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{{short description|American psychologist (born 1936)}}
{{short description|American psychologist (born 1936)}}
{{for|other people of the same name|Michael Posner (disambiguation)}}
{{for|other people of the same name|Michael Posner (disambiguation)}}

{{more footnotes|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Michael Posner
| name = Michael Posner
| image =
| image = Michael I Posner.jpg
| caption = Michael Posner
| caption = Posner in 2017
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1936|09|12}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1936|09|12}}
| birth_place =
| birth_place =
Line 12: Line 12:
| nationality = American
| nationality = American
| fields = [[Psychology]]
| fields = [[Psychology]]
| workplaces = [[University of Oregon]] <br> [[Sackler Institute]]
| workplaces = [[University of Oregon]] <br> [[Weill Medical College]] in New York (Sackler Institute)
| alma_mater = [[University of Washington]]<br /> [[University of Michigan]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Washington]]<br /> [[University of Michigan]]
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_advisor =
Line 18: Line 18:
| known_for = [[Neuroscience]]
| known_for = [[Neuroscience]]
| website =
| website =
| awards = [[Grawemeyer Award]] in Psychology <small>(2001)</small><br>[[National Medal of Science]] <small>(2008)</small><br>[[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] <small>(2011)</small> <br>[[John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science]] <small>(2012)</small>
| awards = [[Karl Spencer Lashley Award]] {{small|(1998)}}<br>[[Grawemeyer Award]] in Psychology <small>(2001)</small><br>[[National Medal of Science]] <small>(2008)</small><br>[[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] <small>(2011)</small> <br>[[John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science]] <small>(2012)</small>
}}
}}


'''Michael I. Posner''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|oʊ|z|n|ər}}; born September 12, 1936) is an American psychologist, the editor of numerous [[cognitive neuroscience|cognitive]] and [[neuroscience]] compilations, and an eminent researcher in the field of [[attention]]. He is currently an [[Professor Emeritus|emeritus professor]] of [[psychology]] at the [[University of Oregon]] (Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences), and an [[adjunct professor]] at the [[Weill Medical College]] in New York ([https://www.sacklerinstitute.org/cornell/people/michael.posner/ Sackler Institute]). A ''[[Review of General Psychology]]'' survey, published in 2002, ranked Posner as the 56th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century |journal=Review of General Psychology |volume=6 |issue=2 |year=2002 |pages=139–152 |doi=10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139 |url=http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug02/eminent.aspx |last1=Haggbloom |first1=Steven J. |last2=Warnick |first2=Renee |last3=Warnick |first3=Jason E. |last4=Jones |first4=Vinessa K. |last5=Yarbrough |first5=Gary L. |last6=Russell |first6=Tenea M. |last7=Borecky |first7=Chris M. |last8=McGahhey |first8=Reagan |last9=Powell III |first9=John L. |last10=Beavers |first10=Jamie |last11=Monte |first11=Emmanuelle|s2cid=145668721 }}</ref>
'''Michael I. Posner''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|oʊ|z|n|ər}}; born September 12, 1936) is an American psychologist who is a researcher in the field of [[attention]], and the editor of numerous [[cognitive neuroscience|cognitive]] and [[neuroscience]] compilations. He is [[Professor Emeritus|emeritus professor]] of [[psychology]] at the [[University of Oregon]] (Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences), and an [[adjunct professor]] at the [[Weill Medical College]] in New York (Sackler Institute). A ''[[Review of General Psychology]]'' survey, published in 2002, ranked Posner as the 56th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century |journal=Review of General Psychology |volume=6 |issue=2 |year=2002 |pages=139–152 |doi=10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139 |url=http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug02/eminent.aspx |last1=Haggbloom |first1=Steven J. |last2=Warnick |first2=Renee |last3=Warnick |first3=Jason E. |last4=Jones |first4=Vinessa K. |last5=Yarbrough |first5=Gary L. |last6=Russell |first6=Tenea M. |last7=Borecky |first7=Chris M. |last8=McGahhey |first8=Reagan |last9=Powell III |first9=John L. |last10=Beavers |first10=Jamie |last11=Monte |first11=Emmanuelle|s2cid=145668721 |citeseerx=10.1.1.586.1913 }}</ref>


