Raymond B. Cattell

William Revelle Northwestern University

Raymond Cattell (1905-1998) was one of the most prolific scholars in the fields of , and in the twentieth century. His more than 43 books and 500 articles made major contributions to theories of personality and ability and methodological techniques in psychometrics remain among the most cited of all .

Raymond Bernard Cattell (born: Hilltop, West tician, R.A. Fisher, as well as the psychometrician Bromich, England, March 20, 1905; died Honolulu, and educational theorist, . From Spear- Hawaii, February 2, 1998) was one of the most pro- man he learned about and the study lific and important psychologists of the twentieth of intelligence, from Fisher, the analysis of variance century. With more than 43 books and 500 articles and experimental design, from Burt, the social and he seemingly could write faster than some could political implications of the study of individual dif- read. His contributions to theories of personality, in- ferences. He received his Ph.D. in 1929 from Kings telligence and psychometrics were and remain very Collge. His career reflected the influence of these influential to this day. He and were three mentors, all of whom were gifted mathemati- the two major contributors to the scientific study cally, for Cattell combined all three approaches and of personality in the mid to late twentieth century. tried to apply a mathematical approach to the study The distinctions he drew between crystallized and of personality. fluid intelligence, between state and trait personal- Receiving a Ph.D. in the start of the depression, ity, as well as a multitude of psychometric innova- Cattell was a lecturer in at the Univer- tions have become embedded in the psychological sity of Exeter and then spent five years doing educa- armamentarium perhaps without recognition. tional and in the clinic in Leicester before being offered (1937) a one Catttell started his career as an undergraduate year post-doctoral position with E.L. Thorndike at student in chemistry at Kings College, at Columbia. He then spent three years at Clark Uni- age 16. Although achieving a first in chemistry at versity where he was the G. Stanley Hall Professor age 19, having heard lectures by Cyril Burt and of Genetic (developmental) Psychology before be- , and perhaps influenced by the coming a lecturer at Harvard from 1941-1945. With horrors of the first world war, the young Cattell great relief that he no longer had to teach under- decided to pursue graduate training in psychology. graduates, he became a Research Professor of Psy- His graduate advisor was Charles Spearman, the chology at the University of Illinois in 1945 where great psychometrician and intelligence theorist, but he stayed until retiring in 1973. He then continued he was also influenced by the geneticist and statis- to work in Boulder, Colorado before moving to the University of Hawaii in 1978. He worked there until his death in 1998. For Cattell, the study of personality was the prob- contact: William Revelle [email protected] lem of finding the dimensions of the “personality Version of March 1, 2014 sphere” (Description and measurement of person- To appear in Cautin, R. and Lilienfeld, S (Eds) The Ency- ality, 1946). He did this, not from simple, uni- clopedia of Clinical Psychology. Wiley-Blackwell variate research, but rather as the result of multidi- This is the submitted LATEXversion and might differ from mensional (e.g. factor or component) analyses of the final published version. the various dimensions of the data box. He em- 2 RAYMOND CATTELL phasized that were three ways of collecting behav- terms across different studies (the names for the ioral observations, observer ratings (L data), ques- three original dimensions of the data box and the tionnaires (Q data), and laboratory type measures ways to study them changed from year to year), (T data). Furthermore, he realized that there were made it hard for outsiders to use his systems. Al- three unique dimensions of observational data: indi- though charming and sympathetic interpersonally viduals, stimuli, and time (occasions). Thus, it was with his many students and colleagues, Cattell was possible to generalize the normal correlation of tests argumentative and disdainful in his publications of over persons design (R analysis) to consider how those who did not rise to his level of mathematical persons correlated over tests (Q analysis), or tests fluency. His dismissive style of treating those who over occasions (P analysis), etc. He subsequently could not understand or would not use his multivari- extended the data box’s original three dimensions to ate methods led some to make the mistake of not five by adding background or preceding conditions trying. He was likened to “an explorer on the run” as well as observers and thus expanded the number who, while identifying continents and oceans, occa- of ways data could covary from the six of the orig- sionally reported mythical beings. However, those inal data box to 20 with the enhanced version (The psychologists who took the time to understand even handbook of multivariate , a small fraction of his work always found the effort 1966). Cattell was attempting to develop not just a worthwhile. comprehensive taxonomy of individual differences In order to facilitate discussion about and the use but also a taxonomy of how to study individual dif- of mathematics in psychology, he was very instru- ferences. Those who study affect within subjects or mental in founding and was the first president of personality changes over time take advantage of the the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychol- fundamental dimensions in the data box concept. ogy (SMEP). SMEP is a small society (active mem- Extending the work of Spearman and Thurstone bership is limited to 65) devoted to the development on the factor structure of intelligence, Cattell and and application of multivariate models. He was also his student, John Horn, made the distinction be- influential in having SMEP start its journal, Multi- tween fluid (g f ) and crystallized (gc) intelligence. variate Behavioral Research, and was its founding g f is basic speed of processing and working mem- editor. ory, gc what one knows and has learned. g f tends Cattell loved to sail and did so until he was al- to increase until one’s early twenties and then de- most 90. He was particularly proud of his first book cay over the lifetime while gc gradually increases Under sail through red Devon which recounted his over the lifetime. Subsequent work integrating g f gc adventures in a sailing kayak on the coast and rivers theory with theories of general intelligence (g) have of his beloved Devon. become known as the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory It is impossible to discuss the contributions of of intelligence. Cattell without mentioning the furor over his receiv- Although now commonly recognized, the dis- ing the American Psychological Foundation Gold tinction between personality traits and states re- Medal Award for Lifetime Achievements in Psy- flected Cattell’s emphasis upon both stability and chological Science. Although seven past presidents change in personality. Changes in state measures of the APA had recommended him for this well de- were an obvious consequence of introducing the served honor, the APA, at the last minute decided temporal dimension into the data box. to withdraw the presentation having received com- Cattell’s contributions to multivariate analysis plaints about some of Cattell’s very early papers dis- were many and include his “scree test” for the cussing eugenics. The episode spoke more about number of factors, various rotation algorithms, and the political correctness of the APA than it did about the Multiple Abstract Variance Analysis (MAVA) the beliefs of a very creative and productive scholar. which he and others applied to analyze behavior ge- netic correlations. Many subsequent extensions to See also these basic ideas were done by colleagues or stu- dents of his. Correlational Designs; Eugenics; Hans Eysenck; Unfortunately, his tendency to invent neologisms Francis Galton; Intelligence Testing; Charles Spear- for his dimensions, his inconsistency in the use of man RAYMOND CATTELL 3

Further Readings Cattell, R. B. (1966c). The scree test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1(2), 245- References 276.

Cattell, R. B. (1937). Under sail through red Devon: Cattell, R. B. (1984). The voyage of a lab- Being the log of the voyage of ‘sandpiper’. London: oratory, 1928-1984. Multivariate Behavioral Alexander Maclehose. Research, 19(2-3), 121-174. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/ Cattell, R. B. (1946). Description and measurement of 10.1080/00273171.1984.9676917 doi: personality. Oxford, England: World Book Company. 10.1080/00273171.1984.9676917

Cattell, R. B. (Ed.). (1966a). Handbook of multivariate Horn, J. L., & Cattell, R. B. (1966). Refinement and experimental psychology. Chicago: Rand-McNally. test of the theory of fluid and crystallized general in- telligences. Journal of , 57(5), Cattell, R. B. (1966b). The scientific analysis of person- 253 - 270. ality. Chicago,: Aldine Pub. Co.