Frank Ambrose Beach, Jr. (April 13, 1911 – June 15, 1988) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ethologist Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objective ...

, best known as co-author of the 1951 book ''

Patterns of Sexual Behavior ''Patterns of Sexual Behavior'' is a 1951 book by anthropologist Clellan S. Ford and ethologist Frank A. Beach, in which the authors integrate information about human sexual behavior from different cultures, and include detailed comparisons acros ...

.'' He is often regarded as the founder of behavioral endocrinology, as his publications marked the beginnings of the field.

Early education and career

Frank Ambrose Beach, Jr. was born in

Emporia, Kansas Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 24,139. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 ...

, the first of three children to Frank Ambrose Beach and Bertha Robinson Beach.Dewsbery, Donald A. (2000) "Frank A. Beach, Master Teacher," ''Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology, Volume 4,'' p269-281 Although he respected his father, a distinguished Professor of Music at Kansas State Teachers College (now

Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. Em ...

), Frank Beach Jr. often rebelled against him. Frank A. Beach Jr. rarely used the Jr. associated with his name. Beach began an

English major English studies (usually called simply English) is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries; it is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is ...

at Emporia, with the intent to become a high school English teacher. Beach was a poor student, receiving D's and F's at Emporia, so he was sent to

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...

for his sophomore year to regain his focus. Beach returned to Emporia, where he took his first psychology course with James B. Stroud, who would prove to be an important influence in his life. Beach graduated in 1932, right in the middle of the Great Depression. Beach was unable to find a job in teaching, so he accepted a

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

at Emporia to earn his master's degree. Beach completed a

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

color vision Color vision, a feature of visual perception, is an ability to perceive differences between light composed of different wavelengths (i.e., different spectral power distributions) independently of light intensity. Color perception is a part of ...

in rats. After completing his master's degree, he moved to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, to accept a fellowship from psychologist

Harvey Carr Harvey A. Carr (April 30, 1873 – June 21, 1954), a founding father of functionalist psychology, was renowned for a methodical and thorough approach to his science. His work was largely devoted to studies of animal cognition and perception. Carr ...

, who had trained his former mentor, James B. Stroud. In Chicago, Beach met and worked with

behaviorist Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual' ...

Karl Lashley Karl Spencer Lashley (June 7, 1890 – August 7, 1958) was a psychologist and behaviorist remembered for his contributions to the study of learning and memory. A ''Review of General Psychology'' survey, published in 2002, ranked Lashley as the 61 ...

,Glickman, Stephen E. & Zucker, Irving (1994), ''Proceedings, American Philosophical Society,'' vol. 138, No. 1, p158-164 who had perhaps the strongest influence on Beach's professional life. Financial difficulties forced Beach to leave Chicago, and took a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

teaching position in

Yates Center, Kansas Yates Center is a city in and the county seat of Woodson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,352. History Yates Center was founded in August 1875. It was named for Abner Yates, the original ...

, where he married his first wife. The union was short-lived. Beach returned to the University of Chicago in 1935, and completed, under the supervision of

, a

PhD thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

on the role the

neocortex The neocortex, also called the neopallium, isocortex, or the six-layered cortex, is a set of layers of the mammalian cerebral cortex involved in higher-order brain functions such as sensory perception, cognition, generation of motor commands, sp ...

on innate maternal behavior in rats. Although Beach completed his dissertation in 1936, he did not receive the degree until 1940 due to his inability to pass the foreign language portion of the degree requirements. During this period, Beach married his second wife, Anna Beth Odenweller, with whom he had two children, Frank and Susan. In 1936, Beach accepted a one-year position at Karl Lashley's

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

laboratory, where he continued his studies of

animal sexual behavior Animal sexual behaviour takes many different forms, including within the same species. Common mating or reproductively motivated systems include monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, polygamy and promiscuity. Other sexual behaviour may be reproduc ...