== Education and career ==
== Education and career ==
In 1957, Posner received his [[BS]] in [[physics]] and in 1959, his [[MS]] in psychology from the [[University of Washington]] in [[Seattle, Washington]]. In 1962, he received his [[PhD]] in psychology from the [[University of Michigan]] in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]]. After finishing his PhD, Posner joined the faculty of the [[University of Wisconsin]] in [[Madison, Wisconsin]] as an assistant professor of psychology. In 1968, he joined the faculty of the [[University of Oregon]] in [[Eugene, Oregon]] as an associate professor of psychology. He retired from teaching at Oregon in 2000 with the rank of emeritus professor. In 2003, Posner founded and became coordinator of the Brain, Biology and Machine Initiative at the University of Oregon.<ref name=cv>{{cite web|title=Posner CV 2014|url=https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/b/8619/files/2014/07/Posner-CV-2014r-2838egn.pdf|publisher=University of Oregon Psychology Department|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>
In 1957, Posner received his [[Bachelor of Science|BS]] in [[physics]] and in 1959, his [[Master of Science|MS]] in psychology from the [[University of Washington]] in [[Seattle, Washington]]. In 1962, he received his [[PhD]] in psychology from the [[University of Michigan]] in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]].<ref name=cv>{{cite web|title=Posner CV 2014|url=https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/b/8619/files/2014/07/Posner-CV-2014r-2838egn.pdf|publisher=University of Oregon Psychology Department|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>


Posner joined the faculty of the [[University of Wisconsin]] in [[Madison, Wisconsin]] as an assistant professor of psychology. In 1968, he joined the faculty of the [[University of Oregon]] in [[Eugene, Oregon]] as an associate professor of psychology. He retired from teaching at Oregon in 2000 with the rank of emeritus professor. In 2003, Posner founded and became coordinator of the Brain, Biology and Machine Initiative at the University of Oregon.<ref name=cv />
⚫
Posner studied the role of attention in high-level human tasks such as [[visual search]], reading, and [[number processing]]. More recently he investigated the development of attentional networks in infants and young children. A test of an individual's capability to perform [[attentional shift]] was formulated by him and bears his name - the [[Posner cueing task]].


⚫
Posner studied the role of attention in high-level human tasks such as [[visual search]], reading, and [[number processing]]. More recently he investigated the development of attentional networks in infants and young children. A test of an individual's capability to perform [[attentional shift]] was formulated by him and bears his name—the [[Posner cueing task]].<ref name=cueing>{{Cite journal
⚫
In ''Chronometric Explorations of Mind'', published in 1976, Posner applied the subtractive method proposed 110 years earlier by [[Franciscus Donders]] to the study of several cognitive functions such as attention and memory. The subtractive method is based on the assumption that mental operations can be measured by decomposing complex cognitive tasks in sequences of simpler tasks. The method assumes that the effect of each mental operation is additive and that it is possible to isolate the effect of a single mental operation by comparing two tasks that differ only by the presence or absence of that mental operation. (See [[Mental chronometry]] for additional information on Donders' experiment.)
| doi = 10.1080/00335558008248231
| last1 = Posner | first1 = M. I.
| title = Orienting of attention
| journal = [[Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology]]
| volume = 32
| issue = 1
| pages = 3–25
| year = 1980
| pmid = 7367577
| s2cid = 2842391 }}</ref>


