K. Warner Schaie (born February 1, 1928) is an American social

gerontologist Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek , ''geron'', "old man" and , ''-logia'', "study of". Th ...

and psychologist best known for founding the Seattle Longitudinal Study in 1956. The Seattle Longitudinal Study took a 'life span' approach to aging and cognition, studying subjects from birth through the life course. The aim was to filter out 'cohort effects' and other issues that come from studying mixed groups of people. Schaie has received numerous awards and honors, including the Kleemeier Award from the

Gerontological Society of America The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is a multidisciplinary organization devoted to research and education in all aspects of gerontology: medical, biological, psychological and social. History and organization The Gerontological Society ...

, the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions from the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

, and the Lifetime Career Award from the Mensa Research Foundation

Early life and education

K. Warner Schaie was born in 1928, in Stettin, which was then part of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

and now is part of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1947 and worked his way through undergraduate school using his skills as a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

. Schaie received his B.A in psychology from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

, Berkeley in 1952. He then obtained his M.S. in 1953 in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

, Seattle. Schaie finished his education at the

in 1956 with his Ph.D. in psychology. In his early career he studied the relationship of color and personality.

Career

Schaie has spent much of his career studying the psychological development from young adulthood to old age. He is currently working at the Pennsylvania State University as Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Human Development and Psychology. He is an Affiliate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the

. His current research encompasses an interest in the life course of adult intelligence, the impact of cognitive behavior in midlife and the integrity of brain structures in old age, and early detection of risk for

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

. Schaie also studies developmental research methodology in addition to the applications of the age-cohort-period model to psychology. Schaie is the author and or editor of 60 books and 300 journal articles and chapters on the psychology of aging. Schaie is also known for his contributions to testing literature such as the Test of Behavioral Rigidity and the Schaie-Thurstone Test of Adult Mental Abilities.

Contributions

Schaie is most well known for his involvement in the Seattle Longitudinal study. The research that Schaie conducted in the field of geropsychology has resulted in changes in public policy such as raising the mandatory retirement ages from 65 to 70 in many fields. Now millions of individuals have the option of remaining employed as they age into their sixties and seventies. With the results from the Seattle Longitudinal Study, Schaie has challenged earlier models of cognitive aging.

Death

Klaus Warner Schaie, age 95, of Seattle, Washington passed away on Tuesday, February 7, 2023

References

External links

K. Warner Schaie faculty website

The Seattle Longitudinal Study

Klaus Schaie Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaie, K. Warner 1928 births 21st-century American psychologists American gerontologists Living people German emigrants to the United States University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Washington alumni Pennsylvania State University faculty 20th-century American psychologists