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Daniel Ellis Berlyne (April 25, 1924 – November 2, 1976) was a British and Canadian psychologist. Berlyne worked at several universities both in Canada and the United States. His work was in the field of experimental and exploratory psychology. Specifically, his research focused on how objects and experiences are influenced by and have an influence on
curiosity Curiosity (from Latin , from "careful, diligent, curious", akin to "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking, such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident in humans and other animals. Curiosity helps Developmental psyc ...
and
arousal Arousal is the physiology, physiological and psychology, psychological state of being awoken or of Five senses, sense organs stimulated to a point of perception. It involves activation of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) in the hu ...
.


Biography

Berlyne was born in
Salford, Greater Manchester Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
on April 25, 1924. There he attended
Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...
and
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
. From there he received his bachelor's degree in 1947 and master's degree in 1949. From there he went to
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
where, while teaching full-time at
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...
in New York City, he earned his PhD in 1951. In 1953 Berlyne was forced to leave the United States because of problems with his visa. He worked in Scotland as a professor until his return to the United States in 1957.


Awards and recognition

Berlyne held fellowships at the
Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...
, the
British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the org ...
, and at several other American and Canadian psychological associations. He also served as president of the
Canadian Psychological Association The Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) is the primary organization representing psychologists throughout Canada. It was organized in 1939 and incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act, Part II, in May 1950. Its objectives are to imp ...
from 1971 to 1972 and of the General Psychology and Psychology and Arts departments of the American Psychological Associations from 1973 to 1974. That year, 1974, he was co-president of the XVIIIth International Congress of Applied Psychology in Montreal, vice president of the Canadian and American departments of the Interamerican Society of Psychology, and as president of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics.


Work


Academic and teaching

Berlynes first academic teaching position was at St. Andrew's University in Scotland while he was still a student at Cambridge. He then worked at
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...
while pursuing his PhD at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. During his return to Great Britain, Berlyne worked at the
University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...
for four years, from 1953 until 1957. He was also a resident member at the Centre International d'Epistemologie Genetique in Geneva, Switzerland from 1958 to 1959, and a visiting scientist and the National Institute of Mental Health in Maryland from 1959 until 1960. He worked as an associate professor at
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
until 1962, when he was hired as a professor of psychology at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, where he remained until his death in 1976.


Writing

Berlyne has published seven books, including: ''Conflict, Arousal and Curiosity'' (1960), ''Humor and its Kin'' (1972), ''Invited Commentary: B.F. Skinner's Beyond Freedom and Dignity'' (1972), and ''Behaviorism? Cognitive Theory? Humanistic Psychology?— To Hull with Them All'' (1974). He has also authored hundreds of articles and chapters such as Interest' as a Psychological Concept'' in 1949, an article which he claims to have introduced the concept of curiosity into psychological literature.


Research

Berlyne is often considered the heir to C.L. Hull's Hullian School of behavior. Thus, most of Berlyne's work focused on the effects of and reactions to curiosity and arousal, rather than focus on the ideas as states of being. His work focused on "why organisms display curiosity and explore their environment, why they seek knowledge and information". He believed that objects impact on three levels, psychophysical, environmental, and collative. The last of these was a term coined by Berlyne which attempted to describe the hedonic levels of arousal fluctuation through stimuli such as novelty, complexity, surprisingness, incongruity. Ultimately, he believed that arousal was best and most effective when at a moderate level and influenced by the complexity and novelty of the arousing object.


References


External links


Obituary and BiographyEncyclopedia entry on Berlyne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlyne, Daniel 20th-century American psychologists 20th-century British psychologists Philosophers from Massachusetts 1924 births 1976 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Yale University alumni Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Boston University faculty Academic staff of the University of Toronto British emigrants to Canada Canadian expatriate academics in the United States Brooklyn College faculty Presidents of the Canadian Psychological Association 20th-century Canadian psychologists People educated at Manchester Grammar School