⚫
In ''Chronometric Explorations of Mind'', published in 1976, Posner applied the subtractive method proposed 110 years earlier by [[Franciscus Donders]] to the study of several cognitive functions such as attention and memory. The subtractive method is based on the assumption that mental operations can be measured by decomposing complex cognitive tasks in sequences of simpler tasks. The method assumes that the effect of each mental operation is additive and that it is possible to isolate the effect of a single mental operation by comparing two tasks that differ only by the presence or absence of that mental operation. (See [[Mental chronometry]] for additional information on Donders' experiment.)<ref name=rvw>{{cite journal | last=BAINBRIDGE | first=LEANNE | title=Review of: "Chronometric Explorations of Mind". By M. I. POSNER. (Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1978.) &#91;Pp. xiii + 271.&#93; £1050 | journal=Ergonomics | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=26 | issue=1 | year=1983 | issn=0014-0139 | doi=10.1080/00140138308963319 | pages=111–112}}</ref>
⚫
Posner applied the same subtractive principle to the study of attentional networks using PET ([[Positron Emission Tomography]]), a neuroimaging technique that produces three-dimensional functional maps of the brain. In ''Images of Mind'', published with [[Marcus Raichle]] in 1994, Posner investigated brain localization of cognitive functions by looking at the patterns of brain activation in progressively more complex cognitive tasks. Posner won the 2001 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology, along with Marcus Raichle and [[Steven E. Petersen|Steven Petersen]]. In 2005, the [[American Psychological Association]] published an edited volume in tribute to Posner's work. As reported by Steven W. Keele and Ulrich Mayr in that volume, "In May 2003, 10 speakers and a large audience gathered at the University of Oregon in Eugene to pay tribute to the enormously influential contributions Michael Posner has made to the disciplines of psychology and cognitive neuroscience." <ref name=volume>{{cite encyclopedia|title=A Tribute to Michael I. Posner|last1=Keele|first1=Steven W.|last2=Mayr|first2=Ulrich|editor1-last=Mayr|editor1-first=Ulrich|editor2-last=Awh|editor2-first=Edward|editor3-last=Keele|editor3-first=Steven W.|encyclopedia=Developing Individuality in the Human Brain: A Tribute to Michael I. Posner|url= https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4318019?tab=1|date=2005|publisher=American Psychological Association|isbn=978-1-59147-210-0|pages=273|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref><ref>http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4318019s.pdf</ref>


Posner applied the same subtractive principle to the study of attentional networks using PET ([[Positron Emission Tomography]]), a neuroimaging technique that produces three-dimensional functional maps of the brain. In ''Images of Mind'', published with [[Marcus Raichle]] in 1994, Posner investigated brain localization of cognitive functions by looking at the patterns of brain activation in progressively more complex cognitive tasks.<ref name=rvw2>{{cite web | title=APA PsycNet | website=APA PsycNet | date=1999-06-01 | url=https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-97426-000 | ref={{sfnref | APA PsycNet | 1999}} | access-date=2021-02-15}}</ref> Posner won the 2001 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology, along with Marcus Raichle and [[Steven E. Petersen|Steven Petersen]].<ref name=grawemeyer>{{cite web | title=Psychology – Grawemeyer Awards | website=Grawemeyer Awards | url=http://grawemeyer.org/psychology/#toggle-id-3 | ref={{sfnref | Grawemeyer Awards}} | access-date=2021-02-15}}</ref>
⚫
== Awards ==
The impact of Posner's theoretical and empirical contributions has been recognized through fellowship in the [[American Psychological Association]], the [[Association for Psychological Science]], the [[Society of Experimental Psychologists]], the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]<ref name=aaas>{{cite web|title=Michael I. Posner|url=https://www.amacad.org/person/michael-i-posner|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>, and the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]].


