Allen Neuringer
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Allen Neuringer is an American psychologist. He is a highly published and well regarded scientist in the field of the experimental analysis of behavior, as pioneered by B.F. Skinner.[not verified in body] His areas of research include human volition studies, the generation of randomness in organisms, self-experimentation, and many other areas.[not verified in body] He received his B.A. at Columbia College in 1962, and his PhD from Harvard University in 1967.[1] He served on National Institute of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) committees,[2] received numerous awards and grants for his research,[clarification needed][not verified in body] and has published widely.[3] As of June 2008, Dr. Neuringer retired as a professor of psychology at Reed College.[4]
Early life and education
Neuringer born ca. 1940. He received his B.A. at Columbia College. He did his PhD at Harvard University.[5]
Career
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: sourced statements giving his list of postdoctoral/fellowship through university, and other employers, and any other major career related appointment of note (including the timeline of his advancement at Reed, his visiting faculty positions, sabbatical appointments etc.). You can help by adding to it. (April 2016) |
As of June 2008, Neuringer retired as a professor of psychology at Reed College.[citation needed]
He has also been an editor or assistant editor on four journals,[citation needed] and currently is an editor for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB).[citation needed] He has been a reviewer on 23 journals, including Science and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.[citation needed]
He served on National Institute of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) committees.[clarification needed][citation needed]
Research interests
Neuringer is a social scientist in the field of the experimental analysis of behavior, as pioneered by B.F. Skinner.[citation needed] His areas of research include human volition studies, the generation of randomness in organisms, self-experimentation, and many other areas.[citation needed]
Randomness and behavior
Neuringer's work focused on the production of "pure randomness" in human and other organismic behavior, something that was widely considered impossible.[citation needed] Matching and reinforcing human and animal responses to a random number generator he was able to have humans and other organisms behave "randomly".[citation needed]
Melioration and self-experimentation
Dr. Neuringer has suggested that behavior analysis as a field might benefit from using experimental designs that explicitly and directly attempted to meliorate the condition of an experimental subject. He envisaged placing practical everyday goals as the objective of experiments and, especially, self-experiments.[citation needed]
Awards and recognition
| This section needs expansion with: sourced statements giving standard elements of faculty recognition (special fellowships, teaching and research awards, society recognitions, article recognitions, etc.), and further information on the grant statement, including independent sourcing. You can help by adding to it. (April 2016) |
Dr. Neuringer's work has received numerous NSF/NIMH grants.[citation needed]
Personal life
Dr. Neuringer, with his wife and students, built a house in the state of Oregon. During this time, they purchased multiple different animals, such as ducks, that Dr. Neuringer considered his friends. While living in this home and teaching at Reed College, Dr. Neuringer and his wife Martha were visited by Dr. Howie Rachlin and Dr. Rachlin's wife from New York. In honor of their guests, Dr. Neuringer unapologetically slaughtered two of his duck friends (one can only hope this behavior does not generalize). This act of aggression resulted in a useless gesture as the ducks were old and too gamey to eat. This traumatic event resulted in Dr. Neuringer and those closest to him becoming vegetarians for an extended period of time.[6]
| This section needs expansion with: sourced statements on the usual elements of personal life and interests. You can help by adding to it. (April 2016) |
Representative publications
- Neuringer A (December 2004). "Reinforced variability in animals and people: implications for adaptive action". Am Psychol. 59 (9): 891–906. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.59.9.891. PMID 15584823.
- Neuringer A (December 2002). "Operant variability: evidence, functions, and theory". Psychon Bull Rev. 9 (4): 672–705. doi:10.3758/bf03196324. PMID 12613672.[permanent dead link]
- Grunow A, Neuringer A (June 2002). "Learning to vary and varying to learn". Psychon Bull Rev. 9 (2): 250–8. doi:10.3758/bf03196279. PMID 12120786.[permanent dead link]
- Vickrey C, Neuringer A (June 2000). "Pigeon reaction time, Hick's law, and intelligence". Psychon Bull Rev. 7 (2): 284–91. doi:10.3758/bf03212983. PMID 10909135.
- Neuringer A (November 1984). "Melioration and self-experimentation". J Exp Anal Behav. 42 (3): 397–406. doi:10.1901/jeab.1984.42-397. PMC 1348111. PMID 16812398.
References
Further reading
Articles from published sources that may be of interest, in the expansion of this article, or for further exploration by readers, include the following.
Research related to behavioural response structures
- Reid, Alliston K.; Dixon, Rebecca; Gray, Stephen (2008). "Variarion and Selection in Response Structures [Ch. 3]". In Innis, Nancy K. (ed.). Reflections on Adaptive Behavior: Essays in Honor of J.E.R. Staddon. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp. 51–86. ISBN 0262590263. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|lastauthoramp=ignored (|name-list-style=suggested) (help)
Research related to musical recognition
Scholarly accounts
The following secondary source accounts appear about his animal research related to musical recognition, in 1984:
- Watanabe, Shigeru (2012). "Animal Aesthetics form the Perspective of Comparative Cognition [Ch. 7]". Emotions of Animals and Humans: Comparative Perspectives. The Science of the Mind. Tokyo, JPN: Springer Science & Business. pp. 129–164, esp. 139. ISBN 4431541233. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|editors=ignored (|editor=suggested) (help) - Snowdon, Charles T.; Zimmerman, Elke; Altenmüller, Eckart (2015). "Music evolution and neuroscience [Ch. 2]". Music, Neurology, and Neuroscience: Evolution, the Musical Brain, Medical Conditions, and Therapies. Progress in Brain Research, Volume 217. Amsterdam, NLD: Elsevier. pp. 17–36, esp. 22. ISBN 0444635521. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|editors=ignored (|editor=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|lastauthoramp=ignored (|name-list-style=suggested) (help) - North, Adrian C.; Hargreaves, David J. (2008). "Music preference and taste [Ch. 3]". The Social and Applied Psychology of Music. Oxford, ENG: Oxford University Press. pp. 75–142, esp. 121. ISBN 0191005002. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|lastauthoramp=ignored (|name-list-style=suggested) (help)
Popular accounts
The following popular accounts appear about this same 1984 work:
- Brody, Jane E. (1991-04-09). "Not Just Music, Bird Song Is a Means of Courtship and Defense". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- New Scientist Staff (1984-05-31). "Musical pigeons". New Scientist. 102 (1412): 20. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- Yanes, Javier (2015-04-24). "¿Llevamos la música en los genes?". El Huffington Post (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 April 2016.
Other matters
- Manning, Rob (2009-12-07). "Federal Officials Listen To Landowners' Pipeline Concerns". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
External links
- Neuringer's faculty web page at Reed College
- Neuringer's CV