W. E. Hick

W. E. Hick

William Edmund Hick (1912-08-01 – 1974-12-20) was a British psychologist, who was a pioneer in the new sciences of experimental psychology and ergonomics in the mid-20th century.

Hick trained as a doctor, taking the MB and BS degrees of the University of Durham in 1938, and the MD of the same University in 1949. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1941, leaving in 1944 when he moved to Cambridge to join the MRC's Applied Psychology Unit at the Cambridge Psychological Laboratory.

He was appointed Reader by the University of Cambridge in 1953, and was also a Fellow of St. John's College.

He was a founding member of the Experimental Psychology Group and served as its President in 1958, when it became the Experimental Psychology Society. He was also a founder member of the Ergonomics Society and a member of the Ratio Club.

Probably his most famous contribution to experimental psychology was his paper "On the rate of gain of information" (Hick, 1952), which later became known as Hick's law, and widely depended upon in the study of human information processing, for instance using the Jensen Box.

References

*
*
*


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hick's law — Hick s law, named after British psychologist W. E. Hick, or the Hick Hyman law, describes the time it takes for a person to make a decision as a function of the possible choices he or she has. Given n equally probable choices, the average… …   Wikipedia

  • Hick — may refer to: *Hick, a term to refer to the stereotype of unsophisticated country peopleurname*Benjamin Hick, (1790 1842), a mechanical engineer *Graeme Hick, (born 1966), an English cricketer *John Hick, (born 1922), a philosopher of religion… …   Wikipedia

  • Hick — ist der Familienname von Jochen Hick (* 1960), deutscher Filmregisseur und produzent John Hick (* 1922), britischer Religionsphilosoph William Edmund Hick (1912–1974), britischer Kognitionswissenschaftler siehe auch Hicks Hicksches Gesetz (auch… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • hick — adj. 1. rural. Opposite of {urban}. [WordNet 1.5] 2. characteristic of rural people, especially those not knowledgeable about matters outside their locality; as, hick ideas; a hick town. Syn: bumpkinly, rustic, unsophisticated. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hick — [hık] n AmE informal [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: Hick, a man s name, from Richard] someone who lives in the countryside, and is thought to be uneducated or stupid >hick adj ▪ hick towns …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • hick — [ hık ] noun count OFFENSIVE an insulting word for a person who has always lived in the country and does not know about life in the cities ╾ hick adjective: a hick town …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • hick — n. A person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture; a hayseed. Syn: yokel, rube, yahoo, hayseed, bumpkin, chawbacon. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hick — late 14c., nickname of RICHARD (Cf. Richard). Meaning awkward provincial person was established by 1700 (Cf. RUBE (Cf. rube)); earlier it was the characteristic name of a hosteler, hackneyman, etc. (late 14c.), perhaps via alliteration. The… …   Etymology dictionary

  • hick — [hik] n. [altered < RICHARD1] Informal an awkward, unsophisticated person regarded as typical of rural areas; yokel; hayseed: a contemptuous term adj. Informal of or like a hick or hicks …   English World dictionary

  • hick|y — «HIHK ee», noun, plural hick|ies. = hickey. (Cf. ↑hickey) …   Useful english dictionary

  • hick — bumpkin, yokel, rube, clodhopper, clown, lout, *boor, churl …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”