Boris Semeonoff (1910-1998) was a British psychologist with particular expertise in

personality assessment A personality test is a method of assessing human personality construct (psychology), constructs. Most personality assessment instruments (despite being loosely referred to as "personality tests") are in fact introspective (i.e., subjective) self ...

Career

Semeonoff was born in St. Petersburg, Russia but moved to Scotland when he was only four. The visit was intended as a holiday but with the outbreak of war he did not return to Russia. He was a student at George Watson's College, Edinburgh followed by the University of Edinburgh where he obtained an MA (Hons) in English Language and Literature (1931) followed by a B.Ed (1933). After the departure of George Seth, he was appointed to the staff of the Department of Psychology at the university and was subsequently awarded a Ph.D. (1936) for a thesis on Weber's Law in relation to the intensity of sound. From 1933 until his retirement in 1980, Semeonoff worked at the university rising to the position of Reader of Psychology. During the Second World War, he was involved in the selection of officers for the Special Operations Executive. He was actively involved in the

British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the organ ...

becoming its president in 1966. He edited the British Journal of Psychology between 1958 and 1964.

Research

His research was largely in the area of personality assessment and selection and he published several books on the subject (Semeonoff, 1958, 1970, 1976). His papers are held in the University of Edinburgh Archives.

Honours

* 1968 - 1969 - President,

* President, Psychology Section,

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

* Honorary Life Member, British Psychological Society

Publications

* Semeonoff, B. (1958). Diagnostic Performance Tests. * Semeonoff, B. (ed)(1970). Personality Assessment: Selected readings. * Semeonoff, B. (1976). Projective Techniques

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semeonoff, Boris Presidents of the British Psychological Society 1910 births 1998 deaths 20th-century British psychologists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Differential psychologists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh