Michael Apter Explained

Birth Name:	Michael John Apter
Birth Place:	Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England
Field:	Psychology, Artificial Intelligence
Known For:	Research in motivation, personality, reversal theory

Michael J. Apter (born 1939) is a British psychologist who was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham and grew up in Bristol.^[1] He was educated at Clifton College (1965) and at Bristol University where he gained both his Bachelor of Science degree and his Doctorate in Psychology in 1965,^[2] having also spent a doctoral year at Princeton University. He taught for twenty years at Cardiff University in Wales and has since held invited positions at Purdue University, the University of Chicago, Yale University, University of Toulouse,^[3] and Georgetown University.^[4] He also taught at Northwestern University where he received a teaching award.^[5] He has held visiting positions at several additional universities and is a chartered psychologist and fellow of the British Psychological Society.^[6]

Apter's work has been mainly in motivation and phenomenology, particularly through the lens of reversal theory.^{[7] [8] [9]}

Selected works

• Apter, Michael J. (1966) Cybernetics and Development. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
• Apter, Michael J. (1970/2018) The Computer Simulation of Behaviour. London. Routledge.
• Apter, Michael J. (1982) The Experience of Motivation: The Theory of Psychological Reversals, London Academic Press.
• Apter, Michael J. (1992) The Dangerous Edge: The Psychology of Excitement. New York. The Free Press.
• Apter. Michael J. (2001) (Ed) Motivational Styles in Everyday Life. A Guide to Reversal Theory. Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.
• Apter. Michael J. (2007) Reversal Theory: The Dynamics of Motivation, Emotion and Personality 2nd, Edition. Oxford: Oneworld.
• Apter, Michael J. (2018) Zigzag: Reversal and Paradox in Human Personality. Leicestershire U.K.: Matador.

Notes and References

1. Book: Chapman. A.J.. Biographical Dictionary of Psychology. Conroy. W.. Sheehy. N.. 2002. Routledge. 9780415285612. 18. 2020-12-30.
2. Web site: Apter . Michael . Curriculum Vitae .
3. Web site: Michael J. Apter . Oneworld Publications . December 18, 2020.
4. Web site: Human Resources. 2020-11-15. Georgetown University.
5. Web site: About. 2020-12-03. Michael Apter.
6. Web site: Perks. Julie. Oral History Project. 2021-01-06. History of Psychology Centre. The British Psychological Society.
7. Web site: The Apter Framework: The Dynamics of Motivation and Emotion – ABP.
8. Reversal theory and personality: A review. Michael J. Apter. 1 September 1984. Journal of Research in Personality. 18. 3. 265–288. ScienceDirect. 10.1016/0092-6566(84)90013-8.
9. Web site: Michael Apter – REVERSAL THEORY: The Dynamics of Motivation, Emotion and Personality.