Gayle T. Dow

Gayle T. Dow is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology within the College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences at Christopher Newport University. She directs the Creativity Research Lab (CRL) and maintains affiliations with the Honors Program and the Center for Education Research and Policy. Dr. Dow teaches courses in Creative and Critical Thinking, Science of Evil, Statistics, and Research Methods.

Dr. Dow's educational background includes a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Indiana University, an MA in Cognitive Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, dual degrees in Experimental Psychology (MA and BA) from California State University, Fullerton, and an AA in General Education from Saddleback College.

Dr. Dow's research program spans two primary interconnected domains:

• Enhancement of creativity - investigating insight problem solving, impact of art/music training on children's creativity (particularly in Benin, West Africa), STEM and creative innovation in collaboration with NASA, and methods to improve creative thinking
• The 'dark side' of creativity - examining malevolent creativity in relation to personality traits (Dark Triad/Tetrad), biological indicators of evil (oxytocin and cortisol responses), cryptomnesia (inadvertent plagiarism), and the relationship between the Dark Tetrad and empathy

Analysis of Dr. Dow's recent publications (2020-2025) reveals a strong concentration on the intersection of creativity and personality pathology. Her work systematically explores how narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and sadism relate to creative processes, empathy deficits, and harmful innovations. Several cutting-edge publications investigate biological markers like oxytocin in relation to creative problem-solving success and the Dark Triad. She has also made significant contributions to measuring insight, defining creativity conceptually, and applying creativity research to educational contexts through her 2024 textbook 'Statistics for Psychology.'

Dr. Dow actively mentors undergraduate and graduate students in research, providing comprehensive training in literature reviews, data collection, analysis, and scholarly presentation. Her students regularly present at professional conferences including MARCUS, Paideia, Sigma Xi, EPA, VAPS, APS, and APA. The Creative Research Lab under her direction maintains an active research agenda with projects spanning malevolent creativity, biological indicators of evil, cryptomnesia, gifted education identification models, and the impact of art/music on children's creativity.