Douglas L. "Doug" Medin (born June 13, 1944)[3] is the Louis W. Menk Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He is also Professor Emeritus of Education and Social Policy.[1]

Douglas L. Medin
Born (1944-06-13) June 13, 1944 (age 79)[3]
Alma materMoorhead State College, University of South Dakota
SpouseLinda Powers[2]
AwardsMember of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the National Academy of Sciences[1]
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
InstitutionsNorthwestern University
ThesisForm perception and pattern reproduction by monkeys (1968)
Doctoral advisorRoger Davis[2]

Early life and education edit

Medin first became interested in psychology when he was an eighth-grader in Algona, Iowa. During this time, he and his classmates were sorted into two groups depending on their singing abilities; Medin was assigned to the non-singers' group.[2] He attended Moorhead State College, graduating in 1965 with a B.A. in psychology, and went on to receive his M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of South Dakota in 1966 and 1968, respectively.[4] His Ph.D. thesis focused on the way that rhesus monkeys perceive shapes.[2]

Career edit

Medin joined Rockefeller University in 1968 as a postdoctoral fellow, where he became an assistant professor the following year.[4] He remained at Rockefeller until 1978, when he joined the University of Illinois as an associate professor.[2][4] He joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1989,[2] and remained there for three years until joining the faculty of Northwestern University in 1992, because it "held better professional opportunities for his wife, Linda Powers," according to a profile of Medin in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.[2]

Research edit

Medin is best known for his research on concepts and categorization.[5] He has also studied the "role of expertise and culture in the conceptual organization of biological categories."[6]

Honors and awards edit

Medin was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002, and into the National Academy of Sciences in 2005.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Douglas (Doug) Medin Faculty Profile". Northwestern University. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Mossman, K. (19 November 2007). "Profile of Douglas Medin". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (48): 18883–18885. Bibcode:2007PNAS..10418883M. doi:10.1073/pnas.0710219104. PMC 2141876. PMID 18025454.
  3. ^ a b "Douglas Medin". Library of Congress. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d "Douglas L. Medin Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Northwestern University. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Douglas L. Medin". Association for Psychological Science. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Kanwisher, Medin Elected to National Academy of Sciences". Psychological Science Agenda. May 2005. Retrieved 27 September 2015.

External links edit