Robyn Dawes

Robyn Mason Dawes (born 1936) is an American psychologist specializing in the field of human judgment. His research interests have included human irrationality, human cooperation, intuitive expertise, and the United States AIDS policy. [cite web|url=http://sds.hss.cmu.edu/src/faculty/dawes.php|title=Robyn Dawes profile at the Department of Social and Decision Sciences|accessdate=13 December|accessyear=2007] He co-wrote an early textbook on mathematical psychology (see below).

In 1985, Dawes joined the Department of Social and Decision Sciences (SDS) at Carnegie Mellon University where he served as Department Head for six years and is now the Charles J. Queenan, Jr. University Professor of Psychology. He is a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Research Council's Committee on AIDS Research. In 2006, Dawes was elected a Fellow of the American Statistical Association for "for creative research on statistics and rational decision-making, contributions to the application of cognitive psychology to survey research, and promotion of careful statistical thinking in psychology and behavioral research."

In 1990, he was awarded the William James Award by the American Psychological Association for the book "Rational Choice in an Uncertain World" (now it its 3rd Edition), which he co-wrote with Reid Hastie (see citation below).

Career

Dawes earned his B.A. in Philosophy at Harvard (1958) and his Master’s in Clinical Psychology (1960) at the University of Michigan before earning his Doctorate in Mathematical Psychology (1963) at the same institution. He has held jobs at the University of Oregon, where he served as Department Head for five years, as well as the Oregon Research Institute.

Books

cite book
last = Dawes
first = Robyn
title = Everyday Irrationality: How Pseudoscientists, Lunatics, and the Rest of Us Fail to Think Rationally
publisher = Westview Press
year = 2003

cite book
last = Dawes
first = Robyn
title = House of Cards: Psychology and Psychotherapy Built on Myth
publisher = Free Press
year = 1996

cite book
last = Dawes
first = Robyn
title = The Fundamentals of Attitude Measurement
publisher = John Wiley & Sons
year = 1974

cite book
last = Dawes
first = Robyn
title = Mathematical Psychology: An Elementary Introduction (with Clyde Coombs and Amos Tversky)
publisher = Prentice Hall
year = 1970

References