L.L. Thurstone was a pioneer in the areas of psychometrics and mental ability. Thurstone’s most significant contributions were his works on multiple factor analysis and understanding the primary human abilities. He advanced the science and practice of psychology by developing tools to progress psychology into a quantitative, rational science.
Early Life and Educational Background
Louis Leon Thurstone was born in Chicago, on May 29, 1887, to Conrad Thunström and Sophia Strömth Thunström, both Swedish immigrants. He was born under the name of Thunström; however, the family name was later changed to Thurstone to make it easier to pronounce and spell. Thurstone had a sister, Adele, who was 2 years younger.
As a young boy, Thurstone was an adept student. His favorite books at the age of 14 were the world atlas, Euclid’s Geometry, and an encyclopedic selection of philosophical essays. In high school, he won a competition in geometry. As a high school sophomore, he had his first publication...
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References
Horst, P. (1955). L.L. Thurstone and the science of human behavior. Science, 122(3183), 1259–1260.
Jones, V. L. (1998). L.L. Thurstone’s vision of psychology as a quantitative rational science. In G. A. Kimble & M. Wertheimer (Eds.), Portraits of pioneers in psychology, volume III. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Thurstone, L. L. (1924). The nature of intelligence. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.
Thurstone, L. L. (1925). A method of scaling psychological and educational tests. Journal of Educational Psychology, 16, 433–337.
Thurstone, L. L. (1935). The vectors of mind: Multiple factor analysis for the isolation of primary traits. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
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Blacksmith, N. (2017). Thurstone, L.L.. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1025-1
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