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David Geary
David C. Geary is an American cognitive developmental and evolutionary psychologist renowned for his work on mathematical learning and sex differences. He is a Curators’ Distinguished Professor and Thomas Jefferson Fellow at the University of Missouri, with a prolific career spanning research, teaching, and public engagement.
Early Life and Education
- 1979 : B.S. in Psychology from Santa Clara University in California.
- 1981 : M.S. in Clinical Child/School Psychology from California State University, Hayward (now East Bay) in California.
- 1986 : Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Riverside.
Career and Achievements
Geary held an initial faculty position at the University of Texas at El Paso (1986–1987) before joining the University of Missouri—first at Rolla (1987–1989) and then Columbia. He served as Chair of Psychological Sciences (2002–2005) and helped establish the doctoral program in developmental psychology. His work has earned multiple accolades: a MERIT award from the NIH, a Curators’ Professorship (2005), Thomas Jefferson Fellowship (2009), APA’s George A. Miller Award (2009), and fellowships in APS (2005) and AAAS (2011). He has authored four sole-authored books and over 300 scholarly articles, and co-edited the five-volume *Mathematical Cognition and Learning* series.
Publications
| 2024 | 2021 | 2015 | 2008 | 2005 | 1994 |
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Organizations
University of Missouri (1987–present)
- Curators’ Distinguished Professor and Thomas Jefferson Fellow.
- Chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences (2002–2005).
- Lead investigator of NIH- and NSF-funded longitudinal study on mathematical learning and disability.
President’s National Mathematics Advisory Panel (circa 2006–2007)
- Chaired the Learning Processes task group.
- Contributed to national and California mathematics education frameworks.
Board of Advisors, The Boys Initiative
- Provided expert guidance on developmental psychology and gender-based learning differences.





