Irving Daniel Lorge (April 19, 1905 – January 23, 1961) was an American psychologist known for his work in

psychometrics Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally refers to specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and ...

. His research focused on a wide variety of topics, including the measurement of

giftedness Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to persist as a trait into adult life, wi ...

human intelligence Human intelligence is the intellectual capability of humans, which is marked by complex cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness. High intelligence is associated with better outcomes in life. Through intelligence, humans ...

, and

readability Readability is the ease with which a reader can understand a written text. In natural language, the readability of text depends on its content (the complexity of its vocabulary and syntax) and its presentation (such as typographic aspects that a ...

. While working at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Teachers College A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

with his mentor

Edward L. Thorndike Edward Lee Thorndike (August 31, 1874 – August 9, 1949) was an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University. His work on comparative psychology and the learning process led to the theory of c ...

, he helped develop what became known as the Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Tests.

Biography

Lorge was born on April 19, 1905, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He joined the faculty at

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

in 1927 to work with

. In 1938, he became Associate Professor of Education at Teachers College, and he continued to work there for the rest of his life, save for two years working as a consultant to the

United States federal government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Specifically, from 1942 to 1944, he was a consultant to the special training division of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, where he significantly changed the way in which the Army trained illiterate soldiers. He was promoted to Professor of Education at Teachers College in 1946, and became Executive Officer in the Institute of Psychological Research there in 1947; he held both of these positions until his death. He was a founder of the

Psychometric Society The Psychometric Society is an international nonprofit professional organization devoted to the advancement of quantitative measurement practices in psychology, education, and the social sciences. The society publishes a scientific journal calle ...

, and later served as its president. He died unexpectedly on January 23, 1961, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

References

1905 births 1961 deaths Scientists from New York City 20th-century American psychologists Psychometricians Teachers College, Columbia University faculty City College of New York alumni Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Fellows of the American Statistical Association {{US-psychologist-stub