Robert Sternberg

Robert Sternberg

Robert J. Sternberg, born on December 8, 1949, is an American psychologist and psychometrician. He is a professor of Human Development at Cornell University and also works at the Psychometrics Centre at the University of Cambridge.

Sternberg is famous for his work in psychology. One of his most important ideas is the triarchic theory of intelligence. He has also created theories about creativity, wisdom, and how people think and lead. His ideas have helped many people understand intelligence and behavior better.

Early life

Robert Sternberg was born on December 8, 1949, in New Jersey to a Jewish family. When he was a child, he felt nervous during tests. This made it hard for him to show what he really knew. But when he took a test with younger students, he felt better and his scores got much higher. This experience helped him create his first intelligence test, called the Sternberg Test of Mental Ability (STOMA).

Career

Robert Sternberg studied at Yale University and later earned a PhD from Stanford University in 1975. He started teaching at Yale, where he worked for many years in an important job.

In 2005, Sternberg moved to Tufts University. He also held leadership roles at Oklahoma State University and the University of Wyoming. In 2013, he became the president of the University of Wyoming but resigned later that year. He then joined the Human Development faculty of Cornell University, where he continues to work today.

Phi Beta Kappa Human Development faculty of Cornell University

Honorary degrees and professorships

Robert Sternberg has received thirteen special honors called honorary doctorates from universities around the world. Some of these universities are Complutense University of Madrid, Durham University, KU Leuven, Tilburg University, University of Cyprus, University of Paris V, and St. Petersburg State University. He also has an honorary professorship at the University of Heidelberg.

Publication ethics

Robert Sternberg became the editor of a journal called Perspectives on Psychological Science in 2015. During his time as editor, he published some of his own articles without checking with other experts first. This made many psychologists worried that the articles were not fair. Because of this and other problems, Sternberg left his job as editor in 2018, earlier than he planned. Some of his work was taken down later.

Awards and recognition

Robert Sternberg has won many awards for his work. He received the Cattell Award from the Association for Psychological Science and the Sir Francis Galton Award from the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics. He also received the E. L. Thorndike Award from the American Psychological Association and the Grawemeyer Award for Psychology in 2018.

Sternberg is one of the top psychologists of the twentieth century. He is a fellow of several important organizations and has been president of the American Psychological Association and other groups.

Research interests

Robert Sternberg studies important ideas, like how people think, be creative, and understand wisdom. He is well known for his ideas about intelligence and love. He believes intelligence is not just about test scores. It also includes creative and practical skills.

Sternberg made ways to help schools look beyond test scores when choosing students. He also worked on projects to better understand intelligence and what it means to be smart.

Triarchic theory of intelligence

Main article: Triarchic theory of intelligence

Many ideas about intelligence look at skills like vocabulary, comprehension, memory, and problem-solving. Robert Sternberg thinks this view is too narrow. He says it only shows one part of intelligence, mostly the kind of smarts needed for schoolwork.

Sternberg says intelligence has three parts. The first is analytical intelligence. This helps solve problems with clear answers, like those on regular intelligence tests. The second is creative or synthetic intelligence. This helps people handle new and unusual situations. The third is practical intelligence. This helps someone use their knowledge in everyday life. Sternberg made a test to measure these three types of intelligence.

Theory in cognitive styles

Robert Sternberg made a theory about how people think in 1988. He thought that the way we use our thinking is like the parts of a government.

People think in different ways: some like to make new rules, some follow rules, and some check if rules are fair. Everyone has their own way of thinking, and these ways can change depending on what they are doing or their age. Some people like to focus on one thing at a time, while others can handle many things together. Some think about big ideas, while others focus on details. Some people prefer to work alone, and others like to work with others. Some enjoy change, while others prefer things to stay the same.

Bibliography (selection)

On human intelligence

Robert Sternberg has written many books and articles about how we understand and measure intelligence. Some of his important works include:

• Intelligence, information processing, and analogical reasoning: The componential analysis of human abilities (1977)
• Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of human intelligence (1985)
• Successful intelligence (1997)
• Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized (2007)

On creativity and intellectual giftedness

Sternberg also studied creativity and how to support gifted students. Some of his books on these topics are:

• Defying the crowd: Cultivating creativity in a culture of conformity (1995)
• How to develop student creativity (1996)
• The creativity conundrum: A propulsion model of creative contributions (2002)

On leadership

He has also explored what makes good leadership, including:

• "The person versus the situation in leadership" (2002)

On cognitive styles

Sternberg looked at how people think differently, such as:

• "Mental self-government: A theory of intellectual styles and their development" (1988)

Other works, including edited volumes

He has contributed to many other books and collections, such as:

• The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence (2011)
• Scientists Making a Difference (2016)