A Study Guide for Psychologists and Their Theories for Students: ROBERT YERKES

By Gale and Cengage

Perfect for research assignments in psychology, science, and history, this concise study guide is a one-stop source for in-depth coverage of major psychological theories and the people who developed them. Consistently formatted entries typically cover the following: biographical sketch and personal data, theory outline, analysis of psychologist's place in history, summary of critical response to the theory, the theory in action, and more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: Jan 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781535831642

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BIOGRAPHY

In an autobiographical essay written in middle age, Yerkes recalled that he had been a moody, strong-willed, unsuggestible child, difficult to control. Throughout Yerkes's career, a stubborn streak in his personality sometimes led to conflicts with other scientists. Yet it also gave him the tenacity to hold onto his dream of building a primate research center, where both his name and his scientific legacy live on to this day.

Early life

Yerkes was born on May 26, 1876, in Breadysville, Pennsylvania. He was the oldest child of Silas Marshall Yerkes and Susanna Addis Carrell Yerkes. Growing up on a farm, he developed a lasting interest in the domesticated and wild animals that were all around him: cows, horses, mules, sheep, hogs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, pigeons, rabbits, dogs, cats, rats, mice, snakes. The bond Yerkes probably felt such a strong bond with these creatures in part because of his lack of human playmates. His sister, born four years after Yerkes, had died at the age of three from scarlet fever. His other sister and two brothers were even younger, so Yerkes spent much of his time playing alone.

Yerkes, stricken with scarlet fever at the same time as his sister, only narrowly escaped her fate. The family's doctor was an older cousin, whose caretaking of Yerkes during the crisis made a deep impression on him. As he later wrote in an autobiographical essay, Ever since, in my daydreams, I have imagined myself as physician, surgeon, or, in other guise, alleviator of human suffering. Yerkes set his sights on becoming a doctor.

In the essay, Yerkes described his mother as a woman of rare sweetness of disposition and unusual ability as well as the most important influence in his early life. His father was a different matter, however. Yerkes later recalled that he and his father had little in common intellectually, and more often than not we disagreed in practical matters. This tension was just heightened by the fact that the father wanted his sons to stay on the farm, while Yerkes had big dreams of a medical education.

Nevertheless, Yerkes's formal education got off to a slow start. When he first began attending the local country school at the age of eight, he was unable to read well and too shy to make friends easily. Yerkes soon adapted, however, and even found that he enjoyed the lessons. He particularly liked arithmetic and algebra, because I found them stimulating, interesting, game-like . . . and physiology and hygiene, because their objectives, information, and principles impressed me as particularly important.

Yerkes attended the ungraded local school for seven years. At age 15, he and a cousin were sent to the West Chester State Normal School, a school for training teachers. This was Yerkes's first experience with living away from home and his introduction to higher education. He planned to study at the normal school, then transfer to the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. After only a few months, however, Yerkes found himself back home. The family was having trouble paying for his education. There were heavy debts on the farm and three younger children to feed and clothe.

College years

At this point, a kindly uncle came to his rescue. The uncle was a homeopathic physician in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, home of Ursinus College. He offered Yerkes a chance to earn his way through college by doing chores around the uncle's house and stable. Yerkes jumped at the opportunity. In 1892, he entered Ursinus Academy, a preparatory school where he studied ancient languages. A year later, he was admitted to the college program.

At Ursinus College, Yerkes majored in chemistry and biology. He also took pre-med classes in human anatomy and physiology. In addition, he performed the chores at his uncle's house. Despite the busy schedule, however, Yerkes later remembered this as a happy time. He also never forgot the generosity of his uncle, describing him as a wise, broad-minded, generous gentleman, a beloved physician, and a staunch, dependable friend.

In 1897, Yerkes graduated from Ursinus College. His plan all along had been to go straight to medical school after graduation. Once again, however, fate intervened. Yerkes was unexpectedly offered a loan of $1,000 to do graduate work in psychology, biology, and philosophy at Harvard University. At age 21, he made a decision that shaped his whole future when he chose to attend graduate school at Harvard instead of medical school in Philadelphia. As he recalled,

Readily I convinced myself that I was young to enter medical school and might better devote at least a year to special work in Harvard before completing my medical training. It was my earnest desire to work with pre-eminently able investigators and teachers.

That fall, Yerkes entered Harvard, although not as a graduate student. Instead, he first had to take some undergraduate classes and prove his fitness for graduate study. In 1898, he was awarded the A.B. degree and granted graduate status. Yerkes by this point already knew that he was keenly interested in both psychology and zoology. He decided to combine these interests by studying the new