Gardner Lindzey | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1920-11-27)November 27, 1920 |
| Died | February 4, 2008(2008-02-04) (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | Penn State University(A.B., M.S.) Harvard University(Ph.D.) |
| Known for | The Handbook of Social Psychology |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Social psychology,Behavior Genetics |
| Institutions | Harvard University Syracuse University University of Minnesota University of Texas |
| Academic advisors | Gordon Allport |
| Doctoral students | Auke Tellegen |
Gardner Edmund Lindzey (November 27, 1920 – February 4, 2008) was an American psychologist and a past president of theAmerican Psychological Association (APA). After completing a doctorate atHarvard University, Lindzey served as a professor or administrator at several universities, edited a well-known textbook in social psychology and led a 1982National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel that recommended the legalization ofmarijuana.
Lindzey was born on November 27, 1920, inWilmington, Delaware. He attendedPenn State University, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in psychology.[1] In 1949, he finished a Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University.[2]
After teaching briefly at Harvard and spending several years atSyracuse University, Lindzey joined the faculty of theUniversity of Minnesota. Psychologist and fellow faculty memberElliot Aronson described Lindzey as "the star of the round table, an entertaining storyteller and a catalyst of conversation. And he seemed to know everything about everyone's research... But he would always find a way to make each person's research relevant to the interests of the other people at the table."[3]
He chaired the psychology department at theUniversity of Texas between 1964 and 1969. Later, the university credited him with "transforming the department from a relatively small and unassuming group to a large and internationally recognized faculty."[4] Lindzey made contributions topersonality psychology,social psychology, thehistory of psychology andbehavioral genetics.[5] He moved into educational administration at Texas, becoming the vice president for academic affairs and remaining there until 1975.[6] He then became the longest-serving director of theCenter for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), running the center between 1975 and 1989 after completing fellowships there in 1954, 1964 and 1972.[6]
In 1982, he was a key member (immediate past chair) of the NAS committee that recommended the decriminalization of marijuana inAn Analysis of Marijuana Policy, a report commissioned several years earlier by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Other committee members included psychiatristDaniel X. Freedman, former U.S. drug czarJerome Jaffe, sociologistsDenise Kandel andHoward S. Becker, psychologist and future university and foundation presidentJudith Rodin, futureNobel Prize winner in economicsThomas Schelling, and formerCBS presidentFrank Stanton. The report highlighted the costs associated with the 400,000 annual marijuana-related arrests. When the report was published, NAS presidentFrank Press included a cover letter with it that criticized the report. Press thought that the committee had overstepped its bounds with its conclusions, which he said were better left to the political process.National Institute on Drug Abuse directorWilliam Pollin also said that it was "a terrible mistake and a public health tragedy" to advocate for societal acceptance of marijuana use.[7]
An athlete in high school, Lindzey continued to play tennis for several years after his retirement. He was ill for the last couple of years of his life. He spent some time in hospice care, but he was able to return to work as an editor almost up to the time that he died.[1]
Lindzey married Andrea Lewis in 1944 and they had five children. She died in 1984. In his later years, he had a companion, a psychologist named Lyn Carlsmith.[1][2]
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