
        6. Conclusion
        7. Acknowledgments
        8. References
      4. 4 Psychometric Studies of Scientific Talent and Eminence
        1. Scientific Talent and Eminence Defined
        2. Psychometric Investigations of Scientific Talent and Eminence
        3. Summary and Future Directions
        4. References
      5. 5 Historiometric Studies of Genius
        1. Introduction
        2. Illustrations
        3. Conclusion
        4. References
    4. Part II Processes
      1. 6 The Neuroscience of Creative Genius
        1. What Is Neuroscience?
        2. What Tools from Neuroscience Can Be Used to Study Creativity?
        3. What Is Creative Genius?
        4. How Should a Neuroscientist Identify Subjects for Study?
        5. What Kinds of Tasks Can Be Used to Assess Creativity Using Neuroimaging Tools?
        6. What Have We Learned from Our Work So Far?
        7. Conclusions
        8. References
      2. 7 Artistic Genius and Creative Cognition
        1. Introduction
        2. Hypotheses
        3. Visual Arts
        4. Literary Arts
        5. Musical Arts
        6. Comparisons
        7. Conclusion
        8. Acknowledgments
        9. References
      3. 8 Case Studies of Genius
        1. Extraordinary Thinking As the Basis for Genius-Level Creativity
        2. Genius-Level Creativity As the Expression of Ordinary Thought Processes
        3. Continuity with the Past in Creative Thinking
        4. Structure in the Creative Process
        5. Cognitive Components of Creative Thinking: Edison's Invention of the Light Bulb
        6. External Triggers to Creativity
        7. The Ordinary Basis for Creative Thinking: Conclusions and Several Remaining Questions
        8. A Final Question: What Then Is the Basis for Genius?
        9. References
      4. 9 Virtual Genius
        1. Introduction
        2. Background
        3. Definition
        4. Human Examples of Genius
        5. Computer Examples of Genius
        6. More Possibilities
        7. Conclusions
        8. References
    5. Part III Attributes
      1. 10 Varieties of Genius
        1. Types of Genius
        2. Conclusions
        3. References
      2. 11 Cognitive Disinhibition, Creativity, and Psychopathology
        1. Creativity and Creative Genius
        2. Cognitive Disinhibition
        3. Creativity and Mental Disorders Associated with Disinhibition
        4. The Shared Vulnerability Model of Creativity and Psychopathology
        5. Conclusions
        6. References
      3. 12 Openness to Experience
        1. Openness and Personality Structure
        2. Properties of Openness
        3. Conceptualizing Openness
        4. Case Studies of Personality and Genius
        5. Conclusion
        6. Acknowledgments
        7. Notes
        8. References
      4. 13 Political and Military Geniuses
        1. Measuring the Quality of Political and Military Leadership
        2. Subject Selection in this Chapter
        3. Measurement at a Distance
        4. Methodology of the Current Chapter
        5. Hypotheses of the Current Study
        6. Method
        7. Biographies
        8. Results
        9. Discussion
        10. Acknowledgments
        11. Notes
        12. References
    6. Part IV Origins
      1. 14 Genetics of Intellectual and Personality Traits Associated with Creative Genius
        1. Classical Quantitative Genetic Models in Humans
        2. Intelligence
        3. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence
        4. Personality and Psychopathology
        5. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Personality and Psychopatholgy
