Raymond Cattell

Raymond Cattell (20 March 1905 – 2 February 1998) was a British and American psychologist who is best known for his psychometric research into intrapersonal psychological structure. His work also explored the basic dimensions of personality and temperament, the range of cognitive abilities, the dynamic dimensions of motivation and emotion, and the functional dimensions of behavior. Cattell's research was guided by the scientific method and he was a pioneer in the field of personality psychology.

Early life and education

Raymond Cattell was born on 20 March 1905 in Hill Top, West Bromwich, a small town in England. He was the second of four children. His father, Raymond George Cattell, was a mechanical engineer and his mother, Elizabeth Alice Cattell, was a housewife.

Cattell received his education at the University of London, where he studied chemistry and physics. He later shifted his focus to psychology and earned his Ph.D. in psychology from the same university in 1929.

Career

Cattell moved to the United States in 1937 and began teaching at Clark University. He later taught at Harvard University and the University of Illinois.

Cattell's research focused on personality, abilities, motivation, and behavior. He developed a number of psychological tests, including the 16 Personality Factors questionnaire and the Culture Fair Intelligence Test. These tests are still widely used in psychology today.

Contributions to psychology

Cattell made significant contributions to the field of psychology. He developed the theory of Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence, which suggests that intelligence is composed of different abilities that interact with each other.

Cattell also proposed the 16 Personality Factors model, which suggests that human personality can be broken down into 16 traits. This model has been influential in the field of personality psychology.

Later life and death

Cattell retired from the University of Illinois in 1973. He continued to write and conduct research until his death on 2 February 1998.

Legacy

Cattell's work has had a lasting impact on the field of psychology. His theories and tests have been used in a variety of settings, including clinical psychology, educational psychology, and organizational psychology.

See also

• Personality psychology
• Psychometrics
• 16 Personality Factors
• Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence