William K. Estes
William Kaye Estes (born June 17, 1919 in Minneapolis , † August 17, 2011 in Bloomington (Indiana) ) was an American psychologist.
Estes studied psychology at the University of Minnesota (bachelor's degree in 1940) with Richard M. Elliott and received his doctorate there in 1943 with BF Skinner (An experimental study of punishment). He has taught at Indiana University , Stanford University , Rockefeller University in New York, and Harvard University . After his retirement he went back to Indiana University and lived in Bloomington.
He is known for his Stimulus Sampling Theory (SST) from 1950, a mathematical (statistical) model for learning responses to stimuli. The stimuli consist of several different properties and in an experiment, according to the theory, one of these properties is randomly selected by the learner and linked to the reaction. This enabled him to describe the variation in the learning behavior of individuals from different animal species in learning tests.
In 1941 he carried out experiments on rats with BF Skinner, which established the term Conditional Emotional Response (CER). Rats are taught to associate a neutral stimulus such as a tone with a negative stimulus after the tone has been temporarily accompanied by electrical shocks. The rats had previously learned to get food by operating a lever. If they received a shock at the same time, actuation of the lever was suppressed, and if the electrical shock was paired with a sound, the state of anxiety that suppressed actuation of the lever set in later as soon as the sound was heard.
In 1963 Estes was elected to the National Academy of Sciences , 1982 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . In 1997 he received the National Medal of Science for his fundamental theories of learning, memory and decision-making (laudation).
1977 to 1982 he was editor of Psychological Review. He was the founding editor of the Journal of Mathematical Psychology in 1964.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Towards a statistical theory of learning, Psychological Review 1950
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Estes, William K. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Estes, William Kaye (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American psychologist and behaviorist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 17, 1919 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Minneapolis |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17th August 2011 |
| Place of death | Bloomington (Indiana) |