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The Palgrave Handbook of Social Creativity Research pp 177–189Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Sociocultural Context of Exceptional Creativity: Historiometric Studies

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture ((PASCC))

Abstract

As pointed out in an earlier chapter, historiometry is distinctively suited to studying the social and cultural aspects of creative genius. In this chapter I review some central empirical findings using this technique. The review focuses on three levels of analyses: the creative product, the creative person, and the creative society. Moreover, the treatment scrutinizes creative genius as both (a) a sociocultural cause (e.g., eminence achieved for creative contributions to a culturally-valued domain) and (b) a sociocultural effect (e.g., the consequence of role-model availability, interpersonal networks, political circumstances, cultural diversity, and prevailing ideologies). The collective results provide a rich basis for any social psychology of creativity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Dean Keith Simonton

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  1. Dean Keith Simonton
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Correspondence to Dean Keith Simonton .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland

    Izabela Lebuda

  2. Department of Psychology, Webster University Geneva, Bellevue, Switzerland

    Vlad Petre Glăveanu

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Simonton, D.K. (2019). The Sociocultural Context of Exceptional Creativity: Historiometric Studies. In: Lebuda, I., Glăveanu, V.P. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Social Creativity Research. Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95498-1_12

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