Stephen Ceci

Professional Life
Stephen J. Ceci is a scientist, author, lecturer, and clinical psychologist. He earned his degree from the University of Delaware in 1973 and went on to study at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1975 with his masters. He traveled to England and studied at the University of Exeter with Michael Howe, earning his Ph.D. in 1978. Ceci is currently on staff at Cornell University as a psychologist. He has received numerous awards for his work in memory and intelligence, including the Lifetime Contribution Award from both the Association for Psychological Science and the American Psychological Association. He also received the American Academy of Forensic Psychology’s Lifetime Distinguished Contribution Award and the James McKeen Cattell Award from the Association for Psychological Science. Ceci focuses his work on determining the validity of testimony cited by children in court proceedings, specifically in the area of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect.

Contribution to Psychology
Ceci is currently exploring the gender disparities in mathematical and scientific fields and continues to work on his theory of intelligence, ecological models of cognitive learning and ethnic/racial gaps. He also maintains his involvement in the competence and validity of children’s memory and testimony and researches the legal ramifications of a child’s development both cognitively and socially. Ceci has authored more than three hundred articles, reports, and books and has lectured around the world. He has been an active board member of the national Science Foundation for several years and was previously affiliated with the national Academy of Sciences Board of Behavioral and Sensory Sciences. He served as president of the Society for General Psychology and is currently on several editorial boards for other publications. He has appeared on numerous television programs and in newspapers throughout the country.

Ceci was an integral part of a task force developed by the American Psychological Association which delved into the unknown areas of intelligence. He has written many reports, articles and books on memory and intelligence and believes that society plays a role in shaping intelligence. Ceci has further expanded his work to include the lack of women’s representation in mathematical and scientific fields. His most recent book, The Mathematics of Sex, has been widely praised and received in the scientific and psychological community, but has caused controversy as well. Ceci continues to practice, teach, lecture and write and is actively researching several areas of scientific and psychological interest.