Richard Ronald Bootzin (February 25, 1940 – December 4, 2014) was an American clinical and research psychologist. Bootzin served as a professor of

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 betwe ...

and

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in Tucson. He was also the Director of the

Insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

Clinic of at the University Medical Center and the director of the Sleep Research Laboratory in the Psychology Department. He received his undergraduate degree in psychology from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

in 1963. He received both his master's and doctorate degrees from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

in 1966 and 1968 respectively. His research focused on understanding and treating

sleep disorders A sleep disorder, or somnipathy, is a medical disorder of an individual's sleep patterns. Some sleep disorders are severe enough to interfere with normal physical, mental, social and emotional functioning. Polysomnography and actigraphy are test ...

, cognitive processing during sleep, the role of

expectancy Expectancy theory (or expectancy theory of motivation) proposes that an individual will behave or act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over others due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior ...

and

placebo A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

s in behavior change, and methodology in evaluating intervention outcomes. He was a professor of psychology at Northwestern University for 19 years and joined the psychology faculty at the University of Arizona in 1987. His area of interest was sleep and sleep disorders with particular attention to insomnia. Stimulus control, his non-drug treatment for insomnia, is studied and used worldwide, including at the Veterans’ Administration, as the gold standard for the disorder. As president of the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System, he also was a leader in the effort to assure that science-based treatments are the norm in clinical psychology by accrediting clinical psychology departments throughout the United States that are science-based. Bootzin died on December 4, 2014, after being afflicted with heart disease for 35 years. Bootzin was married to Maris (Mitzi) and had two daughters.

Honors

Awarded 2011 Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society for the Science of Clinical Psychology. Received the 2008 Mary A. Carskadon Outstanding Educator Award from the

Sleep Research Society The Sleep Research Society (SRS) is an organization that promotes the science of sleep and related disorders. Additionally, the SRS is dedicated to the training and education of future sleep researchers. Organization The organization traces its ...

. Elected president of the board of directors of the

Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System 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 ...

(PCSAS) 2008–2012. Elected member of board of directors of the

Association for Psychological Science The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in ...

(APS) 2004–2007. Elected president (1998–2001) and founding board member (1995) of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science (APCS).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bootzin, Richard 1940 births University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Purdue University alumni University of Arizona faculty 20th-century American psychologists 2014 deaths