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Home: Our Faculty: Brooklyn College Faculty:

Aaron Kozbelt

Assc Professor   Department: Psychology   Location: 4201b James Hall   Phone: 718-951-5000 x6009   Fax: 718-951-4814   Email:

My research program, focusing on creativity and cognition in the arts, derives largely from my outside interests. In addition to my training in psychology, I have spent almost 20 years as a practicing visual artist, and my initial research forays grew directly out of my experiences as an artist. I have also incorporated my long-standing interest in classical music into a line of archival research examining patterns of creativity over the lifespan of classical composers. More recently, I have started research on creative cognition, humor production and sexual selection, and metacognition and evaluation in creative problem solving. Education: Doctor of Philosophy, University of Chicago - 2002 (Psychology: Cognition and Communication) Bachelor of Science, Carnegie Mellon University - 1995 (Psychology) Areas of Expertise: Analyses of artists' problem solving, evaluative, and metacognitive processes, and their relation to creativity. Archival studies of creativity over the lifespan, especially among classical composers, addressing how creativity changes with expertise, and the reliability of self-criticism processes. The psychological nature of skilled artistic drawing and its relation to artists' visual perception abilities and art history. Psychology of humor, including links to evolutionary theory. Books and Publications Kaufman, S. B., & Kozbelt, A. (in press). The tears of a clown: Understanding comedy writers. To appear in S. B. Kaufman and J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), The Psychology of Creative Writing. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. (Books and Publications: Chapter) 2009 Kozbelt, A. (2009). Performance time productivity and versatility estimates for 102 classical composers. Psychology of Music, 37, 25-46. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2009 Kozbelt, A. (in press). Maybe, maybe even probably, but not necessarily: Response to Martindale. Empirical Studies of the Arts. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2009 Kozbelt, A. (2009). Ontogenetic heterochrony and the creative process in visual art: A précis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 3, 35-37. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2009 Kozbelt, A. (2009). The evolution of evolvability, applied to human creativity. International Journal of Creativity and Problem Solving, 19, 101-121. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2009 Kozbelt, A., & Nishioka, K. (in press). Humor comprehension, humor production, and insight: An exploratory study. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2009 Kozbelt, A., & Serafin, J. (in press). Dynamic evaluation of high- and low-creativity drawings by artist and non-artist raters. Creativity Research Journal. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2009 Kozbelt, A., Beghetto, R., & Runco, M. A. (in press). Theories of creativity. To appear in R. J. Sternberg and J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press. (Books and Publications: Chapter) 2009 Kozbelt, A. (2008). Hierarchical linear modeling of creative artists' problem solving behaviors. Journal of Creative Behavior, 42, 181-200. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2008 Kozbelt, A. (2008). E. H. Gombrich on creativity: A cognitive-historical case study. Creativity Research Journal, 20, 93-104. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2008 Kozbelt, A. (2008). Gombrich, Galenson, and beyond: Integrating case study and typological frameworks in the study of creative individuals. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 26, 51-68. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2008 Kozbelt, A. (2008). One-hit wonders in classical music: Evidence and (partial) explanations for an early career peak. Creativity Research Journal, 20, 179-195. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2008 Kozbelt, A. (2008). Longitudinal hit ratios of classical composers: Reconciling Darwinian and expertise acquisition perspectives on lifespan creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2, 221-235. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2008 Kozbelt, A. (2008). Review of Independents: A Guide for the Creative Spirit [DVD], by Chris Brandt. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2, 186-187. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008 Kozbelt, A. (2008). Review of Musical Creativity: Multidisciplinary Research in Theory and Practice, edited by Irène Deliège and Geraint A. Wiggins. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2, 181-182. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008 Kozbelt, A., & Kaufman, S. B. (2008). Review of The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach, by Rod A. Martin. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2, 184-185. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2008 Seeley, W. P., & Kozbelt, A. (2008). Art, artists, and perception: A model for premotor contributions to perceptual analysis and form recognition. Philosophical Psychology, 21, 149-171. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2008 Kaufman, S. B., Kozbelt, A., Bromley, M. L., & Miller, G. F. (2007). The role of creativity and humor ability in human mating. In G. Geher and G. F. Miller (Eds.), Mating intelligence: Theoretical and empirical insights into intimate relationships (pp. 227-262). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. (Books and Publications: Chapter) 2007 Kozbelt, A. (2007). A quantitative analysis of Beethoven as self-critic: Implications for psychological theories of musical creativity. Psychology of Music, 35, 147-172. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007 Kozbelt, A., & Burger-Pianko, Z. (2007). Words, music, and other measures: Predicting the repertoire popularity of 597 Schubert lieder. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 1, 191-203. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007 Kozbelt, A., & Durmysheva, Y. (2007). Lifespan creativity in a non-Western artistic tradition: A study of Japanese ukiyo-e printmakers. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 65, 23-51. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007 Kozbelt, A., & Durmysheva, Y. (2007). Understanding creativity judgments of invented alien creatures: The role of invariants and other predictors. Journal of Creative Behavior, 41, 223-248. