Robert Sternberg

Professor and Director of M.A. Graduate Program

Overview

Robert J. Sternberg is Professor of Psychology in the Cornell Human Ecology college at Cornell University. He was previously Provost, Senior Vice President, Regents Professor of Psychology and Education, and George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair of Ethical Leadership at Oklahoma State University. He also is Honorary Professor of Psychology at Heidelberg University.

He was previously Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychology and Education at Tufts University, and before that, IBM Professor of Psychology and Education, Professor of Management, and Director of the Center for the Psychology of Abilities, Competencies, and Expertise at Yale University. He is a Past President of the American Psychological Association, the Eastern Psychological Association, Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and the International Association for Cognitive Education and Psychology, as well as Treasurer of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. He has been Editor of Perspectives on Psychological Science, Psychological Bulletin, and The APA Review of Books: Contemporary Psychlogy. He holds 13 honorary doctorates and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education.

His awards include:
William Stern Award, Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, 2023; Florence L. Denmark Award for Significant Contributions to Psychology, Psychology Department, Pace University, 2019; Grawemeyer Award in Psychology, 2018; William James Fellow Award, Association for Psychological Science, 2017; Ernest R. Hilgard Award for Lifetime Contributions to General Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division of General Psychology (1), 2017; Distinguished Service Award, International Association for Cognitive Education and Psychology, 2011; Presidential Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contributions to the Public Understanding of Psychology, American Psychological Association Division of Media Psychology (46), 2008; Sir Francis Galton Award, International Association of Empirical Aesthetics, 2008; E. Paul Torrance Award, National Association for Gifted Children, 2006; Interamerican Psychologist Award, Interamerican Society of Psychology, 2005; Arnheim Award, Division of Psychology and the Arts (10) of the American Psychological Association, 2005; Anton Jurovsky Award, Slovak Psychological Society, 2004; Arthur W. Staats Award, American Psychological Foundation and the Society for General Psychology (American Psychological Association Division 1), 2003; Farnsworth Award, Division of Psychology and the Arts (10) of the American Psychological Association, 2003; E. L. Thorndike Career Achievement Award, Division of Educational Psychology (15) of the American Psychological Association, 2003; Positive Psychology Network Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award, 2002; Outstanding Academic Title, CHOICE (American Library Association) for International handbook of giftedness and talent, co-editor, 2001; Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to Psychology Award, Connecticut Psychological Association, 1999; Palmer O. Johnson Award, American Educational Research Association, 1999; James McKeen Cattell Award, Association for Psychological Science, 1999; Distinción of Honor SEK, Institución Educativa SEK, Madrid, 1997; Sylvia Scribner Award, American Educational Research Association (Division C), 1996; International Award, Association of Portuguese Psychologists, 1991; Award for Excellence, Mensa Education and Research Foundation (MERF), 1989; Citation Classic Designation, Institute for Scientific Information for Intelligence, information processing, and analogical reasoning: The componential analysis of human abilities, 1987; Outstanding Book Award, American Educational Research Association for Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of human intelligence, 1987; Research Review Award, American Educational Research Association (co-recipient), 1986; Distinguished Scholar Award, the National Association for Gifted Children, 1985; Cattell Award, Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology, 1982; Boyd R. McCandless Young Scientist Award, Division of Developmental Psychology (7) of the American Psychological Association, 1982; Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology, American Psychological Association, 1981; Sidney Siegel Memorial Award, Stanford University, 1975; Wohlenberg Prize, Berkeley College, Yale University, 1972.

He is a member of the National Academy of Education and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He also is a member of the Society of Experimental Psychologists.

Sternberg's Google h index is 237, his i-10 index 1227, and he has been cited roughly 240,000 times in the scholarly literature.

He has been listed #1 lifetime ranking in the field of Human Development and Family Studies by ScholarGPS, 2023; He has been listed #15 in the world and #7 in the United States for “Top Scientists in the Field of Psychology” by research.com, May 2023; He is the #1 cited author over the past 10 years by global h-index corrected for self-citation and local g-index in the Journal of Intelligence; #2 in global h-index in the journal Intelligence, in which he does not regularly publish (J. Intell. b, 11(2), 35); He has been listed in the Top 25 Influential Psychologists 2010-2020; He has been listed in the top 2% of scholars in citations in the field of education by Stanford University, November 2020, ranked #3 in citations in the field of education; He has been listed as one of the "30 Most Influential Psychologists Working Today", 2019; He has been listed as one of the “The 50 Most Influential Living Psychologists” by The Best Schools, 2018; listed as one of the “Top 33 Psychologists for Psychology Textbook Citations”, Griggs & Christopher, Teaching of Psychology, 2016, 43(2), p. 114 (ranked #5); listed as one of the “Top 100 Psychologists of the 20th Century,” APA Monitor, July/August 2002, p. 29 (ranked #60); listed as one of the 200 most eminent psychologists of the modern (Post World-War II) era by Diener, Oishi, Park survey in Archives of Scientific Psychology (ranked #61); ISI Highly Cited List in Psychology/Psychiatry (2003–) (based on scientific citations 1981–1999); listed in the Esquire Register recognizing the achievements of outstanding American men and women under 40, 1986; Listed as one of the 100 “Top Young Scientists in the U.S.,” Science Digest, 1984.

