Books by Dean Keith Simonton

While it is often easy to identify who is a genius in hindsight, it is significantly more difficult to explain their existence or predict when the next one will emerge. This book explores what it means to be a 'genius'. It provides a theoretical and historical overview of 'genius', with analyses of the very first genius theorists.

What underlies the worlds most acclaimed acts of creative genius? By using these historiometric methods, psychologists can enhance our scientific comprehension of the most important phenomena of human behavior - creativity and genius.

Dean Keith Simonton developed a theory of scientific genius called chance-configuration theory that accounts for mental processes and behaviors behind creative acts and scientific discoveries. The concluding chapter outlines the broader implications of the theory for the measurement and encouragement of genius in science and social sciences.