Background
Born in Waldron, Indiana, the son of Otto Wagoner and his wife, Nannie Shrout Wagoner, he graduated from DePauw University in 1932 and studied at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Born in Waldron, Indiana, the son of Otto Wagoner and his wife, Nannie Shrout Wagoner, he graduated from DePauw University in 1932 and studied at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Then, he went on to do graduate work at Washington University in Saint Louis, where he completed his Master of Arts in 1932 with a thesis on "The effect of warmth stimulation of one hand upon the temperature limen in the contralateral hand" and his Doctor of Philosophy in 1938 with a dissertation on "The effect of warmth and cold stimulation of one hand upon the skin temperature of the contralateral hand.".
The couple had two sons. In 1943, Tufts University appointed Wagoner Instructor in Psychology and Research Associate in the Research Laboratory of Sensory Psychology. Wagoner joined the Depauw University faculty in 1946, where he was director of Experimental Psychology from 1946 to 1977, rising to professor and chairman of the Psychology Department from 1952 until his retirement in 1977.
He also served as visiting professor at Florida State University in 1956 and was a consultant for research projects at Florida State University under contract with the Surgeon General of the United States from 1956 to 1963.
DePauw University appointed him professor emeritus in 1977. After retirement, Wagoner lived for a number of years at Portage Point, Michigan, where his family had spent many summers.
Shortly before, his death, he moved to Rockville, Indiana, where he died. He was buried at Moscow, Indiana.
Wagoner is credited with discovering new ways that humans perceive hot and cold in the skin senses.
"He isolated vasodilation and vasoconstriction as mechanisms that signal the brain that we are hot and cold." In addition, he discovered a key homeostasis feedback mechanism that helps humans maintain survival temperature. His professional memberships included the American Psychological Association, the Psychonomic Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association of University Professors as well as Sigma Xi and Psi Chi fraternities. DePauw University has named a faculty chair for him, The Kenneth South. Wagoner Chair in Psychology.
While living there, he served as commodore of the Portage Lake Yacht Club and was a member of the Onekama Township Planning Commission.