⚫
In 2005, the [[American Psychological Association]] published an edited volume in tribute to Posner's work. As reported by Steven W. Keele and Ulrich Mayr in that volume, "In May 2003, 10 speakers and a large audience gathered at the University of Oregon in Eugene to pay tribute to the enormously influential contributions Michael Posner has made to the disciplines of psychology and cognitive neuroscience."<ref name=volume>{{cite encyclopedia|title=A Tribute to Michael I. Posner|last1=Keele|first1=Steven W.|last2=Mayr|first2=Ulrich|editor1-last=Mayr|editor1-first=Ulrich|editor2-last=Awh|editor2-first=Edward|editor3-last=Keele|editor3-first=Steven W.|encyclopedia=Developing Individuality in the Human Brain: A Tribute to Michael I. Posner|url= https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4318019?tab=1|date=2005|publisher=American Psychological Association|isbn=978-1-59147-210-0|pages=273|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A Tribute to Michael I. Posner|last1=Keele|first1=Steven W.|last2=Mayr|first2=Ulrich|url=http://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4318019s.pdf|publisher=American Psychological Association|access-date=10 April 2021}}</ref>
In 1979, the [[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation]] selected Posner as a Guggenheim fellow for 1979–1980. <ref name=guggenheim>{{cite web | title=Michael I. Posner | website=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/michael-i-posner/ | ref={{sfnref | John Simon Guggenheim Foundation}} | access-date=2021-02-14}}</ref>


⚫
== Awards ==
In 2008 he presented the inaugural [[Paul B. Baltes Lecture]] at the [[Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities]].
The impact of Posner's theoretical and empirical contributions has been recognized through fellowship in the [[American Psychological Association]], the [[Association for Psychological Science]], the [[Cognitive Science Society]],<ref name=cogsci>{{cite web | title=Fellows of the Society | website=Cognitive Science Society | date=2021-01-05 | url=https://cognitivesciencesociety.org/society-awards/ | ref={{sfnref | Cognitive Science Society | 2021}} | access-date=2021-02-15}}</ref> the [[Society of Experimental Psychologists]],<ref name=exppsych>{{cite web | title=SEP | website=The Society of Experimental Psychologists | date=1999-12-24 | url=http://www.sepsych.org/fellows.php | ref={{sfnref | The Society of Experimental Psychologists | 1999}} | access-date=2021-02-15}}</ref> the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]],<ref name=aaas>{{cite web|title=Michael I. Posner|url=https://www.amacad.org/person/michael-i-posner|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref> and the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]].<ref name=aroundtheo>{{cite web | title=Michael Posner's pioneering work draws another national award | website=Media Relations | date=2012-01-18 | url=https://uonews.uoregon.edu/archive/news-release/2012/1/michael-posners-pioneering-work-draws-another-national-award | ref={{sfnref | Media Relations | 2012}} | access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>


Posner was elected to the [[United States National Academy of Sciences]] in 2011.<ref name=nas>{{cite web|title=Michael Posner|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/51547.html|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>
In 1979, the [[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation]] awarded Posner a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] for 1979–1980.<ref name=guggenheim>{{cite web | title=Michael I. Posner | website=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/michael-i-posner/ | ref={{sfnref | John Simon Guggenheim Foundation}} | access-date=2021-02-14}}</ref> Posner was elected to the [[United States National Academy of Sciences]] in 2011.<ref name=nas>{{cite web|title=Michael Posner|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/51547.html|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>


In 2008, Posner was named as the winner of the 2008 [[National Medal of Science]] for Behavioral and Social Science.<ref name=medalofscience>{{cite web|title=Psychologist wins National Medal of Science|url=https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/12/posner|publisher= American Psychological Association|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref> The citation read "For his innovative application of technology to the understanding of brain function, his incisive and accurate modeling of functional tasks, and his development of methodological and conceptual tools to help understand the mind and the development of brain networks of attention".<ref name=medal2>{{cite web|title=Michael I. Posner: 2008 National Medal of Science|url=https://nationalmedals.org/laureate/michael-i-posner/|publisher=National Science and Technology Medals Foundation|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>
In 2008, Posner was named as the winner of the [[National Medal of Science]] for Behavioral and Social Science.<ref name=medalofscience>{{cite web|title=Psychologist wins National Medal of Science|url=https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/12/posner|publisher= American Psychological Association|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref> The citation read "For his innovative application of technology to the understanding of brain function, his incisive and accurate modeling of functional tasks, and his development of methodological and conceptual tools to help understand the mind and the development of brain networks of attention".<ref name=medal2>{{cite web|title=Michael I. Posner: 2008 National Medal of Science|url=https://nationalmedals.org/laureate/michael-i-posner/|publisher=National Science and Technology Medals Foundation|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>


