Peter Venables (3 April 1923 – 26 April 2017) was a British psychologist known for his contributions to the fields of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

and

psychophysiology Psychophysiology (from Greek , ''psȳkhē'', "breath, life, soul"; , ''physis'', "nature, origin"; and , '' -logia'') is the branch of psychology that is concerned with the physiological bases of psychological processes. While psychophysiolog ...

, including linking childhood malnutrition to later schizotypal personality. He also founded and served as the head of the department of Psychology at the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

Early life

Venables was born in

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay towar ...

, Devon to parents Lilian (née Harris) and Harry. He attended Calday Grange Grammar School and at 16, worked at Post Office Telephones. In 1944, he joined the navy as a radar technician. In 1947, Venables earned a government grant to study psychology at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL), graduating in 1951. He received his PhD in 1953.

Career

Venables was the founder and former head of the department of Psychology at the University of York. He retired in 1988 to become Emeritus Professor at the University of York, where he continued to research. He was also a former President of 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 ...

(1979–1980), the Society for Psychophysiological Research (U.S., 1977–1978), and the Experimental Psychology Society (UK, 1968–1970). Venables published over 260 journal articles, book chapters, and books. Three of his articles have been recognized as citation classics. His contributions in the fields of schizophrenia and psychophysiology embraced a wide range of topics that included clinical, cognitive, neuroanatomical, psychophysiological, and neurodevelopmental issues.

Awards and recognition

His awards included one for Distinguished Contributions to Psychophysiology (U.S., Society for Psychophysiological Research, 1987), the Zubin Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Discipline from the Society for Research in Psychopathology (U.S., 1990), Honorary Membership of the Experimental Psychology Society (UK, 1993), an award from the British Association for Cognitive Neuroscience for Outstanding Contributions to British Psychophysiology (UK, 2009), and most recently the Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychological Knowledge (British Psychological Society, 2014).

Personal life

In 1948, Venable married Agnes "Ness" Hawkins (d. 2010), whom he had met during his time in the navy. They had two sons, Peter and Andrew.

References

1923 births 2017 deaths British psychologists Academics of the University of York Alumni of University College London Military personnel from Devon People educated at Calday Grange Grammar School Presidents of the British Psychological Society Schizophrenia researchers People from Ilfracombe {{UK-psychologist-stub