Richard Lester Solomon (October 2, 1918 – October 12, 1995) was a

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

well known for his work with in comparative psychology, as well as his

opponent-process theory Opponent-process theory is a psychological and neurological model that accounts for a wide range of behaviors, including color vision. This model was first proposed in 1878 by Ewald Hering, a German physiologist, and later expanded by Richard Sol ...

of emotion. Solomon attended

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, where he earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

(A.B.) in 1940, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

(A.M.) in 1942, and a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

(Ph.D.) in 1947. Solomon won several awards for his scientific achievements, including the Distinguished Scientific Contribution award of 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 Howard Crosby WARREN Medal of 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 ...

. Additionally, he was elected to both the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

and the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

. He also held several honorary posts, and edited the ''

Psychological Review ''Psychological Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers psychological theory. It was established by James Mark Baldwin (Princeton University) and James McKeen Cattell (Columbia University) in 1894 as a publication vehi ...

''. During his time at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, Solomon conducted research into avoidance learning. In his experiments, he placed dogs into shuttle boxes with two chambers. The lights would then come on in the side where the dog was. A few seconds later, one half of the chamber would become electrified. To avoid shock, the dog would run to the other chamber. Eventually, the dogs learned to avoid shock entirely by running to the other side in the interval between lighting and electrification.

References

Sources

"Biographical memoirs"
from the

20th-century American psychologists 1918 births 1995 deaths Brown University alumni Harvard University staff Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 20th-century American physicians Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Academic journal editors {{US-psychologist-stub

See also

References

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