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007 Kozbelt, A., & Seeley, W. P. (2007). Integrating art historical, psychological, and neuroscientific explanations of artists' advantages in drawing and perception. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 1, 80-90. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2007 Kozbelt, A. (2006). Dynamic evaluation of Matisse's 1935 "Large Reclining Nude." Empirical Studies of the Arts, 24, 119-137. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2006 Kozbelt, A. (2006). Psychological implications of the history of realistic depiction: Ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, and CGI. Leonardo, 39, 139-144. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2006 Kozbelt, A. (2005). Factors affecting aesthetic success and improvement in creativity: A case study of the musical genres of Mozart. Psychology of Music, 33, 235-255. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2005 Kozbelt, A. (2004). Originality and technical skill as components of artistic quality. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 22, 157-170. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2004 Kozbelt, A. (2002). Products and processes of artistic creation. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Chicago. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 2002 Kozbelt, A. (2001). Artists as experts in visual cognition. Visual Cognition, 8, 705-723. (Books and Publications: Peer Reviewed Article) 2001 Hayes, J. R., Kotovsky, K., Kozbelt, A., & Weissman, A. (1999). Where does students' time go? Center for Innovation in Learning at Carnegie Mellon Research Brief, Vol. 1, Issue 2 (February). (Books and Publications: Other Article) 1999 Kozbelt, A. (1995). Object recognition in Picasso's abstract art. In The Sloping Halls Review: Selected works by H&SS Undergraduates, Volume 2 (pp. 23-36). Pittsburgh, PA: College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University. (Books and Publications: Other Article) 1995 Creative Work Kozbelt, A. (2008). Portraits of Benjamin Ulysses Kozbelt. Exhibition of original art, accompanied by a talk, given at the 2008 biannual conference of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics. Chicago, IL, August 21. In K. S. Bordens (Ed.), Proceedings of the Twentieth Biennial Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics [CD-ROM]. 2008 Kozbelt, A. (2006). Documenting the evolution of three large works-in-progress: Napoleon in Egypt, The Bark, and St. Sebastian. Exhibition of original art, accompanied by a talk, given at the 2006 biannual conference of the International Association for Empirical Aesthetics. Avignon, France, September 1. Published in H. Gottesdiener & J. C. Vilatte (Eds.), Culture and communication: Proceedings of the XIX Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (pp. 337-340). Avignon, France: IAEA. 2006 Kozbelt, A. (2004). Two drawings: H.C.E.J.J. and Requiem for Heinz R. Pagels. Exhibition of original art, accompanied by a talk, given at the 2004 biannual conference of the International Association for Empirical Aesthetics. Lisbon, Portugal, September. Published in J. P. Frois, P. Andrade, & J. F. Marques (Eds.), Art and Science: Proceedings of the XVIII Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (pp. 705-708). Lisboa, Portugal: IAEA. 2004 Awards, Honors and Fellowships Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten Award from the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (Awards and Honors) 2008 APA Division 10 Daniel Berlyne Award for creativity research. (Awards and Honors) 2007 CUNY Academy William Stewart Travel Award (Awards and Honors) 2004 University of Chicago John Dewey Lectureship (Awards and Honors) 2002 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship (Grants and Fellowships) 2001 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship (Grants and Fellowships) 2000 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship (Grants and Fellowships) 1999 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship (Grants and Fellowships) 1998 University of Chicago Century Fellowship (Grants and Fellowships) 1997 Carnegie Mellon Fifth Year Scholarship (Grants and Fellowships) 1995 Phi Beta Kappa (Awards and Honors) 1995 Timken Corporation Full Undergraduate Scholarship (Grants and Fellowships) 1991 Research Activities A protocol analysis comparison of artists and non-artists; Dynamic evaluation of high- and low-creativity drawings ; Dynamic evaluation of Matisse paintings of the 1930s ; Psychophysical comparisons of artists and non-artists' perceptual and perceptual organizational capabilities; Visual selection as an explanation for artists' advantages in drawing; Sex differences in humor appreciation, comprehension, and production, and their relation to divergent thinking and intelligence; Reliability of self-criticisms among classical composers; Analyses of longitudinal masterpiece quality trends among classical composers; Verbal versus musical measures as predictors of the aesthetic success of classical music lieder; Multi-level analyses of trans-historical and within-composer melodic originality trends; Opera highlights as a predictor of aesthetic success; Development and validation of a survey instrument to assess individual differences in approaches to creative problem solving; 2009 Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums Kozbelt, A. (2008). Ontogenetic heterochrony as a framework for understanding creativity in the visual arts. In K. S. Bordens (Ed.), Proceedings of the Twentieth Biennial Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics [CD-ROM]. Presentation given at the 2008 biannual meeting of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics, Chicago, IL, August 19. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2008 Kozbelt, A. (2008). Ontogenetic heterochrony as a framework for understanding creativity in visual art. Presentation given at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. Boston, MA, August 17. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008 Kozbelt, A. (2008). The evolution of human creativity. Part of a symposium on The Evolution of Intelligent Behavior given at the 12th annual Faculty Day Conference at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, May 21. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2008 Kozbelt, A., & Seidel, A. (2008). Evidence for visual selection as an explanation for artists' advantages in drawing. In K. S. Bordens (Ed.), Proceedings of the Twentieth Biennial Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics [CD-ROM]. Presentation given at the 2008 biannual meeting of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics, Chicago, IL, August 20. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2008 Serafin, J., & Kozbelt, A. (2008). Dynamic evaluation of high- and low-creativity drawings by artist and non-artist raters. In K. S. Bordens (Ed.), Proceedings of the Twentieth Biennial Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics [CD-ROM]. Presentation given at the 2008 biannual meeting of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics, Chicago, IL, August 20. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2008 Kozbelt, A. (2007). Chance, control, and evaluation in creativity. Keynote address for APA Division 10 Daniel Berlyne Award for creativity research, given at the American Psychological Association annual meeting. San Francisco, CA, August. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007 Kozbelt, A. (2007). Aesthetics and the process of creation. Part of a symposium on Aesthetics given at the 11th annual Faculty Day Conference at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, May 23. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2007 Durmysheva, Y., & Kozbelt, A. (2006). Lifespan creativity in Japanese ukiyo-e printmakers. In H. Gottesdiener & J. C. Vilatte (Eds.), Culture and communication: Proceedings of the XIX Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (pp. 758-761). Avignon, France: IAEA (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2006 Kozbelt, A. (2006). Creativity over the lifespan in classical composers: Reconciling expertise and Darwinian perspectives. Research presentation given at the Department of Psychology, Columbia University. New York, NY, March 27. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2006 Kozbelt, A. (2006). Drawing what they see: Artists and visual perception. Research presentation given at the Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University. New York, NY, January 25. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2006 Kozbelt, A. (2006). E. H. Gombrich on creativity in the arts: A cognitive-historical case study. In H. Gottesdiener & J. C. Vilatte (Eds.), Culture and communication: Proceedings of the XIX Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (pp. 762-765). Avignon, France: IAEA. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2006 Kozbelt, A. (2006). Lifespan creativity in "one-hit" classical composers: Evidence and an explanation for an early career peak. Presentation given at the 28th annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Vancouver, BC, Canada, July 27. Archived online at: http://www.cogsci.rpi.edu/CSJarchive/Proceedings/2006/docs/p441.pdf (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2006 Kozbelt, A. (2006). Neglected issues in the study of creativity: Learning over the lifespan and dynamic evaluation. Research presentation given at the Department of Psychology, Bard College. Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, December 14. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2006 Kozbelt, A. (2006). Some neglected issues in the study of creativity: Learning over the lifespan and dynamic evaluation. Research presentation given at the Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, CUNY. Staten Island, NY, November 1. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2006 Kozbelt, A. (2005). Creativity in classical composers and visual artists. Research presentation given at the Brooklyn College Interdisciplinary Faculty Seminar, Brooklyn, NY, October 26. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2005 Kozbelt, A. (2004). Learning and creativity in classical composers. Presentation given at the 26th annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Chicago, IL, August 5. Archived online at: http://www.cogsci.northwestern.edu/cogsci2004/papers/paper194.pdf (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2004 Kozbelt, A. (2004). Re-examining the equal-odds rule in classical composers. In J. P. Frois, P. Andrade, & J. F. Marques (Eds.), Art and Science: Proceedings of the XVIII Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (pp. 540-543). Lisboa, Portugal: IAEA. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2004 Seeley, W. P., & Kozbelt, A. (2004). A visuomotor skill model for artists' advantages in drawing, visual analysis, and form recognition. In J. P. Frois, P. Andrade, & J. F. Marques (Eds.), Art and Science: Proceedings of the XVIII Congress of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics (pp. 645-648). Lisboa, Portugal: IAEA. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2004 Kozbelt, A. (2003). Problem solving strategies that distinguish creative artists. Poster presented at the 25th annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Boston, MA, July 31. Archived online at: http://www.ccm.ua.edu/pdfs/299.pdf (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2003 Kozbelt, A. (2003). Creativity over the lifespan in classical composers. Research presentation given at the Brooklyn College Psychology Department Colloquium, Brooklyn, NY, October 15. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2003 Kozbelt, A. (2003). Paying attention: Constructing perception in art. Part of panel presentation and discussion at the Brooklyn College Cognitive Science Colloquium, Brooklyn, NY, December 2. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2003 Kozbelt, A. (2002). Products and processes of artistic creation. Research presentation given at the Brooklyn College Psychology Department, Brooklyn, NY, April 2. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2002 Kozbelt, A. (2002). Products and processes of artistic creation. Research presentation given at the Yale University Psychology Department, New Haven, CT, February 28. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2002 Kozbelt, A. (2002). Thinking in and about creativity. Keynote presentation for the first annual International Creativity and Innovation Day, Chicago, IL, April 21. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2002 Kozbelt, A. (2001). Artistic creativity. Presentation for Social Sciences Division, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, October 12. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2001 Kozbelt, A. (2001). Artistic creativity. Presentation for the Graduate Council Student Talk Series, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, May 1. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2001