Research Focus

My main research interests are in intelligence, creativity, wisdom, thinking styles, leadership, love, jealousy, envy, and hate. I have taught courses in most of these areas, as well as in cognitive psychology, educational psychology, introductory psychology, lifespan development, adolescence, and professional socialization.

We believe that there is much more to intelligence than what conventional standardized tests test. Many of my current collaborative research projects with my colleagues are on adaptive intelligence—how we use our creative, analytical, practical, and wisdom-based skills in order to make the world a better place. We have devised measures for measuring adaptive intelligence and also are interested in teaching for it. Additionally, we are doing work on transformational giftedness—how people can use their gifts to transform the world in a positive way, rather than using those gifts transactionally, merely for the benefit of themselves and members of their perceived “tribe.”

I am the author of roughly 2,000 publications and, as a principal investigator, have received more than $20 million in grant funding.

Publications

2023 Publications

Desmet, O., & Sternberg, R. J. (2023, December 21). Those who gift only themselves: An analysis of gifted narcissists as ultimate self-transactionalists. Roeper Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2023.2285042

Ellis, B. J., Abrams, L. S., Masten, A. S., Sternberg, R. J., Tottenham, N., & Frankenhuis, W. E. (2023). The hidden talents model: Implications for science, policy, and practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Fernández-Rodríguez, M. I., & Sternberg, R. J. (2023). The search for meaning in the life of the gifted. Gifted Education International. https://doi.org/10.1177/02614294231189923

Kowal, M., Sorokowski, P., Dinić, B. M., Pisanski, K., Gjoneska, B., Frederick, D. A., Pfuhl, G., Milfont, T. L., Bode, A., Aguilar, L., García, F. E., Abad-Villaverde, B., Kavčič, T., Miroshnik, K. G., Ndukaihe, I. L. G., Šafárová, K., Valentova, J. V., Aavik, T., Blackburn, A. M., Çetinkaya, H., Duyar, I., Guemaz, F.,…, & Sternberg, R. J. (2023, October 26). Validation of the short version (TLS-15) of the Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45) across 37 languages. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02702-7

Sorokowski, P., Kowal, M., Sternberg, R. J., Aavik, T., Akello, G., Alhababah, M. M., & … Sorokowska, A. (2023, January 14). Modernization, collectivism, and gender equality predict love experiences in 45 countries. Scientific Reports, 13(1):773. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26663-4

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). A balance theory analysis of xenosophia. Possibility Studies and Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/2753869923121491

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Cultural creativity: A componential model. In D. D. Preiss, M. Singer, & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), Innovation, culture, and change across cultures (pp. 363-387). Springer.

Sternberg, R. J. (2023, October 11). Eight lessons from my research on creativity. Greater Good Magazine, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/eight_lessons_from_my_research_on_creativity

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Evolving implicit metaphors for understanding giftedness: From banks to foundations. Roeper Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2023.2212617

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Foreword: The many worlds of college admissions. In K. Geisinger (Ed.), College admissions and college admissions testing in a time of transformational change (pp. ix-xix). New York: Routledge.

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Giftedness does not reside within a person: Defining giftedness in society is a three-step process. Roeper Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2022.2145400

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Individual, collective, and contextual aspects in the identification of giftedness. Gifted Education International, 40(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/02614294231156986.

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Intelligence. In Oxford research encyclopedias: Education: Education, cultures, and ethnicities, research and assessment methods. (Update to 2019 Encyclopedia article.) https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.872

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Intelligence is not the “entire repertoire of knowledge,” but rather the repertoire of adaptive knowledge: Commentary on Ackerman (2023). American Psychologist, 78(3), 301–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001082

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Intelligences. In G. R. Goethals, S. T. Allison, & G. J. Sorenson (Eds.), Sage encyclopedia of leadership studies. Sage.