        6. Genetic Influences on Miscellaneous Traits Relevant to Creative Genius
        7. Molecular Genetics and Genius
        8. Emergenesis
        9. Autism
        10. An Aside on Distributions
        11. Are Geniuses Black Swans, Dragon-Kings, or Hopeful Monsters?
        12. The Relevance of Dragon-Kings and Hopeful Monsters to Our Understanding of the Emergence of Creative Genius
        13. Note
        14. References
      2. 15 Child Prodigies and Adult Genius
        1. Globally Gifted Children
        2. Unevenly Gifted Children
        3. What Does Giftedness in Visual Art and Music Look Like?
        4. How Much is Innate?
        5. The Role of Families
        6. The Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Children
        7. Implications for Education and Child Rearing
        8. Childhood Giftedness and Adult Giftedness: No Straight Trajectory
        9. References
      3. 16 Creative Genius
        1. The Traditional View of the Nature of Talent and Creative Genius
        2. A Review of the Expert-Performance Approach
        3. Toward an Expert-Performance Account of Creative Contributions
        4. Concluding Remarks
        5. Acknowledgments
        6. References
      4. 17 Cognitive Processes and Development of Chess Genius
        1. Introduction
        2. Previous Attempts to Explain the Existence of Remarkable Achievements in Young Chess Players
        3. In Search of a New Model of the Development of Chess Expertise
        4. Cognitive Processes Underlying Chess Expertise
        5. Mathematical Simulation
        6. Conclusions and Future Research
        7. Notes
        8. References
      5. 18 Diversifying Experiences in the Development of Genius and their Impact on Creative Cognition
        1. Correlational Research
        2. Experimental Research
        3. Conclusion and Future Directions
        4. References
    7. Part V Trajectories
      1. 19 The Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth at Maturity
        1. The Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth
        2. Conceptualizing Talent Development
        3. Cognitive Abilities
        4. Interests
        5. Conation
        6. Emergence of Genius
        7. Concluding Thoughts
        8. Acknowledgments
        9. Notes
        10. References
      2. 20 Age and Scientific Genius
        1. Introduction
        2. Basic Life-Cycle Patterns and Classic Views
        3. The New Literature: Variation over Time and Across Individuals
        4. Discussion
        5. Conclusion
        6. Acknowledgments
        7. Notes
        8. References
      3. 21 Musical Creativity over the Lifespan
        1. Introduction
        2. Characterizations of Genius
        3. A Qualitative Sketch of Musical Creativity over the Lifespan
        4. Methodological Issues
        5. Theoretical Perspectives on Lifespan Creativity
        6. Some Unresolved Issues and Future Directions
        7. Conclusion: Wisdom Revisited
        8. Notes
        9. References
      4. 22 Literary Geniuses
        1. The Study of Creative Writers
        2. What Constitutes Literary Genius?
        3. Career Trajectories
        4. The Writer's Personality, Flow, and Emotions
        5. The Dark Side of Literary Genius
        6. Writers and Death
        7. Conclusions
        8. References
      5. 23 Lifetime Biopsychosocial Trajectories of the Terman Gifted Children
        1. Early Characteristics
        2. Lifelong Pathways
        3. Intelligence and School Performance: An Early Life Advantage?
        4. Conclusion: Lifelong Cumulative and Interactional Continuity
        5. References
    8. Part VI Contexts
      1. 24 Evaluating Excellence in the Arts
        1. Canons
        2. Rankings
        3. Conclusions
        4. Notes
        5. References
      2. 25 The Systems Model of Creativity and Its Applications
        1. A Brief History of the Concept of Creativity
        2. Systems Model of Creativity
        3. Systems Model of Creativity: Some Research Applications
        4. Systems Model and Construction of Positive Psychology
        5. References
      3. 26 Openness to Scientific Innovation
        1. Introduction
        2. Planck's Principle: Age and Receptivity
        3. A Meta-Analytic Approach to Scientific Innovation
        4. Heterogeneity of Effects
        5. Initiators of Scientific Innovations
        6. Conclusion
        7. Notes
        8. References
      4. 27 Prominent Modern Artists
        1. Introduction
        2. Dataset
        3. Framework of Econometric Analysis
        4. Location Matters: Peer Effects in the Artistic Clusters of Paris and New York
        5. Artistic Styles and Implications for Creativity
        6. Travel as an Inspiration
        7. Democracy and Creativity
        8. Conclusion
        9. Notes
        10. References
      5. 28 Genius in World Civilization
        1. Introduction
        2. The Meta-Inventions
        3. Temporal and Geographic Distribution of Significant Figures and Events from 800 BCE to 1900
        4. Conclusion
        5. Notes
        6. References
    9. Part VII Prospects
      1. 29 Does Genius Science Have a Future History?
        1. Will Empirical and Theoretical Research Continue to Advance?
        2. Will the Phenomenon of Genius Continue to Exist?
        3. Will the Science of Genius Ensure the Continued Existence of Genius?
        4. References
    10. Appendix
    11. Index
    12. End User License Agreement

    Product information

    • Title: The Wiley Handbook of Genius
    • Author(s): Dean Keith Simonton
    • Release date: June 2014
    • Publisher(s): Wiley-Blackwell
    • ISBN: 9781118367407