The pioneers of American psychology share many of the characteristics usually associated with creative achievers in other fields, according to Dean Keith Simonton, a professor of psychology at UC Davis who studies the traits of leaders and geniuses. Simonton performed the recent analysis of psychologists at the invitation of the American Psychological Association to help commemorate its centennial anniversary. He will present his results Tuesday, Aug. 18, at the APA's annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Simonton examined various aspects of top American psychologists' creative output and career development. He found that the most acclaimed psychologists started their careers at an early age, addressed hot topics in their discipline, produced influential works until late in life, and generated more cited works, more total citations and more best-work citations than their less illustrious colleagues. They also examined a more consistent domain of topics rather than a divergent array of subjects.