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Harry Kay (psychologist)

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Harry Kay
Born1919 (1919)
Died2005 (aged 85–86)
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
InstitutionsUniversity of Sheffield

Harry Kay (1919–2005) was a British psychologist and academic administrator.

Career

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Kay attended Rotherham Grammar School and then in 1938 went to the University of Cambridge to read for a degree English. However, World War II intervened and he enlisted in the Royal Artillery, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1946 he returned to Cambridge to complete a degree in Moral Sciences. He remained at Cambridge in the Nuffield Unit for Research into Problems of Ageing.

He moved to the University of Oxford in 1951 as a lecturer in experimental psychology. He continued his research and was awarded a PhD. In 1960, he was appointed Chair of Psychology at the University of Sheffield. It was here that he established the Social and Applied Psychology Research Unit.[1]

In 1973, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter. He remained there until his retirement in 1984.[2]

He was active in the British Psychological Society becoming its president in 1971. In his presidential address, he promoted 'giving psychology away'.[3]

Research

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His early research interest was experimental work on motor skills[4] and then moved into the more general area of occupational psychology.

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "Early years". Institute of Work Psychology. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. ^ Connolly, Kevin (2006). "Harry Kay (1919–2005)". The Psychologist. 19: 206.
  3. ^ Kay, Harry (1972). "Psychology today and tomorrow". Bulletin of the British Psychological Society. 26: 177–188.
  4. ^ Kay, Harry (1956). "Different thresholds for recognition". Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 8 (4). doi:10.1080/17470215608416815. S2CID 144438330.
Academic offices
Preceded by Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Exeter

1973–1984
Succeeded by