Lashley, Karl S.

Lashley, Karl S.

▪ American psychologist
in full  Karl Spencer Lashley 
born June 7, 1890, Davis, West Virginia, U.S.
died August 7, 1958, Paris, France

      American psychologist who conducted quantitative investigations of the relation between brain mass and learning ability.

      While working toward his Ph.D. in genetics at Johns Hopkins University (1914), Lashley became associated with the influential psychologist John B. Watson (Watson, John B.). During three years of postdoctoral work on vertebrate behaviour (1914–17), Lashley began formulating the research program that was to occupy the remainder of his life. He cooperated with Watson on studies of animal behaviour and also gained the skills in surgery and microscopic tissue study needed for investigating the neural basis of learning. In 1920 he became an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, where his prolific research on brain function gained him a professorship in 1924. His monograph Brain Mechanisms and Intelligence (1929) contained two significant principles: mass action and equipotentiality. Mass action postulates that certain types of learning are mediated by the cerebral cortex (the convoluted outer layer of the cerebrum) as a whole, contrary to the view that every psychological function is localized at a specific place on the cortex. Equipotentiality, associated chiefly with sensory systems such as vision, relates to the finding that some parts of a system take over the functions of other parts that have been damaged.

      Lashley was a professor at the University of Chicago (1929–35) and Harvard University (1935–55) and also served as director of the Yerkes Laboratories of Primate Biology, Orange Park, Florida, from 1942. His work included research on brain mechanisms related to sense receptors and on the cortical basis of motor activities. He studied many animals, including primates, but his major work was done on the measurement of behaviour before and after specific, carefully quantified, induced brain damage in rats.

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  • Lashley, Karl S(pencer) — born June 7, 1890, Davis, W.Va., U.S. died Aug. 7, 1958, Paris, France U.S. psychologist. He taught at the Universities of Minnesota (1920–29) and Chicago (1929–35) and at Harvard University (1935–55). In Brain Mechanisms and Intelligence (1929) …   Universalium

  • Lashley, Karl S(pencer) — (7 jun. 1890, Davis, W.Va., EE.UU.–7 ago. 1958, París, Francia). Psicólogo estadounidense. Ejerció la docencia en las universidades de Minnesota (1920–29), Chicago (1929–35) y Harvard (1935–55). En Los mecanismos cerebrales y la inteligencia… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Karl Spencer Lashley — (* 7. Juni 1890 in Davis (West Virginia), † 7. August 1958 in Poitiers) war ein US amerikanischer Psychologe aus der Schule des Behaviorismus. Er prägte die Begriffe Engramm und Äquipotenzialität. Lashley studierte an der West Virginia University …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Karl — /kahrl/, n. a male given name, form of Charles. * * * (as used in expressions) Karl Marx Stadt Abraham Karl Baedeker Karl Baer Karl Ernst knight von Barth Karl Benz Karl Friedrich Böhm Karl Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm Bruch Max Karl August Brugmann… …   Universalium

  • Karl — (as used in expressions) Abraham, Karl Franz Albrecht August Karl Emanuel, príncipe von Sajonia Coburgo Gotha Baedeker, Karl Baer, Karl Ernst, caballero de Barth, Karl Benz, Karl (Friedrich) Böhm, Karl Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm Bruch, Max (Karl… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Karl Lashley — Karl S. Lashley (1890 1958), nacido en Davis, Western Virgina, fue un psicólogo conductista estadounidense, famoso por su contribución al estudio del aprendizaje y a la memoria. Su fracaso para encontrar una posición única de manera biológica del …   Wikipedia Español

  • Lashley — may refer to:Persons*Bobby Lashley (1976 ndash;), American professional wrestler *Karl Lashley (1890 ndash;1958), American psychologist and behaviorist *Ken Lashley, American comic book artist and writer *Nick Lashley, American Guitarist *Peter… …   Wikipedia

  • Lashley — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Bobby Lashley (* 1976), US amerikanischer Wrestler Duane Lashley (* 1973), barbadischer Tennisspieler Karl Lashley (1890–1958), US amerikanischer Psychologe Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten: Lashley… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Karl Lashley — Karl Spencer Lashley (* 7. Juni 1890 in Davis (West Virginia); † 7. August 1958 in Poitiers, Frankreich) war ein US amerikanischer Psychologe aus der Schule des Behaviorismus. Er prägte die Begriffe Engramm und Äquipotenzialität. Lashley… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Karl Lashley — Karl Spencer Lashley est un biologiste américain, psychologue et comportementaliste, principalement connu pour ces travaux sur l identification de l écho physique de la mémoire, qu il nomme engramme. Il estime que cette trace de la mémoire n est… …   Wikipédia en Français

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