Delbert Duane Thiessen is an American

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

professor emeritus whose research focused on evolutionary mechanisms of reproduction and social communication. Del Wolf Thiessen, Ph.D., Born: August 13, 1932 Died:February 9, 2022 Professor Emeritus Psychology at University of Texas at Austin, Texas. Academic Interests: * Evolution, Evolutionary Psychology * Animal and Human Communication * Deviant Human Behavior (psychopathy) * Demographic, Historical, and Cultural Influences on Behavior * Editor: Agave Publishers.com (fiction and non-fiction books) * Website and Blog: www.darksideofthebrain.com Theoretical Interests: * The place of emergent behavior in the evolution of complex species. * New and old ideas for the genesis, development, and mechanisms * of the deviant mind * History, literature, and sociological perspectives of psychopathic behavior.

Education

Thiessen studied at

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

and

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

, completing his Ph.D. in biopsychology at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. He then did research at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

before taking a position at

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. He is Professor of

evolutionary psychology Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regards to the ancestral problems they evol ...

and member of the Institute of Neuroscience. He conducted research on the genetics of alcoholism at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California. He is Fellow of the American Psychological Association and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. At the University of Texas he taught Comparative Psychology and investigated animal communication and human biology and behavior. He continues his investigations of human deviant behaviors, writes fiction and non-fiction, and publishes a weekly blog: www.darksideofthebrain.com. His hobbies include exploring history and literature, playing blues harmonica, and enjoying billiards. Education and Professional History: * 1960-1961 Public Health Fellow, MF 11, 174, Sponsored by Drs. David a Rodgers and Gerald E. McClearn, Univ. Berkeley * 1961, Summer Public Health Fellow, Behavior Genetics Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor, Maine, Sponsored by Dr. John L. Fuller * 1961 Public Health Fellow, MF 11,174, Sponsor Dr. Gerald E. McClearn, UC, Berkeley * 1962 Fellow, Summer Institute in Behavior Genetics, UC, Berkeley * 1963. Thiessen received his Ph.D. in Physiological Psychology at UC, Berkeley. His graduate studies were sponsored by Gerald McClearn, David Rodgers, Frank Beach, and Peter Marler. * 1962-1965 Assistant Professor, Section of Medical Psychology, Division of Psychiatry, Scripps Clinic & Research Foundation, La Jolla, CA * 1964 Instructor, Physiological Psychology, Univ. Calif. Extension, La Jolla * 1965-1967 Assistant Professor & Assistant Chair, Dept. Psychology, Univ. Texas at Austin * 1968-1971 Associate Professor, Dept. Psychology, Univ. Texas at Austin * 1971-2001 Professor, Dept. Psychology, Univ. Texas at Austin * 2001–Present Professor Emeritus, Dept. Psychology, Univ. Texas at Austin.

Publication

Thiessen published five books on

behavior genetics Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" c ...

and over 250 articles in animal and human behavior. Publications include about 250 research publication, 200 conference presentations, and a number of books published individually and with a number of professional colleagues. Books published include: * Manosevitz, M., Lindzey, G., & Thiessen, D.D. (eds), Behavioral Genetics:Method and research. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1969 * Lindzey, G. & Thiessen, D.D. (eds) Contributions to behavior-genetic analysis:The mouse as a prototype. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1970 * Thiessen, D.D. Gene organization and behavior. New York: Random House 1972 * Thiessen, D.D. The evolution and biochemistry of aggression. Springfield, Ill., C.C. Thomas, 1976 * Thiessen, D.D. & Yahr, P. The gerbil in behavioral investigations: Mechanisms of territoriality and olfactory communication. Austin: Univ. Texas Press, 1977 * Thiessen, D. Bittersweet Destiny: The Stormy Evolution of Human Behavior. New Brunswick, Transaction Publishers, 1996. Republished as paperback with new preface, 2012 * Thiessen, W. Slip-ups and the Dangerous Mind: Seeing through and living beyond the psychopath. Amazon.com. Create Space, 2012 * Thiessen, D. (Wolf). Psychopaths Rising: Unholy links between civilization and destruction, In Press, Amazon.com. Create Space, 2013 * Thiessen, D. Universal Desires & Fears: The deep history of sociobiology. Gaea Publishing Co (Agave Publishing Co LLC 1997. Republished as Sociobiology Compendium: Aphorisms, Saying, Asides. New Brunswick, Transaction Publishers, 1998 * Thiessen, D. Survival of the Fittest: The Darwinian diet and exercise program. Morgan Printing (Agave Publishing Co LLC), 1998 * Thiessen, W. Night of the Dagger (original Haitian Voodoo artwork by Edouard Wah), Agave Publishers LLC, 2005

Appointments

He is a Fellow of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It has ...

, Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...

, a member of the

American Psychological Society The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in ...

, the

National Association of Scholars The National Association of Scholars (NAS) is an American non-profit politically conservative advocacy organization, with a particular interest in education. It opposes a perceived political correctness on college campuses and supports a return ...

Human Behavior and Evolution Society The Human Behavior and Evolution Society, or HBES, is an interdisciplinary, international society of researchers, primarily from the social and biological sciences, who use modern evolutionary theory to help to discover human nature — including e ...

, Southwestern Comparative Psychological Association, the Society for the Study of Social Policies, International Society for Research on Aggression, the

European Sociobiological Society European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

, and the

Behavior Genetics Association The Behavior Genetics Association (BGA) is a learned society established in 1970 and which promotes research into the connections between heredity and behavior, both human and animal. Its members support education and training in behavior genetic ...

. In 1967, at the University of Texas, Thiessen was awarded a five-year Career Development from National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) to study gene substitutions on behavior and physiology of mice. Over the years he has held appointments as research article reviewer, editor, or membership in a number of professional organizations, including *

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

* Alumni Association, Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME * American Psychological Association *

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

* Psychonomic Society * Animal Behavior Society * Southwestern Psychological Association * International Society for Developmental Psychobiology * Evolution and Behavior * Behavior Genetics Association * International Society for Research on Aggression * The National Association of Scholars * Who's Who in America In 1969 he received a three-year award by the Russell Sage Foundation to help develop behavior genetic studies at the Center for Behavior Genetics and Evolution at the University of Texas. Beginning in 1970 and lasting approximately 25 years, Thiessen received continuing research support from NIMH to conduct behavior genetic and pheromone research on mice and gerbils. During this period he also served for eight years on NIMH research study committees evaluating research applications for psychological research from NIMH. In 1975 he was awarded research funds from the University Research Institute at the Univ. Texas at Austin. Thiessen is currently Fellow of the American Psychological Association and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His first novel, The Devil's Song, reached the 2011 semi-finals in competition at Amazon.com. A recent publication is Slip-ups and the Dangerous Mind: Seeing Through and Living Beyond the Psychopath (Create Space: Amazon.com. 2012).

Activities

In 1994 he was one of 52 signatories on "

Mainstream Science on Intelligence "Mainstream Science on Intelligence" was a public statement issued by a group of researchers of topics associated with intelligence testing. It was published originally in ''The Wall Street Journal'' on December 13, 1994, as a response to criticis ...

,Gottfredson, Linda (December 13, 1994).

. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', p A18." an editorial written by

Linda Gottfredson Linda Susanne Gottfredson (née Howarth; born 1947) is an American psychologist and writer. She is professor emeritus of educational psychology at the University of Delaware and co-director of the Delaware-Johns Hopkins Project for the Study of I ...

and published in ''

'', which declared the consensus of the signing scholars on issues related to intelligence research following the publication of the book ''

The Bell Curve ''The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life'' is a 1994 book by psychologist Richard J. Herrnstein and political scientist Charles Murray, in which the authors argue that human intelligence is substantially influenced b ...

''. Additional Activities: * Interest in theory building in the principles of genetic and evolutionary roots of survival mechanisms and reproductive strategies with emphasis on sociobiology, communication, and mate selection. * Studies of contemporary contingencies associated with social dominance and reproduction. * Perspectives on psychopathic and Machiavellian relations to leadership and deviant behaviors. * Writing non-fiction and fiction pieces and developing a website and blog: www.darksideofthebrain.com.

Selected works

*Thiessen D (1996). ''Bittersweet Destiny: The Stormy Evolution of Human Behavior''. Transaction Publishers.

References

External links

Delbert Thiessen page
via University of Texas at Austin {{DEFAULTSORT:Thiessen, Del Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Denver alumni San Jose State University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty Psychology educators Behavior geneticists Scripps Research National Association of Scholars Fellows of the American Psychological Association