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Introduction: Intelligence, creativity, and wisdom: A brief intellectual history of the theory and research on their interrelationships. In R. J. Sternberg, J. C. Kaufman, & S. Karami (Eds.), Intelligence, creativity, and wisdom: Exploring their connections and distinctions (pp. 1-20). Palgrave-Macmillan.

Sternberg, R. J. (2023, March 24). Review of Measuring researchers’ success more fairly: going beyond the H-index. Qeios ID: 8BKDMT. https://doi.org/10.32388/8BKDMT

Sternberg, R. J. (2023, December 21). The topic that is not to be discussed: The meaning and deployment of giftedness in the dominion of Lord Voldemort. Roeper Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2023.2285046

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Toxic giftedness. Roeper Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2022.2148311

Sternberg, R. J. (2023) Transformationelle Begabung: Wer besitzt sie und wer besitzt sie nicht? In C. Fischer, C. Fischer-Ontrup, F. Käpnick, N. Neuber, & C. (Eds.), Potenziale erkennen – Talente entwickeln – Bildung nachhaltig gestalten. (pp 285 – 301). Münster: Waxmann. https://www.waxmann.com/index.php?eID=download&buchnr=4667

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Unwrapping gifts: Understanding the inner workings of giftedness through a panoply of paradigms in the field of psychology. Roeper Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2023.2172754

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). What is wisdom? Sketch of a TOP (tree of philosophy) theory. Review of General Psychology, Review of General Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/10892680231215433.

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). What matters is the deployment, not the possession of gifts: A tribute to Marcia Gentry. Roeper Review, 45(4), 243-251.

Sternberg, R. J. (2023). Why test-optional and other test-light options have worked so well in college admissions. College and University, 98(3), 37-44.

Sternberg, R. J., & Desmet, O. (2023). Giftedness in childhood. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Sternberg R. J., Co, C., Siriner, I., Soleimani Dashtaki, A., & Wong, C.-H. (2023). Cultural intelligence deployed in one’s own vs. in a different culture: The same or different? Journal of Intelligence, 11, 212. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11110212.

Sternberg, R. J., Ghahremani, M., & Ehsan, H. (2023). Combating myside bias in scientific thinking: A special challenge for the gifted. Roeper Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2023.2212361

Sternberg, R. J., & Karami, S. (2023). Intelligence, creativity, wisdom: A 6P Analysis. In R. J. Sternberg, J. C. Kaufman, & S. Karami (Eds.), Intelligence, creativity, and wisdom: Exploring their connections and distinctions (pp. 339-366). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave-Macmillan.

Sternberg, R. J., & Karami, S. (2023). Technology: Does it help or harm intelligence—or both? In S. Mukherjee, V. Dutt, & N. Srinivasan (Eds.), Applied cognitive science and technology: Implications of interactions between human cognition and technology (pp. 251-259). Singapore: Springer Nature.

Sternberg, R. J., Kaufman, J. C., & Karami, S. (Eds.) (2023). Intelligence, creativity, and wisdom: Exploring their connections and distinctions. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave-Macmillan.

Sternberg, R. J., Preiss, D. D., & Karami, S. (2023). An historical causal-chain theory of conceptions of intelligence. Review of General Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/10892680231158790

Sternberg, R. J., & Reis, S. M. (2023). In remembrance of Marcia Gentry: Major themes emerging in a special issue in her honor. Roeper Review, 45(4), 268-271.

Sternberg, R. J., & Reis, S. M. (2023). Introduction to the special issue in honor of Marcia Gentry. Roeper Review, 45(4), 215.

Sternberg, R. J., & Rodriguez-Fernandez, M. I. (2023). Humanitarian giftedness. Gifted Education International, 40(1), 92-115. https://doi.org/10.1177/02614294231167749

Sternberg, R. J., Tromp, C., & Karami, S. (2023). Intelligence, creativity, and wisdom are situated in the interaction among person x task x situation. In R. J. Sternberg, J. C. Kaufman, & S. Karami (Eds.), Intelligence, creativity, and wisdom: Exploring their connections and distinctions (pp. 367-386). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave-Macmillan.

Robert Sternberg

Professor and Director of M.A. Graduate Program

Departments and programs

Affiliated Colleges

Academic interests

Links

Overview

Research Focus

Publications

PSYCH Courses - Spring 2025

HD Courses - Spring 2025

PSYCH Courses - Fall 2025

HD Courses - Fall 2025