J. P. Guilford

Joy Paul Guilford ( born March 7, 1897 in Marquette (Nebraska ), † 26 November 1987 in Los Angeles ) was a factor analysis -working personality and intelligence researchers, with whose name especially the " Structure of Intellect " model of intelligence described in the following connected will.

It was not until the age of 22 he is from 1919 to 1921 director of the "Psychology Clinic " and gathers some practical experience as a psychologist. In 1927 he received his doctorate at Cornell University under EB Titchener. In the following years, Guilford busy with the intelligence model of Charles Spearman and tries to expand. In his 1936 published book " Psychometric Methods" is clearly still the influence Spearman's noticeable that always seemed to the young scientist. 1940 Guilford is a professor at the University of Southern California and a year later as director of the " Psychological Research at Santa Ana Army Air Base ." In this position, he finally has the opportunity to develop his theory of " Structure of Intellect " model, which represents a departure from the postulated by Spearman and Philip E. Vernon hierarchical intelligence models, and empirically soldiers of the Santa Ana Army Air Base checked.

In 1949 he became President of the APA (American Psychological Association ), the main organization of psychologists in the United States. Guilford's special merit at this time is to bring the long -neglected human creativity back into the focus of psychological research and so to give a decisive impetus for creativity research.

1967 published his theory Guilford Structure of Intellect, the radical is against any hierarchy in the structuring of the intelligence and the intelligence rather than a composition of different "clusters", each consisting of three factors arise, look. Due to the strong criticism of this model revised 1982 Guilford his model of intelligence and admits a certain hierarchy idea a place.