Michael John Anthony Howe (19402 January 2002) was a British
cognitive psychologist
Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning.
Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, which he ...
. He was well known as a defender of environmental influences on
intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
, and as an opponent of
IQ, and he was regularly involved in the controversies surrounding that area of research (see, e.g., Howe, 1997b). As a widely cited example of this work, with colleagues Davidson and Sloboda, he argued against the existence of innate talent, a position welcomed by some, but characterised as "absurd environmentalism" by researchers such as
Douglas Detterman.
Early life and education
Howe took BSc and PhD degrees at the
University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
and worked at North American universities (
Dalhousie,
Tufts
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
and
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
) before taking a post as lecturer at the
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...
in England, where he worked for the rest of his career, eventually becoming the university's first Professor of Cognitive Psychology.
Career
Howe pioneered the use of
biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
as a means of investigation within modern cognitive psychology (e.g. Howe, 1997a). He particularly applied it to the study of musical genius and other exceptional abilities, a subject that he investigated extensively (e.g. Howe, 1990, 1999), including the abilities of "
idiot savant
Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...
s" (e.g. Howe, 1989). He wrote over 20 books, including university text books (e.g. Howe, 1977, 1998) and more popular works (e.g. Howe & Griffey, 1995). His books were widely translated and, in 2008, many were still in print.
Later life and death
Howe formally retired in 2001 but continued his academic work without interruption. He died suddenly on 2 January 2002 following a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
.
References
;Sources
*Sloboda, J., Hartley, J., & Ceci, S. (2002). Obituary: Michael Howe (1940-2002). ''Psychology of Music'', 30, 6–7.
*Kaufman, S.B. (2013). Epilogue: Michael Howe Remembered. ''The Complexity of Greatness: Beyond Talent or Practice''
Selected bibliography
*Howe, M. J. A. (1977), ''Adult learning''. Chichester: Wiley.
*Howe, M. J. A. (1989), ''Fragments of genius: the strange feats of idiot savants''. London: Routledge
*Howe, M. J. A. (1990), ''The origins of exceptional abilities''. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
*Howe, M. J. A. (1997a), "Beyond psychobiography: towards more effective syntheses of psychology and biography". ''British Journal of Psychology'', 88, 235–248.
*Howe, M. J. A. (1997b), ''IQ in question: The truth about intelligence''. London: Sage.
*Howe, M. J. A. (1998), ''Principles of abilities and human learning''. Hove: Psychology Press.
*Howe, M. J. A. (1999), ''Genius explained''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
*Howe, M. J. A., & Griffey, H. (1995), ''Give your child a better start: how to encourage early learning''. London: Penguin.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, Michael J. A.
1940 births
2002 deaths
Academics of the University of Exeter
Alumni of the University of Sheffield
British cognitive scientists
20th-century British psychologists