Harry Kay (psychologist) explained

Harry Kay
Nationality:British
Fields:Psychology
Work Institutions:University of Sheffield
Alma Mater:University of Cambridge

Harry Kay CBE, DSc (1919–2005) was a British psychologist and academic administrator.

Career

Kay attended Rotherham Grammar School and then in 1938 went to the University of Cambridge to read for a degree English. However, World War II intervened and he enlisted in the Royal Artillery, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1946 he returned to Cambridge to complete a degree in Moral Sciences. He remained at Cambridge in the Nuffield Unit for Research into Problems of Ageing.

He moved to the University of Oxford in 1951 as a lecturer in experimental psychology. He continued his research and was awarded a PhD. In 1960, he was appointed Chair of Psychology at the University of Sheffield. It was here that he established the Social and Applied Psychology Research Unit.[1]

In 1973, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter. He remained there until his retirement in 1984.[2]

He was active in the British Psychological Society becoming its president in 1971. In his presidential address, he promoted 'giving psychology away'.[3]

Research

His early research interest was experimental work on motor skills[4] and then moved into the more general area of occupational psychology.

Honours

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Early years . Institute of Work Psychology . 2 August 2020.
  2. Connolly . Kevin . Harry Kay (1919–2005) . The Psychologist . 2006 . 19 . 206.
  3. Kay . Harry . Psychology today and tomorrow . Bulletin of the British Psychological Society . 1972 . 26 . 177–188.
  4. Kay . Harry . Different thresholds for recognition . Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology . 1956 . 8 . 4. 10.1080/17470215608416815 . 144438330 .