James C. Kaufman
- Media Contact
- SPN Mentor
James C. Kaufman, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at the California State University at San Bernardino, where he directs the Learning Research Institute. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in Cognitive Psychology in 2001. Kaufman’s research broadly focuses on nurturing and encouraging creativity. He is specifically interested in creativity’s role in fairness; everyday creativity; increasing creativity in the classroom; and the structure and assessment of creativity. He also studies related topics such as intelligence, personality, motivation, and thinking styles.
Kaufman is the author or editor of 22 books either published or in press. These include Creativity 101 (Springer, 2009); Cambridge Handbook of Creativity (with Sternberg; Cambridge, 2010); Essentials of Creativity Assessment (with Jonathan Plucker and John Baer; Wiley, 2008), International Handbook of Creativity (with Robert Sternberg; Cambridge, 2006), and Nurturing Creativity in the Classroom (with Ron Beghetto; Cambridge, 2010). He has published more than 175 papers, chapters, and reviews. His research has been featured and discussed in CNN, NPR, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, and the BBC. He has traveled around the world talking about the power of creativity, keynoting in Taiwan, Qatar, Korea, Spain, France, and other places.
Kaufman is the president-elect of American Psychological Association’s Division 10 (Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts). He is a Fellow of APA (Divisions 1, 5, 10) and the Association for Psychological Science. He is a founding co-editor of the official journal for APA’s Division 10, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. He is also the founding editor of APA’s newest journal, Psychology of Popular Media Culture. In addition, he is the Associate Editor of Psychological Assessment and the Journal of Creative Behavior. He is also the editor of the International Journal of Creativity and Problem Solving and he is the Series Editor of the “Psych 101” series from Springer Publishing. He received the 2003 Daniel E. Berlyne Award from APA’s Division 10, the 2008 E. Paul Torrance Award from the National Association of Gifted Children, and the 2009 Early Career Research Award from the Western Psychological Association.
Primary Interests:
- Applied Social Psychology
- Culture and Ethnicity
- Emotion, Mood, Affect
- Gender Psychology
- Life Satisfaction, Well-Being
- Motivation, Goal Setting
- Personality, Individual Differences
Research Group or Laboratory:
Online Studies:
Books:
- Kaufman, J. C., & Baer, J. (Eds.). (2006). Creativity and reason in cognitive development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Kaufman, J. C., & Sternberg, R. J. (Eds.). (2006). The international handbook of creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Kaufman, S. B., & Kaufman, J. C. (Eds.). (2009). The psychology of creative writing. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Journal Articles:
- Baer, J., & Kaufman, J. C. (2008). Gender differences in creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 42, 75-106.
- Baer, J., & Kaufman, J. C. (2005). Bridging generality and specificity: The Amusement Park Theoretical (APT) model of creativity. Roeper Review, 27(3), 158-163.
- Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2007). Toward a broader conception of creativity: A case for "mini-c" creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.
- Kaufman, J. C. (2006). Self-reported differences in creativity by ethnicity and gender. Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology.
- Kaufman, J. C. (2002). Narrative and Paradigmatic thinking styles in creative writing and journalism students. Journal of Creative Behavior, 36(3), 201-220.
- Kaufman, J. C. (2001). The Sylvia Plath effect: Mental illness in eminent creative writers. Journal of Creative Behavior, 35(1), 37-50.
- Kaufman, J. C., & Baer, J. (2006). Intelligence testing with Torrance. Creativity Research Journal, 18, 99-102.
- Kaufman, J. C., & Baer, J. (2002). I bask in dreams of suicide: Mental illness and poetry. Review of General Psychology, 6(3), 271-286.
- Kaufman, J. C., Baer, J., & Gentile, C. A. (2004). Differences in gender and ethnicity as measured by ratings of three writing tasks. Journal of Creative Behavior, 38(1), 56-69.
- Kaufman, J. C., & Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: The Four C Model of Creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13, 1-12.
- Kaufman, J. C., & Sexton, J. D. (2006). Why doesn’t the writing cure help poets? Review of General Psychology, 10(3), 268-282.
- Kaufman, S. B., & Kaufman, J. C. (2007). Ten years to expertise, many more to greatness: An investigation of modern writers. Journal of Creative Behavior.
- Sternberg, R. J., & Kaufman, J. C. (1998). Human abilities. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 479-502.
Courses Taught:
- Critical Thinking
- Intelligence and Creativity
- Professional Issues
- Psychology and the Movies
James C. Kaufman
Department of Psychology
California State University
5500 University Parkway
San Bernardino, California 92407
United States of America
- Phone: (909) 537-3841
- Fax: (909) 537-7003