In 2012, the the National Academy of Sciences honored Poser with the 2012 John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science "For outstanding contributions to the understanding of spatial attention and for pioneering investigations of the neural basis of cognition using non-invasive functional brain imaging methods". <ref name=carty>{{cite web|title=John J. Carty Awards| url=http://www.nasonline.org/programs/awards/john-j-carty-award.html|publisher=National Academies of Science|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>
In 2012, the National Academy of Sciences honored Posner with the John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science "For outstanding contributions to the understanding of spatial attention and for pioneering investigations of the neural basis of cognition using non-invasive functional brain imaging methods".<ref name=carty>{{cite web|title=John J. Carty Awards| url=http://www.nasonline.org/programs/awards/john-j-carty-award.html|publisher=National Academies of Science|access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref> In 2014, he was elected a [[British Academy#Fellowship|Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy]].<ref name="BA Fellow">{{cite web | url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/british-academy-announces-42-new-fellows/2014585.article | title=British Academy announces 42 new fellows | publisher=Times Higher Education | date=18 July 2014 | access-date=18 July 2014}}</ref>

In 2014 he was elected a [[British Academy#Fellowship|Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy]].<ref name="BA Fellow">{{cite web | url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/british-academy-announces-42-new-fellows/2014585.article | title=British Academy announces 42 new fellows | publisher=Times Higher Education | date=18 July 2014 | access-date=18 July 2014}}</ref>


==Selected publications==
==Selected publications==
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| publisher = Scientific American Books
| publisher = Scientific American Books
| year = 1994
| year = 1994
| isbn = 9780716750451
}}
}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Posner|first1=Michael I.|last2=Rothbart|first2=Mary K|last3=Tang|first3=Yiyuan| title=Developing self-regulation in early childhood | journal= Trends in Neuroscience and Education| volume=2 | issue=3–4 | date=2013-09-01 | issn=2211-9493 | doi=10.1016/j.tine.2013.09.001 | pages=107–110 |pmid=24563845| url= | pmc=3927309 }}
*{{cite journal|last=Posner|first=Michael I.|title=Orienting of attention (The 7th Sir F.C. Bartlett Lecture)|journal=Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology|volume=32|issue=1|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7367577/|doi=10.1080/00335558008248231|pmid=7367577|pages=3–25|date=1980|s2cid=2842391|access-date=2021-02-15}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Posner|first1=Michael I.|last2=Petersen|first2=Steven E.|title=The attention system of the human brain|journal=Annual Review of Neuroscience|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2183676/|doi=10.1146/annurev.ne.13.030190.000325|pmid=2183676|volume=13|issue=1|pages=25–42|date=1990|s2cid=2995749 |access-date=2021-02-15}}

== See also ==
== See also ==
*[[Attentional shift]]
*[[Two-alternative forced choice]]
*[[Two-alternative forced choice]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}



== External links ==
== External links ==
*Posner's website: https://web.archive.org/web/20071118022750/http://www.neuro.uoregon.edu/ionmain/htdocs/faculty/posner.html
*Posner's website: https://web.archive.org/web/20071118022750/http://www.neuro.uoregon.edu/ionmain/htdocs/faculty/posner.html
*{{Google Scholar id|4X4X4xkAAAAJ}}
* M. Posner Research blog: https://blogs.uoregon.edu/mposner/

