A Structural Model of Scientific Eminence

Abstract

In order to determine the psychological influences contributing to scientific eminence, data from interviews, self-reports, peer ratings, observer ratings, and objective productivity measures were obtained on 99 full professors of physics, chemistry, and biology at major research universities in California. A structural model in which psychological factors were predicted to have a direct influence on both productivity and eminence and an indirect influence on eminence yielded a very good fit to the data. These findings support previous research on scientific creativity and eminence, and extend it by providing the first integrated structural model of scientific eminence.