John C. Raven
| John Carlyle Raven | |
|---|---|
photograph of John C. Raven
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| Born |
28 June 1902 London, England |
| Died | 10 August 1970 (aged 68) Dumfries, Scotland |
| Citizenship | British |
| Fields | Psychology, Psychometrics |
| Alma mater | University of London |
| Known for | Raven's Progressive Matrices |
John Carlyle Raven (28 June 1902 – 10 August 1970) was an English psychologist known for his contributions to psychometrics.
John Carlyle Raven was born in London on 28 June 1902. His interest in psychology developed at an early age. Despite problems posed by the early death of his father – leaving him with a mother and two sisters to care for – and discouragement from his school teachers (on account of his dyslexia) he insisted on pursuing these interests.
To support his studies he worked as a teacher, and then as the head teacher, in a boarding school for children with physical disabilities.
It would appear from archival material now held by Pearson PLC in London that his interests were in topics that many would today regard as peripheral, such as the psychology of religion, particularly its spiritual/parapsychological components. Nevertheless, his detailed notes on his undergraduate laboratory work are remarkable.
Both his undergraduate and postgraduate studies were formally under the direction of Francis Aveling at Kings College, London, but it would appear that, certainly as a post-graduate he had little direct contact with him ... his M.Sc. dissertation being based on work carried out at the Royal Eastern Counties Institution.
As an undergraduate, he became friendly with Charles Spearman and that, shortly after graduation, this relationship led to an introduction to Lionel Penrose who needed an assistant. Around this time, he met his wife (Mary Elizabeth Wild) who became a crucial assistant throughout his life.
Penrose was a geneticist conducting an investigation of the genetic and environmental origins of mental deficiency. This involved administering the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales tests to all parents and siblings of children identified as mentally deficient by the school system in East Anglia.
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