He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in Cognitive Psychology, where his mentor was Robert J. Sternberg. Kaufman has authored more than 100 papers and written or edited 12 books, including the recent International Handbook of Creativity (with Sternberg; Cambridge, 2006), and Creativity and Reason in Cognitive Development (with Baer; Cambridge, 2006). Kaufman was recently named a co-editor of the official journal for APA's Division 10, Psychology, Aesthetics, and the Arts. He received the 2003 Daniel E. Berlyne Award from Division 10 of the American Psychological Association for outstanding research by a junior scholar, and has served as a Member at Large for Division 10. He has received awards for his professional contributions from CSUSB's psychology department and their college of social and behavioral sciences.