{{Psychology}}
{{Psychology}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Posner, Michael I.}}
[[Category:20th-century psychologists]]
[[Category:21st-century American psychologists]]
[[Category:21st-century psychologists]]
[[Category:20th-century American psychologists]]
[[Category:American psychologists]]
[[Category:American cognitive neuroscientists]]
[[Category:Cognitive scientists]]
[[Category:Cognitive neuroscientists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Society of Experimental Psychologists]]
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[[Category:Fellows of the Cognitive Science Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Cognitive Science Society]]
[[Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty]]
[[Category:Weill Medical College of Cornell University faculty]]
[[Category:The Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science laureates]]

Revision as of 09:37, 2 May 2024

For other people of the same name, see Michael Posner (disambiguation).
Michael Posner
Posner in 2017
Born (1936-09-12) September 12, 1936 (age 87)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Washington
University of Michigan
Known forNeuroscience
AwardsKarl Spencer Lashley Award (1998)
Grawemeyer Award in Psychology (2001)
National Medal of Science (2008)
National Academy of Sciences (2011)
John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science (2012)
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
InstitutionsUniversity of Oregon
Weill Medical College in New York (Sackler Institute)
Doctoral studentsStanislas Dehaene
Jon Driver
Vicki Hanson
Wendy Kellogg
Daniel Levitin

Michael I. Posner (/ˈpoʊznər/; born September 12, 1936) is an American psychologist who is a researcher in the field of attention, and the editor of numerous cognitive and neuroscience compilations. He is emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Oregon (Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences), and an adjunct professor at the Weill Medical College in New York (Sackler Institute). A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Posner as the 56th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.[1]

Education and career

In 1957, Posner received his BS in physics and in 1959, his MS in psychology from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. In 1962, he received his PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[2]

Posner joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin as an assistant professor of psychology. In 1968, he joined the faculty of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon as an associate professor of psychology. He retired from teaching at Oregon in 2000 with the rank of emeritus professor. In 2003, Posner founded and became coordinator of the Brain, Biology and Machine Initiative at the University of Oregon.[2]

Posner studied the role of attention in high-level human tasks such as visual search, reading, and number processing. More recently he investigated the development of attentional networks in infants and young children. A test of an individual's capability to perform attentional shift was formulated by him and bears his name—the Posner cueing task.[3]

In Chronometric Explorations of Mind, published in 1976, Posner applied the subtractive method proposed 110 years earlier by Franciscus Donders to the study of several cognitive functions such as attention and memory. The subtractive method is based on the assumption that mental operations can be measured by decomposing complex cognitive tasks in sequences of simpler tasks. The method assumes that the effect of each mental operation is additive and that it is possible to isolate the effect of a single mental operation by comparing two tasks that differ only by the presence or absence of that mental operation. (See Mental chronometry for additional information on Donders' experiment.)[4]

Posner applied the same subtractive principle to the study of attentional networks using PET (Positron Emission Tomography), a neuroimaging technique that produces three-dimensional functional maps of the brain. In Images of Mind, published with Marcus Raichle in 1994, Posner investigated brain localization of cognitive functions by looking at the patterns of brain activation in progressively more complex cognitive tasks.[5] Posner won the 2001 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology, along with Marcus Raichle and Steven Petersen.[6]

In 2005, the American Psychological Association published an edited volume in tribute to Posner's work. As reported by Steven W. Keele and Ulrich Mayr in that volume, "In May 2003, 10 speakers and a large audience gathered at the University of Oregon in Eugene to pay tribute to the enormously influential contributions Michael Posner has made to the disciplines of psychology and cognitive neuroscience."[7][8]

Awards

The impact of Posner's theoretical and empirical contributions has been recognized through fellowship in the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the Cognitive Science Society,[9] the Society of Experimental Psychologists,[10] the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,[11] and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[12]

In 1979, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded Posner a Guggenheim Fellowship for 1979–1980.[13] Posner was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 2011.[14]

