| William Kaye Estes | |
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William Kaye Estes
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| Born | June 17, 1919 Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Died | August 17, 2011 |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | psychology Mathematical Psychology Cognitive Psychology |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota |
| Doctoral advisor | B. F. Skinner |
| Known for | Stimulus sampling theory, Mathematical Psychology |
| Influenced | Association for Psychological Science |
William Kaye Estes (June 17, 1919 – August 17, 2011) was an American psychologist. As an undergraduate, he was a student of Richard M. Elliott at the University of Minnesota. As a graduate student he stayed at the University of Minnesota, and worked under B. F. Skinner with whom he developed the Conditioned Suppression paradigm (Estes & Skinner, 1941). After he received his doctorate, he joined Skinner on the faculty at Indiana University. After Estes got out of the U. S. Army at the end of World War II, he established his reputation as one of the originators of mathematical learning theory. Estes went from Indiana University to Stanford University, to Rockefeller University in New York, and finally to Harvard University. While, teaching at Harvard University Estes contributed as a instituting first editor of the journal of Psychological Science for the Association for Psychological Science. After retiring from Harvard, he returned to Bloomington, Indiana, where he remained active in academics to become professor emeritus at his original academic home department. One of William Estes's most famous contributions to learning theory was stimulus-sampling theory, which conceives of learning as establishing associations to hypothetical stimulus elements that are randomly drawn from a pool of elements that characterize a particular learning situation. This theory predicted probability matching, which has been found in a wide range of tasks for many different organisms. Estes has had a major influence on theories of learning and memory, both in his own theorizing and in the theories of his many students and collaborators. In honor of his impact within the field of psychology, Estes received the National Medal of Science on December 16, 1997 from President Bill Clinton.
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1941 - William K. Estes and Mentor B.F. Skinner present their Conditioning Paradigm: Conditioned Suppression. The Paradigm observed a subjects conditioned responses change, when stimulus associated with the behavior are considered painful. Pain association to stimulus connected to conditioned behavior leads to change in behavior. This theory was taken further by B. F. Skinner in Operant conditioning.
1950 - Estes states his theory of influential stimulus sampling in Psychological Review article "'Toward a Statistical theory of Learning'". This theory implies: we are exposed to a vast amount of potential stimuli, being aware of a smaller proportion. As time progresses we learn to pair the stimuli to the fitting response. This definition allowed for empirical testing, creating a way to mathematically evaluate learning.
Later Works:
1970 Learning Theory and Mental Development
1991 Statistical Models in Behavioral Research
1994 Classification and Cognition
Member of Society of Experimental Psychologists,
Nominated Adviser National Academy of Science
A founding editor for Journal of Mathematical Psychology through that Society of Mathematical Psychology
A founding editor for Journal of Psychological Science through that Association for Psychological Science
1962 Distinguished Research and Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association
1963 Warren Medal from the Society of Experimental Psychologists, Nominated to the National Academy of Science
1992 American Psychological Foundation Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Psychological Science
1997 National Medal of Science for his "'fundamental theories of learning, memory, and decision'" by President Bill Clinton