Shakespeare's Sonnets: A Case of and for Single–Case Historiometry

Simonto, Dean Keith

doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1989.tb00568.x

Cited by 86 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Trying to find quantitative structural predictors for the aesthetic success – a variable that is assumed to be highly correlated with liking – of the 154 Shakespeare sonnets, Simonton (1989, 1990) isolated four factors accounting for the superiority of very popular sonnets…”

Section: Multiword Expressionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On Elementary Affective Decisions: To Like Or Not to Like, That Is the Question

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Perhaps the most ubiquitous and basic affective decision of daily life is deciding whether we like or dislike something/somebody, or, in terms of psychological emotion theories, whether the object/subject has positive or negative valence. Indeed, people constantly make such liking decisions within a glimpse and, importantly, often without expecting any obvious benefit or knowing the exact reasons for their judgment. In this paper, we review research on such elementary affective decisions (EADs) that entail no direct overt reward with a special focus on Neurocognitive Poetics and discuss methods and models for investigating the neuronal and cognitive-affective bases of EADs to verbal materials with differing degrees of complexity. In line with evolutionary and appraisal theories of (aesthetic) emotions and data from recent neurocognitive studies, the results of a decision tree modeling approach simulating EADs to single words suggest that a main driving force behind EADs is the extent to which such high-dimensional stimuli are associated with the “basic” emotions joy/happiness and disgust.

show abstract

Section: Multiword Expressionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On Elementary Affective Decisions: To Like Or Not to Like, That Is the Question

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous research on this topic has utilized such diverse populations as scientists in various disciplines (Simonton, 2003), writers and poets (Ludwig, 1994;Simonton, 1989), and composers of classical music (Simonton, 1977;Kozbelt, 2004Kozbelt, , 2005). Simonton's study of the pattern of lifetime productivity of 10 classical composers reported a correlation between major and minor works within periods over a composer's career and, most critically, that the proportion of major works produced per unit time remained constant over those composers' careers (Simonton, 1977).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Career Development in Two Seminal American Songwriters: A Test of the Equal Odds Rule

Hass

Weisberg

2009

Creativity Research Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigated the pattern of lifetime creative productivity for two seminal American songwriters: Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. Earlier research has provided conflicting findings concerning the quality of creative output over the careers of classical musicians. In order to attempt to resolve the discrepancy between those findings, a quantitative case-study methodology was employed, using recording counts as a measure of quality of output across periods in each composer's career. In addition, the ratio of major works to minor works was calculated, to determine whether the quality of output changed across each composer's career. Results demonstrated that each composer's career was marked by an initial lull in quality of output, followed by a sharp and sustained increase in quality. Furthermore, in both cases, no significant correlation was found between the number of major and minor works. The results provided support an expertise-based account of creative productivity. Implications are discussed.

show abstract

“…One example is single-case historiometry, which examines the life or career of just one historic figure using quantitative methods (e.g., Rosenberg, 1989;Rosenberg & Jones, 1972). Yet this technical feat is invariably accomplished by slicing the individual's life into smaller units, sach as consecutive periods of adulthood (e.g., Simonton, 1977a;Weisberg, 1994) or separate acts of achievement (e.g., Simonton, 1989a). Nevertheless, because, this methodological legerdemain merely obtains multiple cases from a single case by shrinking the unii of analysis, this approach can still be classed as a special variety of historiometry.…”

Section: Four Research Traditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significant samples: The psychological study of eminent individuals.

Simonton

1999

Psychological Methods

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Psychologists occasionally study eminent individuals, such as Nobel laureates, U.S. presidents, Olympic athletes, chess grandmasters, movie stars, and even distinguished psychologists. Studies using such significant samples may be differentiated along 7 distinct dimensions: qualitative versus quantitative, single versus multiple case, nomothetic versus idiographic, confirmatory versus exploratory, crosssectional versus longitudinal, micro versus macro analytical units, and direct versus indirect assessments. However, the vast majority of psychological inquiries may be clustered into just 4 types: historiometric, psychometric, psychobiographical, and comparative. After presenting the intrinsic and extrinsic justifications for studying famous persons, the main methodological issues concerning sampling, measurement, and analysis are discussed. The future prospects of significant samples in psychological research are then briefly examined.Empirical journal articles in psychology almost invariably commence their methods section with a subsection in which the researchers define the "subjects" or "participants" of the study (American Psychological Association, 1994). This sample specification comes first because all subsequent procedures and analytical strategies are usually contingent on that choice. An experimental manipulation or psychometric instrument that is indubitably appropriate for one sample might be manifestly inappropriate for another (e.g., whether to use an intelligence test designed for children or adults). In psychology, this sample description is especially critical. Few sciences feature the same diversity of entities that might serve as subjects in psychological research: human beings of every age, gender, ethnicity, occupation, and capacity; animals ranging from mammals, birds, and fish to insects, mollusks, and worms. Yet as diverse as these various subject pools may be, they all seem to have one thing in common: The individuals that compose This article is based on a paper read at the Internationa!

show abstract

Shakespeare's Sonnets: A Case of and for Single–Case Historiometry

Cited by 86 publications

References 51 publications

On Elementary Affective Decisions: To Like Or Not to Like, That Is the Question

On Elementary Affective Decisions: To Like Or Not to Like, That Is the Question

Career Development in Two Seminal American Songwriters: A Test of the Equal Odds Rule

Significant samples: The psychological study of eminent individuals.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About