Name Robyn Dawes Role Psychologist | ||
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Died December 14, 2010, Alliance, Ohio, United States People also search for Reid Hastie, Clyde Coombs, Amos Tversky, Steven C. Hayes, Warren Thorngate Books Rational choice in an uncert, House of cards, Everyday irrationality, Judging Merit, Fundamentals of attitude measurement | ||
Dawes Unplugged: from "Rationality and Social Responsibility"
Robyn Mason Dawes (July 23, 1936 – December 14, 2010) was an American psychologist who specialized in the field of human judgment. His research interests included human irrationality, human cooperation, intuitive expertise, and the United States AIDS policy. He applied linear models to human decision making, including models with equal weights, a method known as unit-weighted regression. He co-wrote an early textbook on mathematical psychology (see below).
Contents
- Dawes Unplugged from Rationality and Social Responsibility
- The Human Drive to Explain
- Early life an education
- Career
- Books
- Selected publications
- References
The Human Drive to Explain
Early life an education
Dawes earned his B.A. in Philosophy at Harvard (1958) and his Master’s in Clinical Psychology (1960) at the University of Michigan before earning his Doctorate in Mathematical Psychology (1963) at the same institution.
Career
Dawes held jobs at the University of Oregon, where he served as Department Head for five years, as well as the Oregon Research Institute.
In 1985, Dawes joined the Department of Social and Decision Sciences (SDS) at Carnegie Mellon University where he served as Department Head for six years eventually becoming the Charles J. Queenan, Jr. University Professor of Psychology. He was a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Research Council's Committee on AIDS Research.
In 1990, he was awarded the William James Award by the American Psychological Association for the book Rational Choice in an Uncertain World, now in its 2nd Edition, which he co-wrote with Reid Hastie.
In 2006, Dawes was elected a Fellow of the American Statistical Association "for creative research on statistics and rational decision-making, contributions to the application of cognitive psychology to survey research, and promotion of careful statistical thinking in psychology and behavioral research." He was a member of the American Psychological Association Ethics Committee.