Gerald C. Davison (born 1939) is an American psychologist and professor. He is currently Professor of Psychology and Gerontology and former dean of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Education

Gerald C. Davison completed a bachelor of arts in social relations at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1961. He spent a Fulbright year in Germany at

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

in 1961-1962. He obtained his Ph.D. in psychology at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1965.

Career

In 1973-1974 Davison served as president of the

Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) was founded in 1966. Its headquarters are in New York City and its membership includes researchers, psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, social workers, marriage and family therap ...

. He is Professor of Psychology and Gerontology and former dean of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the

. He has authored more than 150 publications dealing with topics such as experimental analysis of

psychopathology Psychopathology is the study of abnormal cognition, behaviour, and experiences which differs according to social norms and rests upon a number of constructs that are deemed to be the social norm at any particular era. Biological psychopatholo ...

, therapeutic change and the links between cognition and a variety of behavioral and emotional problems. Davison has co-authored the textbooks ''Abnormal Psychology'', ''Case Studies in Abnormal Psychology'' and ''Clinical Behavior Therapy''. In 2018, he was featured in an episode of a ''

Radiolab ''Radiolab'' is a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and broadcast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast. Live shows were first offe ...

'' podcast, UnErased where he spoke about his seminal role in 1974 in arguing against sexual reorientation (aka conversion) therapies for gay individuals. “Conversion” (2022) is a one-hour biographical documentary film based on the podcast and is on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, iTunes, and YouTube.

Awards and honors

Davison received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and in 2020 the Clinical Science Visionary Award from the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association. He is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the American Psychological Association, and the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Gerald 1939 births University of Southern California faculty 20th-century American psychologists American gerontologists Living people Harvard College alumni University of Freiburg alumni Stanford University alumni 21st-century American scientists 21st-century American psychologists Fellows of the Association for Psychological Science

Education

Career

Awards and honors

See also

References