500 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
In 1960, Robert received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan. Later, Crowder continued his education at the same university, graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychology in 1965.
500 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
In 1960, Robert received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan. Later, Crowder continued his education at the same university, graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychology in 1965.
Robert George Crowder was an American psychologist, educator and author, who spent his career at Yale University. His research focused especially on auditory short-term memory, which plays an important role in both speech and music perception, but his intellectual curiosity extended to many areas of psychology and beyond. Robert became famous in 1969, when he and J. Morton proposed a theory of precategorical storage (PAS, or echoic memory).
Background
Robert George Crowder was born on September 16, 1939, in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. He was a son of Louis Lomelino Crowder and Lucille (Burrell) Crowder. Both of Robert's parents were excellent pianists.
Robert also had a brother, named David L. Crowder.
Education
When Robert was two years old, his parents moved to Evanston, Illinois, where his father was a professor and eventually a chair of the Department of Music at Northwestern University and his mother was a pianist, who performed in Chicago area. Little Crowder grew up with music and was himself an excellent pianist.
In his early years, Robert studied at a primary school in Evanston. In 1960, Robert received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan. Between 1960 and 1961, he studied in France on a Fulbright Fellowship. Later, Crowder continued his education at the University of Michigan, graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Psychology in 1965.
Arthur Melton, an American experimental psychologist, researcher and professor, was his mentor.
In 1965, Robert began his career as a lecturer at Yale University, a post he continued to hold till 1966, when he was appointed an assistant professor at the same university. In 1969, Crowder was made an associate professor and remained in that position till 1976, when he was promoted to the post of a full professor of psychology. In 1998, Robert retired from active teaching because of his failing health.
It was in 1969, that Robert, together with John Morton, proposed a theory of precategorical storage, that accounted for memory phenomena, such as the modality effect and the suffix effect. During the 1970's, Crowder, together with his colleagues, developed the PAS theory and tested its implications in different experiments.
Robert also studied many other topics in empirical psychology, especially in the psychology of music, the psychology of reading and the perception of and memory for time and temporal order, which permeates both music and memory.
In 1976, Robert published his most important work - "Principles of Learning and Memory". His second book, titled "The Psychology of Reading", emerged in 1982.
In 1981, Robert was elected to the governing board of the Psychonomic Society, remaining in the position till 1986. Also, from 1981 till 1983, he served on the society's Publications Committee. In addition, between 1982 and 1983, Robert acted as a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.
Throughout his career, Crowder also contributed to book chapters and wrote numerous articles. Moreover, he edited, along with Frank R. Schab, ''Memory for Odors''. In addition, between 1977 and 1981, he edited "Memory and Cognition", one of the leading cognitive journals, and was a consulting editor for many years for such publications, as Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, the Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, Music Perception and others.
Robert was a fellow of the American Psychological Association and a member of the Psychonomic Society and Society of Experimental Psychologists.
Personality
Crowder had a life-long interest in music. He was named after the great French pianist Robert Casadesus, a family friend. Crowder played the oboe semi-professionally in his youth and in his later years proved to be a proficient pianist.
As for his personality, Robert was a very modest and friendly man, who always had a kind word for everyone.
Physical Characteristics:
Robert suffered from diabetes.
Connections
Robert married Julie Anne (Butterfield) Crowder on April 22, 1962. Their marriage produced three children - Edward, Bruce and Lorial.