Professional career

In 1937, Beach was employed by the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Beach was influential in advancing the study of

neural In Biology, biology, the nervous system is the Complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its Behavior, actions and Sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its ...

and

endocrinal The endocrine system is a messenger system comprising feedback loops of the hormones released by internal glands of an organism directly into the circulatory system, regulating distant target organs. In vertebrates, the hypothalamus is the neu ...

influences on

animal behavior Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objective ...

. Beach remained at the Museum for 10 years. Beach organized an effort to save the department after the death of the former chairman. The department was renamed "The Department of Animal Behavior". In 1946, Beach accepted an academic appointment at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

where he would spend the next decade. There his research interest became focused on the reproductive behavior of dogs which he continued for the rest of his life. Beach was elected to the United States

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 ...

in 1949. In 1950, he accepted a position as a Sterling Professor of Psychology. A sabbatical at the

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) is an interdisciplinary research lab at Stanford University that offers a residential postdoctoral fellowship program for scientists and scholars studying "the five core social a ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

began in 1957-58. In 1958, Beach accepted a position as Professor of Psychology 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 ...

. The research program on dogs that was initiated at Yale was expanded at Berkeley. Beach helped found the Field Station for Behavioral Research near the Berkeley campus. Beach was known for being an excellent mentor to graduate students while at Berkeley. Beach became

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in 1978, but still remained active in his work. Beach was awarded the APA award for Distinguished Teaching in Biopsychology in 1986. Beach, along with

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

Clellan S. Ford Clellan Stearns Ford (27 July 1909 – 4 November 1972) was an American anthropologist, best known as Professor of Anthropology at Yale University, and as co-author of the 1951 book '' Patterns of Sexual Behavior.'' Biography Clellan Ford ...

, co-authored the book ''

'' (1951), considered a "classic" of its field.George P. Murdock (1974) "Clellan Stearns Ford, 1909-1972," ''American Anthropologist'', New Series, Vol. 76, No. 1 (Mar., 1974), pp. 83-85 He was elected a Fellow of 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 ...

in 1953 and a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1961. He also authored an edited version, ''Human Sexuality in Four Perspectives,'' in 1977. Beach's second wife, Anna, died in 1971, and he thereafter married Noel Gaustad. In the days prior to his death, Beach continued his work from a hospital bed, reading scientific literature and giving advice about a paper on

reproductive behavior Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual org ...

to be presented at an

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

conference on June 12, 1988. He died on June 15, 1988. Beach's work in

comparative psychology Comparative psychology refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals, especially as these relate to the phylogenetic history, adaptive significance, and development of behavior. Research in this area addr ...

was expansive and influential. Beach studied behavior in rats, dogs, cats, quail, pigeons, dolphins, and hamsters. Beach was particularly interested in the role of

endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...

in behavior. He studied the effects of endocrines on behaviors through methods such as castration, isolation, brain legions, and hormone manipulation. Other behaviors that Beach was interested in include instinct behavior, maternal behavior, and menstruation.

Legacy

Beach is remembered as a serious scholar and researcher, who believed that "increasing knowledge, in and of itself, is a justifiable way to spend your life." However, he was also known for his sense of fun, and humorously coined the term "

Coolidge effect The Coolidge effect is a biological phenomenon seen in animals, whereby males exhibit renewed sexual interest whenever a new female is introduced, even after sex with prior but still available sexual partners. To a lesser extent, the effect is also ...

" based on an old joke about

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

. Beach is also remembered for his colorful paper titles such as "The Snark was a Boojum" and "Locks and Beagles". Throughout his professional career, his greatest interests remained in the field of behaviour, remarking that "Man's greatest problem today is not to understand and exploit his physical environment, but to understand and govern his own conduct." Beach was regarded as an excellent graduate student mentor; however, he vehemently opposed accepting any female graduate students into his lab early in his career. Beach did eventually change his mind about women and went on to mentor several successful female students. At age sixty-five, Beach wrote the following

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

statement, which was preceded by a list of goals he wished to achieve:

Of course, I shall never accomplish all the goals just listed, but that is unimportant. What counts is to have aims, to be able to work hard toward them and to experience the satisfaction of at least believing that progress is being made. I do not want to cross the finish line of this race – not ever – but I do hope I will be able to keep running at my own pace until I drop out still moving in full stride. It's been one hell of a good race.

