William Kaye Estes

William Kaye Estes
William Kaye Estes
Born	June 17, 1919 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Died	August 17, 2011
Nationality	United States
Fields	psychology Mathematical Psychology Cognitive Psychology
Alma mater	University of Minnesota
Doctoral advisor	B. F. Skinner
Known for	Stimulus sampling theory, Mathematical Psychology
Influenced	Association for Psychological Science

William Kaye Estes (June 17, 1919 – August 17, 2011) was an American psychologist. As an undergraduate, he was a student of Richard M. Elliott at the University of Minnesota. As a graduate student he stayed at the University of Minnesota, and worked under B. F. Skinner with whom he developed the Conditioned Suppression paradigm (Estes & Skinner, 1941). After he received his doctorate, he joined Skinner on the faculty at Indiana University. After Estes got out of the U. S. Army at the end of World War II, he established his reputation as one of the originators of mathematical learning theory. Estes went from Indiana University to Stanford University, to Rockefeller University in New York, and finally to Harvard University. While, teaching at Harvard University Estes contributed as a instituting first editor of the journal of Psychological Science for the Association for Psychological Science. After retiring from Harvard, he returned to Bloomington, Indiana, where he remained active in academics to become professor emeritus at his original academic home department. One of William Estes's most famous contributions to learning theory was stimulus-sampling theory, which conceives of learning as establishing associations to hypothetical stimulus elements that are randomly drawn from a pool of elements that characterize a particular learning situation. This theory predicted probability matching, which has been found in a wide range of tasks for many different organisms. Estes has had a major influence on theories of learning and memory, both in his own theorizing and in the theories of his many students and collaborators. In honor of his impact within the field of psychology, Estes received the National Medal of Science on December 16, 1997 from President Bill Clinton.

Highlights

1941 - William K. Estes and Mentor B.F. Skinner present their Conditioning Paradigm: Conditioned Suppression. The Paradigm observed a subjects conditioned responses change, when stimulus associated with the behavior are considered painful. Pain association to stimulus connected to conditioned behavior leads to change in behavior. This theory was taken further by B. F. Skinner in Operant conditioning.

1950 - Estes states his theory of influential stimulus sampling in Psychological Review article "'Toward a Statistical theory of Learning'". This theory implies: we are exposed to a vast amount of potential stimuli, being aware of a smaller proportion. As time progresses we learn to pair the stimuli to the fitting response. This definition allowed for empirical testing, creating a way to mathematically evaluate learning.
Later Works:
1970 Learning Theory and Mental Development
1991 Statistical Models in Behavioral Research
1994 Classification and Cognition

Notable Affiliations

Member of Society of Experimental Psychologists,
Nominated Adviser National Academy of Science
A founding editor for Journal of Mathematical Psychology through that Society of Mathematical Psychology
A founding editor for Journal of Psychological Science through that Association for Psychological Science

Awards and Honors

1962 Distinguished Research and Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association
1963 Warren Medal from the Society of Experimental Psychologists, Nominated to the National Academy of Science
1992 American Psychological Foundation Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Psychological Science
1997 National Medal of Science for his "'fundamental theories of learning, memory, and decision'" by President Bill Clinton

See also

Mathematical Psychology

References

• Bower, G H (1994), "A turning point in mathematical learning theory.", Psychological Review 101 (2): 290–300, 1994 Apr, doi:10.1037/0033-295X.101.2.290, PMID 8022959 

• Estes, William K. (1989), Lindzey, Gardner, ed., A History of Psychology in Autobiography, Stanford University Press, pp. 94–125, ISBN 0804714924 

• Estes, W. K., Skinner, B. F.; Skinner, B. F. (1941), "Some quantitative properties of anxiety", Journal of Experimental Psychology 29 (5): 390–400, doi:10.1037/h0062283 

• Gluck, Mark (November 2011), "Remembering William K. Estes June 17, 1919 - August 17, 2011", Observer 24 (9), http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2011/november-11/remembering-william-k-estes.html 

• Izawa, Chizuko (November 2011), "William K. Estes Timeline: His Science and Achievements", Observer 24 (9), http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2011/november-11/william-k-estes-timeline.html 

• Estes, William (2 February 2002). "History Society of Mathematical Psychology". Society of Mathematical Psychology. SMP. http://www.mathpsych.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=27/. Retrieved 5 December 2011. 

• ,. "William K. Estes". Society of Mathematical Psychology. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1372349/William-K-Estes. Retrieved 6 December 2011.