Leo Joseph Postman (June 7, 1918 – April 22, 2004) was a
Russian-born American psychologist known for his research on
human memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
.
Career
He taught at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
from 1950 to his retirement in 1987. In 1961, he founded Berkeley's Institute of Human Learning, which later became the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences. He was a member of the
National Academy of Sciences and 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 ...
, as well as the president of the
Western Psychological Association
The Western Psychological Association (abbreviated WPA) is an American learned society dedicated to the study of psychology and other behavioral sciences. It is a regional association focused on the Western United States, and is affiliated with th ...
in 1968.
In 1974, he was awarded the Warren Medal from the
Society of Experimental Psychologists
The Society of Experimental Psychologists (SEP), originally called the Society of Experimentalists, is an academic society for experimental psychologists
An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determin ...
.
Death and legacy
He died of
heart failure at his home in
Marblehead,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
on April 22, 2004. His 2005 obituary in ''
American Psychologist
''American Psychologist'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association. The journal publishes articles of broad interest to psychologists, including empirical reports and scholarly reviews covering scien ...
'' described him as "one of the most prolific psychologists of the last century".
See also
*
Gordon Allport
Gordon Willard Allport (November 11, 1897 – October 9, 1967) was an American psychologist. Allport was one of the first psychologists to focus on the study of the personality, and is often referred to as one of the founding figures of personali ...
– Postman's teacher
References
Further reading
*
Soviet emigrants to the United States
1918 births
2004 deaths
City College of New York alumni
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Fellows of the American Psychological Association
20th-century American psychologists
Experimental psychologists
Memory researchers
University of California, Berkeley faculty
Harvard University alumni
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