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Michael Howe | |
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Born | 1940 |
Died | 2 January 2002 | (aged 61)
Nationality | British |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Sheffield |
Thesis | Studies of recall and storage in short-term memory (1966) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Psychology |
Sub-discipline | Cognitive psychology |
Institutions | University of Exeter |
Michael John Anthony Howe [1] (1940 – 2 January 2002) was a British cognitive psychologist. He was well known as a defender of environmental influences on intelligence, and as an opponent of IQ, and he was regularly involved in the controversies surrounding that area of research (see, e.g., Howe, 1997b). As a widely cited example of this work, with colleagues Davidson and Sloboda, he argued against the existence of innate talent, a position welcomed by some, but characterised as "absurd environmentalism" by researchers such as Douglas Detterman. [2]
Howe took BSc and PhD degrees at the University of Sheffield and worked at North American universities ( Dalhousie, Tufts and Alberta) before taking a post as lecturer at the University of Exeter in England, where he worked for the rest of his career, eventually becoming the university's first Professor of Cognitive Psychology.[ citation needed]
Howe pioneered the use of biography as a means of investigation within modern cognitive psychology (e.g. Howe, 1997a). He particularly applied it to the study of musical genius and other exceptional abilities, a subject that he investigated extensively (e.g. Howe, 1990, 1999), including the abilities of " idiot savants" (e.g. Howe, 1989). He wrote over 20 books, including university text books (e.g. Howe, 1977, 1998) and more popular works (e.g. Howe & Griffey, 1995). His books were widely translated and, in 2008, many were still in print.
Howe formally retired in 2001 but continued his academic work without interruption. He died suddenly on 2 January 2002 following a stroke.