Harry Kay (psychologist)
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British Association for the Advancement of Science
Harry Kay | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 March 1919 |
| Died | 19 December 2005 (aged 86) |
Board member of | Universities Central Council on Admissions British Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Spouse | Diana Kay |
| Children | 2 |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Rotherham Grammar School |
| Alma mater | Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge |
| Thesis | Experimental Studies of Adult Learning (1953) |
| Influences | Frederic Bartlett |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Psychology |
Sub-discipline | Applied cognitive psychology, occupational Psychology |
| Institutions | University of Sheffield University of Oxford |
Doctoral students | Peter B. Warr |
Notable students | Neville Moray |
Main interests | Ageing, learning and memory |
| Vice-chancellor of University of Exeter | |
| In office 1973–1984 | |
| Preceded by | John Llewellyn |
| Succeeded by | Sir David Harrison |
| President of the British Psychological Society | |
| In office 1971–1972 | |
| Preceded by | Harry Gwynne Jones |
| Succeeded by | Max Hamilton |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Unit | Royal Artillery |
| Conflict | World War II |
Harry Kay (1919–2005) was a British psychologist and academic administrator.
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.[1]
Kay moved to the University of Oxford in 1951 as a lecturer in experimental psychology. He continued his research and was awarded a PhD. Among his students at Oxford was Neville Moray, later known for his work on the cocktail party effect.[2] Moray would go on to join Kay as a colleague at his next post at the University of Sheffield.[3]
In 1960, Kay was appointed Chair of Psychology at the University of Sheffield. It was here that he established the Social and Applied Psychology Research Unit.[4]
In 1973, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter. He remained there until his retirement in 1984.[1]
He was active in the British Psychological Society becoming its president in 1971. In his presidential address, he promoted 'giving psychology away'.[5]