Beach is considered the principal founder of the field of behavioral endocrinology. Donald Dewsbery, writing for the

, called Beach "arguably the premier psychobiologist of his generation, influencing the development of psychobiology in numerous, diverse ways." The

Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology The Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology is an interdisciplinary scientific organization dedicated to the study of hormonal processes and neuroendocrine Neuroendocrine cells are cells that receive neuronal input (through neurotransmitters ...

has awarded the Frank A. Beach Young Investigator Award in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology annually since 1990."Frank A. Beach Award in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology"
Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. Retrieved on 29 February 2016

Recognition

* Chairman of the Department of Animal Behavior at the

, 1942 * Elected President 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 ...

Division of Experimental Psychology, 1949 * Sterling Professor of Psychology at

, 1950 * President of the

Eastern Psychological Association The Eastern Psychological Association (abbreviated EPA) is a professional organization for psychologists in the Eastern United States. It holds annual meetings where members present their research findings to colleagues. Established in 1896, it i ...

, 1951 * William James Lecturer in Psychology 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 ...

, 1952 * Chair of the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

Committee for the Study of Problems of Sex, 1957 * American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions, 1958 * 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 ...

, 1968 * President of the

International Academy of Sex Research The International Academy of Sex Research (IASR) is a scientific society for researchers in sexology. According to John Bancroft, retired director of the Kinsey Institute, IASR "can claim...most of the field's leading researchers." IASR is uniq ...

, 1977 * Co-founded the journal ''

Hormones and Behavior ''Hormones and Behavior'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering behavioral endocrinology. It is published by Elsevier and is an official journal of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. The journal covers hormone-brain relatio ...

'', 1979 * American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Teaching in Biopsychology, 1986

''Patterns of Sexual Behavior''

Whereas for much of history, well into the 20th century, homosexuality had been considered a mental disorder, Beach conceptualized homosexuality as a natural human phenomenon. In ''

'', Beach and his co-author,

, outlined their study of sexual practices—including dating rituals, frequency of intercourse, and types of foreplay—across 76 distinct cultures, in 49 of which they reported finding acceptance of homosexual behavior. Since publication, ''Patterns of Sexual Behavior'' has been cited by numerous scholars advocating against classifying homosexuality as mental disorder: 95 times in the first decade alone and an additional 226 times in the subsequent decade. In 1973, homosexuality was removed from the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM).

Major publications

1937 - The Neural Basis of Innate Behavior, ''The Pedagogical Seminary and Journal of Genetic Psychology'', 53:1 (Dissertation) 1948 - ''Hormones and Behavior: A Survey of Interrelationship between Endocrine Secretions and Patterns of Overt Response'', Oxford: England (First Book) 1950 - The Snark was a Boojum, ''American Psychologist'', 5:4 1952 - ''Patterns of Sexual Behavior'', Oxford: England 1954 - Effects of Early Experience Upon the Behavior of Animals, ''Psychological Bulletin'', 51:3 1955 - The De-scent of Instinct, ''Psychological Review'', 62:6 1969 - Locks and Beagles, ''American Psychologist'', 24:11 1971 - Hormonal Factors in the Ramstergig and Related Species, ''The Biopsychology of Development'' 1976
Sexual Attractivity, Proceptivity, and Receptivity in Female Mammals
''Hormones and Behavior'', 7:1 1977 - ''Human Sexuality in Four Perspectives'', Johns Hopkins University Press

References

External links

Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beach, Frank A. 1911 births 1988 deaths Antioch College alumni Ethologists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Emporia, Kansas University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American zoologists Yale Sterling Professors Members of the American Philosophical Society