William Revelle
Encyclopedia
William Revelle is a psychology
professor at Northwestern University
working in personality psychology
. Revelle studies the biological basis of personality and motivation
, psychometric
theory, the structure of daily mood
, and models of attention
and memory
. He is a proponent of and contributor to the R Project. He is the author of R's psych package. He is a co-author of the Very Simple Structure method of determining how many factors to extract from a correlational matrix when performing factor analysis. He developed Revelle's Beta (1979) to "estimate general factor saturation of a test" but later asserted that McDonald's (1999) Omega is a better estimate . He also developed Item Cluster Analysis (ICLUST). He is an advocate for the Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment
(SAPA) methodology for telemetric evaluation of personality across multiple domains. His Personality, Cognition, and Motivation Laboratory at Northwestern has administered an online assessment using the SAPA methodology since approximately 2004.
Revelle graduated from Pomona College in 1965, abandoning a mathematics major in favor of psychology. He spent two years in Sarawak, Malaysia as a volunteer in the Peace Corps before earning his PhD in psychology from the University of Michigain in 1973. He became a member of the Northwestern Faculty in 1973.
Revelle was raised in La Jolla, California, but currently resides in Evanston, Illinois. Revelle is a passionate environmentalist. His father, Roger Revelle
, is widely credited as a major early theorist in Global Warming. Revelle and his wife, Eleanor, have built an energy efficient house, of which they occasionally give tours.
Revelle has previously served as the President (2005-2009) of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences
(ISSID), the President (2008-2009) of the Association for Research in Personality (ARP), and the President (1984) of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology
. He is currently serving as the Board Chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
professor at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
working in personality psychology
Personality psychology
Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. Its areas of focus include:* Constructing a coherent picture of the individual and his or her major psychological processes...
. Revelle studies the biological basis of personality and motivation
Motivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
, psychometric
Psychometrics
Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational measurement...
theory, the structure of daily mood
Mood (psychology)
A mood is a relatively long lasting emotional state. Moods differ from emotions in that they are less specific, less intense, and less likely to be triggered by a particular stimulus or event....
, and models of attention
Attention
Attention is the cognitive process of paying attention to one aspect of the environment while ignoring others. Attention is one of the most intensely studied topics within psychology and cognitive neuroscience....
and memory
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
. He is a proponent of and contributor to the R Project. He is the author of R's psych package. He is a co-author of the Very Simple Structure method of determining how many factors to extract from a correlational matrix when performing factor analysis. He developed Revelle's Beta (1979) to "estimate general factor saturation of a test" but later asserted that McDonald's (1999) Omega is a better estimate . He also developed Item Cluster Analysis (ICLUST). He is an advocate for the Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment
Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment
Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment is a method used for telemetric assessment of individual differences, primarily in the context of online surveys...
(SAPA) methodology for telemetric evaluation of personality across multiple domains. His Personality, Cognition, and Motivation Laboratory at Northwestern has administered an online assessment using the SAPA methodology since approximately 2004.
Revelle graduated from Pomona College in 1965, abandoning a mathematics major in favor of psychology. He spent two years in Sarawak, Malaysia as a volunteer in the Peace Corps before earning his PhD in psychology from the University of Michigain in 1973. He became a member of the Northwestern Faculty in 1973.
Revelle was raised in La Jolla, California, but currently resides in Evanston, Illinois. Revelle is a passionate environmentalist. His father, Roger Revelle
Roger Revelle
Roger Randall Dougan Revelle was a scientist and scholar who was instrumental in the formative years of the University of California, San Diego and was one of the first scientists to study global warming and the movement of Earth's tectonic plates...
, is widely credited as a major early theorist in Global Warming. Revelle and his wife, Eleanor, have built an energy efficient house, of which they occasionally give tours.
Revelle has previously served as the President (2005-2009) of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences
International Society for the Study of Individual Differences
The International Society for the Study of Individual Differences is a scientific society founded in 1983 that fosters research on the measurement, structure, dynamics and biological bases of individual differences in temperament, intelligence, attitudes, and abilities...
(ISSID), the President (2008-2009) of the Association for Research in Personality (ARP), and the President (1984) of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology
Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology
The Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology is a small academic organization of research psychologists who have interests in multivariate statistical models for advancing psychological knowledge...
. He is currently serving as the Board Chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is a nontechnical online magazine that covers global security and public policy issues, especially related to the dangers posed by nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction...
.