In 2008, Posner was named as the winner of the National Medal of Science for Behavioral and Social Science.[15] The citation read "For his innovative application of technology to the understanding of brain function, his incisive and accurate modeling of functional tasks, and his development of methodological and conceptual tools to help understand the mind and the development of brain networks of attention".[16]

In 2012, the National Academy of Sciences honored Posner with the John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science "For outstanding contributions to the understanding of spatial attention and for pioneering investigations of the neural basis of cognition using non-invasive functional brain imaging methods".[17] In 2014, he was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.[18]

Selected publications

  • Posner, Michael I. (1976). Chronometric Explorations of Mind. Hillsdale, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Posner, Michael I.; Raichle, ME (1994). Images of Mind. Scientific American Books. ISBN 9780716750451.
  • Posner, Michael I.; Rothbart, Mary K; Tang, Yiyuan (2013-09-01). "Developing self-regulation in early childhood". Trends in Neuroscience and Education. 2 (3–4): 107–110. doi:10.1016/j.tine.2013.09.001. ISSN 2211-9493. PMC 3927309. PMID 24563845.
  • Posner, Michael I. (1980). "Orienting of attention (The 7th Sir F.C. Bartlett Lecture)". Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 32 (1): 3–25. doi:10.1080/00335558008248231. PMID 7367577. S2CID 2842391. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  • Posner, Michael I.; Petersen, Steven E. (1990). "The attention system of the human brain". Annual Review of Neuroscience. 13 (1): 25–42. doi:10.1146/annurev.ne.13.030190.000325. PMID 2183676. S2CID 2995749. Retrieved 2021-02-15.

See also

References

  1. ^ Haggbloom, Steven J.; Warnick, Renee; Warnick, Jason E.; Jones, Vinessa K.; Yarbrough, Gary L.; Russell, Tenea M.; Borecky, Chris M.; McGahhey, Reagan; Powell III, John L.; Beavers, Jamie; Monte, Emmanuelle (2002). "The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century". Review of General Psychology. 6 (2): 139–152. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.586.1913. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139. S2CID 145668721.
  2. ^ a b "Posner CV 2014" (PDF). University of Oregon Psychology Department. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  3. ^ Posner, M. I. (1980). "Orienting of attention". Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 32 (1): 3–25. doi:10.1080/00335558008248231. PMID 7367577. S2CID 2842391.
  4. ^ BAINBRIDGE, LEANNE (1983). "Review of: "Chronometric Explorations of Mind". By M. I. POSNER. (Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1978.) [Pp. xiii + 271.] £1050". Ergonomics. 26 (1). Informa UK Limited: 111–112. doi:10.1080/00140138308963319. ISSN 0014-0139.
  5. ^ "APA PsycNet". APA PsycNet. 1999-06-01. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  6. ^ "Psychology – Grawemeyer Awards". Grawemeyer Awards. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  7. ^ Keele, Steven W.; Mayr, Ulrich (2005). "A Tribute to Michael I. Posner". In Mayr, Ulrich; Awh, Edward; Keele, Steven W. (eds.). Developing Individuality in the Human Brain: A Tribute to Michael I. Posner. American Psychological Association. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-59147-210-0. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  8. ^ Keele, Steven W.; Mayr, Ulrich. "A Tribute to Michael I. Posner" (PDF). American Psychological Association. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Fellows of the Society". Cognitive Science Society. 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  10. ^ "SEP". The Society of Experimental Psychologists. 1999-12-24. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  11. ^ "Michael I. Posner". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Michael Posner's pioneering work draws another national award". Media Relations. 2012-01-18. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Michael I. Posner". John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  14. ^ "Michael Posner". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Psychologist wins National Medal of Science". American Psychological Association. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Michael I. Posner: 2008 National Medal of Science". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  17. ^ "John J. Carty Awards". National Academies of Science. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  18. ^ "British Academy announces 42 new fellows". Times Higher Education. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
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