Stephen M. Kosslyn
| Stephen Kosslyn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Southern California |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | cognitive neuroscience, learning sciences, cognitive psychology |
| Institutions | Minerva Schools at KGI, Stanford University, Harvard University |
| Alma mater |
University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., 1970) Stanford University (Ph.D., 1974) |
| Notable awards | NAS Award for Initiatives in Research, Guggenheim fellowship, Cattell Award, Prix Jean-Louis Signoret |
|
Website https://minerva.kgi.edu/ |
|
Stephen Michael Kosslyn (born 1948) is an American psychologist, neuroscientist, Founding Dean and Chief Academic Officer of the Minerva Schools at KGI (the Keck Graduate Institute), author and educator who specializes in the fields of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. He was formerly the John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in Memory of William James and Dean of Social Science at Harvard University.
Kosslyn was born in Southern California, and grew up in the Pacific Palisades. As an undergraduate at UCLA he worked in the labs of Barbara Henker, who studied children with autism, and John P. Seward with whom he had his first publication, a study of learning in rats. Kosslyn also spent considerable time talking to Edward Sadalla, who helped him learn how to structure an argument and identify when a creative idea was worth considering. He received a B.A. in psychology from UCLA in 1970.
Kosslyn attended graduate school at Stanford University. Upon arriving, he discovered that his advisor was resigning so that he could work for the "ecology movement," leaving Kosslyn adrift. He took courses his first quarter and did not engage in research. In his second quarter, he met his future advisor, Gordon H. Bower, who would have a huge influence on all aspects of his life. In graduate school Kosslyn was also fortunate to share an office with Susan Haviland, who was soon to marry Edward E. Smith. Ed loved to "talk shop" and Kosslyn learned an immense amount from him. Kosslyn received a Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford in 1974.
On leaving graduate school, Kosslyn first went to the Johns Hopkins University as an Assistant Professor, specializing in Developmental Psychology. There he met his future wife, with whom he went on to have three children. At the beginning of his third year at Hopkins, Kosslyn received offers from MIT and Harvard, both at the Associate Professor level. He went to Harvard in large part because of an impassioned letter he received from a first-year graduate student, Steven Pinker, who was seeking an advisor.
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