Louis Leon Thurstone
Louis Leon Thurstone, born on May 29, 1887, in Chicago, was a prominent psychologist and educator known for his contributions to psychological testing and measurement. The son of Swedish immigrants, Thurstone's early life included an interest in music and engineering, which shaped his innovative spirit. After graduating from Cornell University, he briefly worked with Thomas Edison before transitioning into academia, where he taught engineering and later psychology at various prestigious institutions, including the University of Chicago.
Thurstone is best known for developing theories and methods related to psychological measurement, particularly his scaling method for analyzing psychological traits within populations. His work laid the groundwork for modern psychological testing, influencing standardized assessments such as the SAT. He also focused on multiple-factor analysis, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of various influencing factors in psychological tests. Throughout his career, Thurstone received numerous accolades and continued to teach and research until his retirement in 1952. He passed away on September 19, 1955, leaving a lasting impact on the field of psychology.
Louis Leon Thurstone
Psychologist
- Born: May 29, 1887
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
- Died: September 19, 1955
- Place of death: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Also known as: Louis Leon Thunstrôm, L.L. Thurstone
Education: Cornell University; University of Chicago
Significance: Louis Leon Thurstone was an American psychologist who was involved in the development of psychometrics, which is the measurement of mental functions and processes. Thurstone helped develop and refine methods for assessing performance on psychological tests. As a young man, Thurstone was an assistant to Thomas Edison, one of the greatest American inventors.
Background
Louis Leon Thunstrôm was born on May 29, 1887, in Chicago, Illinois. Both of his parents were Swedish immigrants. The family later changed their last name to Thurstone to help them assimilate into American culture. In Sweden, Thurstone's father had been in the army, and he had worked as a math teacher. He later worked as a minister and a newspaper editor and publisher. Thurstone had a younger sister named Adele. His mother taught the children how to play the piano, and Thurstone's interest in music lasted for much of his life.
Thurstone attended elementary school in both Illinois and Mississippi before the family decided to move back to Sweden. They spent six years in Stockholm, where Thurstone learned to speak Swedish fluently. When Thurstone was fourteen, the family moved back to the United States, settling in Jamestown, New York. He graduated from Jamestown High School around 1908 and then enrolled at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he majored in engineering.
While a student, Thurstone invented a type of motion picture camera and projector that aimed to solve the problem of film flickering during a movie. He even had the chance to demonstrate the device to famed inventor Thomas Edison. Edison was impressed with Thurstone's abilities and invited him to work with him as his assistant. After graduating from Cornell with a master's degree in 1912, Thurstone went to work for Edison.
Life's Work
Thurstone spent little time as Edison's assistant, but the experience influenced his work throughout his career. In the fall of 1912, he took a position teaching engineering at the University of Minnesota. Although Thurstone had studied to become an engineer, he was more interested in learning and in how people learned to use various inventions. He believed that mathematics could help improve psychological testing and measurement. While teaching in Minnesota, he started taking psychology classes. He eventually enrolled at the University of Chicago. In 1915, he took an assistantship at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, where his research focused on applied psychology. Thurstone wrote his dissertation on the learning curve equation and received his doctorate in psychology in 1917.
He continued to work at the Carnegie Institute until 1923. Following this, Thurstone took a one-year position at the Institute for Government Research in Washington, DC. In 1924, he returned to the University of Chicago and took a position as an associate professor of psychology. Thurstone taught descriptive statistics for psychology, and he started a course in mental test theory. He regularly hosted seminars at his home. Presenters included university faculty and visiting professors.
Thurstone wrote his first paper on psychological testing in 1925. In this paper, he first set forth the parameters of his theory of psychological measurement. This theory contends that within a particular age group a construct is assumed to have a normal distribution over the people within that age group. This means that the group will have a mean and a measure of dispersion. Therefore, Thurstone's theory created a scaling method for various psychological traits. This was a theory he would refine later in his career. While at the university, he also established the Psychometric Laboratory, which attracted academics from across the country and around the world.
Thurstone later developed psychological exams for high school graduates and college freshmen. These types of tests later became the basis for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Thurstone then focused much of his work on multiple-factor analysis. This centered on using mathematics graphs to understand and extract various factors from a group to determine psychologically significant results from tests. This allowed him to examine all the factors that influence the test at once. During World War II (1939–1945), Thurstone also authored psychological tests used by the military for selection and classification purposes.
In the late 1940s, Thurstone was a visiting professor at the University of Frankfurt in Germany. In 1952, the professor had reached the age of retirement at the University of Chicago. He left for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and took his famed laboratory with him. He also continued the practice of hosting private seminars in his new home.
In his last few years, Thurstone continued to travel. He was a visiting professor at the University of Stockholm in 1954. He also lectured at universities in Finland and Norway. In 1955, Thurstone was supposed to return to Europe to attend a conference in Paris, France, and give a lecture in London, England. However, doctors in North Carolina advised Thurstone against traveling. He died on September 19, 1955, in Chapel Hill.
Impact
Thurstone's work continues to be important in the field of psychology in the twenty-first century. During his career, he received numerous awards and honors, including a career award from the American Psychological Association in 1949 and a Centennial Award from Northwest University in 1951.
Personal Life
Thurstone married Thelma Gwinn, a fellow psychologist, in 1954. They worked together for much of Thurstone's career. After his death, Thelma continued some of his research in his laboratory in North Carolina. Together, they had three children: Robert, Conrad, and Fritz. All three boys later followed their parents' example and became professors.
Principal Works
Nonfiction
The Nature of Intelligence, 1924
Primary Mental Abilities, 1938
Multiple-Factor Analysis, 1947
Bibliography
Guilford, J.P. "Louis Leon Thurstone, 1887–1955." National Academy of Sciences, www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/thurstone-louis.pdf. Accessed 6 Oct. 2017.
Jones, Lyle V. "L.L. Thurstone's Vision of Psychology as a Quantitative Rational Science." Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology, edited by Gregory A. Kimble and Michael Wertheimer, vol. 3, Psychology Press, 2009.
Jones, Lyle V. "Thurstone, L.L." Encyclopedia of Social Measurement, edited by Kimberly Kempf-Leonard, vol. 3, Elsevier, 2005, pp. 817–22.
"L.L. Thurstone." Human Intelligence, 20 Dec. 2016, www.intelltheory.com/lthurstone.shtml. Accessed 6 Oct. 2017.
"Thurstone, Louis Leon (1887–1955)." The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, edited by Irving B. Weiner and W. Edward Craighead, 4th ed., vol. 4, Wiley, 2010, pp. 1785–86.