Norman F. Dixon Explained

Norman Frank Dixon MBE, Fellow of the British Psychological Society^[1] (1922–2013)^[2] was a British psychologist most noted for his 1976 book On the Psychology of Military Incompetence.^[3]

Career

During World War II, Dixon served as a lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers in North West Europe and received the MBE.^{[1] [3]}

After ten years' service, he began university studies in 1950 and earned a first-class degree in psychology, followed by Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Science degrees.^[3] His research into subliminal perception and preconscious processing was influential.^{[4] [5]} He taught psychology at University College London, where he became professor emeritus on his retirement.^[6]

Honours

In 1974, Dixon was awarded the Carpenter Medal by the University of London for his doctoral thesis. The University of Lund awarded him an honorary doctorate.^[3]

Selected publications

• Dixon, Norman F. (1971). Subliminal perception; the nature of a controversy. London: McGraw-Hill.
• Dixon, Norman F. (1976). On the psychology of military incompetence. New York: Basic Books.^{[7] [8] [9]}
• Dixon, Norman F. (1981). Preconscious processing. Chichester: Wiley
• Dixon, Norman F. (1987). Our Own Worst Enemy. Jonathan Cape.

See also

• Military incompetence

Notes and References

1. Web site: Search results: Norman Dixon . The National Archives . 31 July 2022.
2. Web site: Norman F. Dixon . Great Thoughts Treasury . https://web.archive.org/web/20190418224424/http://www.greatthoughtstreasury.com/author/norman-f-dixon . 18 April 2019 . dead .
3. Web site: Norman F. Dixon . Random House . https://web.archive.org/web/20140424163653/http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/authors/norman-f-dixon . 2014-04-24 . dead .
4. Book: Tallis, Frank . Frank Tallis

   . Frank Tallis . Hidden Minds: A History of the Unconscious . 2002 . New York . Arcade . 2011 . 978-1-61145-505-2 . 94 .

5. Book: Speziale-Bagliacca, Roberto . Guilt: Revenge, Remorse and Responsibility After Freud . Hove / New York . Brunner-Routledge . 1997 . 2004 . 1-58391-963-5 . 215 .
6. News: Ron . Charles . 'Military Incompetence' trumps Madonna's 'Sex'. . 29 January 2015 . 31 July 2022 .
7. Penner . Donald D. . 1981 . Book Review: on the Psychology of Military Incompetence . Administrative Science Quarterly . 26 . 2 . 307–10 . 10.2307/2392483 . 2392483 .
8. Book Reviews . September 1977 . British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology . 16 . 3 . 289–93 . 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1977.tb00233.x .
9. Mileham . Patrick . 2002 . On the Psychology of Military Incompetence . review . Defense and Security Analysis' . 18 . 2 . 185–87 . 10.1080/14751790220132583 . 153876066 .