Ian Deary is Professor of Differential Psychology at the University of Edinburgh. He is Director of The University of Edinburgh Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology (funded under the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing initiative set up by several UK research Councils) and co-Director of the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre. He graduated in Psychology and Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and studied there for his PhD. He practised psychiatry in London and Edinburgh before moving to academic psychology. His principal research interests are: human mental abilities, especially the origins of cognitive differences, the effects of ageing and medical conditions on mental skills, the impact of cognitive differences on people's lives; and human personality differences.
He has published over 500 refereed journal articles, four authored books and three edited books. His 'h index' in ISI's Web of Science is 59. He leads a research team studying cognitive ageing by following up the people who took part in the Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947: the Lothian Birth Cohorts of 1921 and 1936. Other members of his research team are currently investigating: the influence of childhood and early adult IQ on health in adulthood and survival to old age (cognitive epidemiology); and effects of diseases on cognitive abilities. His research includes the application of molecular genetic and brain imaging techniques to the understanding of cognitive ability differences and cognitive ageing.
His research on the origins of mental ability differences was integrated in his book Looking Down on Human Intelligence: From Psychometrics to the Brain (Oxford University Press, 2000). This won the British Psychological Society’s Book Award in 2002. He followed this up with Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2001) which introduced the main issues in psychometric intelligence for junior students and lay people. His and his collaborators' first ten years of follow-up studies of the Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947 is summarised in the book: A Lifetime of Intelligence (American Psychological Association, 2009; with co-authors Lawrence Whalley and John Starr).
Ian Deary also conducts research and writes about personality traits, including aspects of their structure and origins and their importance for health. He is co-author of the book Personality Traits (Cambridge University Press, 2009; with co-authors Gerry Matthews and Martha Whiteman).
In 1996 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. During 1999-2001 he was the elected President of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences. In 2003 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the British Academy. In 2003 he received the first of the annual Chancellor’s Awards of the University of Edinburgh which “recognise excellence in vital academic areas such as teaching and research and were awarded on the basis of innovation, relevance, creativity and personal dedication”. From Jan 2003 to Dec 2007 he held a Royal Society-Wolfson Research Merit Award for his work on human cognitive ageing. In 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2008 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. In 2009 he won the Alumni Achievement Award from Glasgow Caledonian University. In 2010 he was elected a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. In 2010 he received the award as the Distinguished European Personality Psychologist from the European Association of Personality Psychology.
Ian Deary has entries in Who's Who and Debrett's People of Today.
Scientific publications by Ian Deary A full list of publications.
Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology Ian Deary is Director of the University of Edinburgh Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, which receives funding from MRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, and ESRC as part of the MRC's Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Initiative.
The Disconnected Mind The Disconnected Mind is an integrated research project, led by Ian Deary, aimed at discovering mechanisms of cognitive ageing, and supported by Age UK.
The Lothian Birth Cohort Studies The Lothian Birth Cohort Studies (Scottish Mental Survey follow-up studies). The Edinburgh-based follow-up studies of the Scottish Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947.
Reconstructing a Scottish School of Educational Research 1925-1950 An overview of Ian Deary's ESRC-funded project (Reconstructing a Scottish School of Educational Research) that investigated why Scotland was such an international force in research in intelligence and education in that period.
Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre Ian Deary is co-Director of the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre which is based at the University of Edinburgh and funded by Alzheimer Scotland.
Dancing Mice Ian Deary is singer, saxophonist, and lyricist with the band Dancing Mice.