Karl Holzinger
{{Short description|American educational psychologist}}
{{Infobox scientist
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| name = Karl Holzinger
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| birth_name = Karl John Holzinger
| birth_date = {{birth date |1892|08|09}}
| birth_place = Washington, D.C.
| death_date = {{death date and age |1954|01|15 |1892|08|09}}
| death_place = Chicago, Illinois
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| nationality = American
| fields = Educational psychology
Psychometrics
| workplaces = University of Chicago
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| education = University of Minnesota
University of Chicago
University College London
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| thesis_title = The indexing of a mental characteristic
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| thesis_year = 1922
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| known_for = Factor analysis
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Karl John Holzinger (August 9, 1892 – January 15, 1954){{cite web |title=Holzinger, Karl J. (Karl John), 1892-1954 |url=http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n90620578.html |website=Library of Congress Name Authority File |accessdate=9 February 2019}} was an American educational psychologist known for his work in psychometrics.
Education
Holzinger received his A.B. and A.M. degrees from the University of Minnesota in 1915 and 1917, respectively.{{cite book |title=Annual Register |date=1921 |publisher=University of Chicago |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mIbOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA46 |accessdate=9 February 2019 |language=en}} He then attended the University of Chicago, from which he received his Ph.D. in 1922. He subsequently studied at University College London with both Karl Pearson and Charles Spearman. Holzinger became interested in intelligence testing through his work with Spearman.{{cite journal |last1=Wijsen |first1=Lisa D. |last2=Borsboom |first2=Denny |last3=Cabaço |first3=Tiago |last4=Heiser |first4=Willem J. |title=An Academic Genealogy of Psychometric Society Presidents |journal=Psychometrika |date=17 January 2019 |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=562–588 |doi=10.1007/s11336-018-09651-4|pmid=30656499 |pmc=6502785 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Bellhouse |first1=David R. |title=Karl Pearson's Influence in the United States |journal=International Statistical Review |date=April 2009 |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=51–63 |doi=10.1111/j.1751-5823.2009.00066.x|s2cid=144182572 }}
Academic career
Holzinger spent almost his entire academic career at the University of Chicago, teaching in the Department of Education there for thirty-two years. He was elected vice president of the American Statistical Association in 1933 and president of the Psychometric Society in 1940. From 1949 until his death, he was co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Educational Psychology.{{cite journal |last1=Harman |first1=Harry H. |title=Karl John Holzinger |journal=Psychometrika |date=June 1954 |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=95–96 |doi=10.1007/BF02289158|s2cid=123490704 }}
Research
Holzinger is known for his research on the use of factor analysis to study human intelligence.{{cite book |last1=Cudeck |first1=Robert |last2=Jöreskog |first2=K. G. |last3=Sörbom |first3=Dag |last4=Toit |first4=Stephen Du |title=Structural Equation Modeling: Present and Future : a Festschrift in Honor of Karl Jöreskog |page=25 |date=2001 |publisher=Scientific Software International |isbn=9780894980497 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AMLN-oKmC_IC&pg=PA25 |language=en}} He developed the theory that human intelligence consists of three types of abilities, or factors. This theory has since become the basis of many contemporary hierarchical theories of intelligence.{{cite web |title=Hierarchical theory of intelligence |url=https://dictionary.apa.org/hierarchical-theory-of-intelligence |website=APA Dictionary of Psychology |accessdate=9 February 2019 |language=en}} He conducted much of his research as a member of the Unitary Traits Committee, which he and Edward Thorndike had established in 1931.{{cite book |last1=Carroll |first1=John B. |last2=B |first2=Carroll John |title=Human Cognitive Abilities: A Survey of Factor-Analytic Studies |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521387125 |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jp9dt4_0_cIC&pg=PA41 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Sternberg |first1=Robert J. |title=Handbook of Human Intelligence |date=1982 |publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=9780521296878 |page=47 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VG85AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA39 |language=en}} He also collaborated with Horatio Newman and Frank N. Freeman on an early, large-scale twin study that began in 1927. According to M. Susan Lindee, this study "...was extraordinary in its depth and complexity".{{cite book |last1=Lindee |first1=M. Susan |title=Moments of Truth in Genetic Medicine |date=2005 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=9780801881756 |page=127 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OeIOunV-k0UC&pg=PA127 |language=en}}
References
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Category:20th-century American psychologists
Category:American intelligence researchers
Category:University of Chicago alumni
Category:University of Chicago faculty
Category:American academic journal editors
Category:University of Minnesota alumni
Category:American statisticians
Category:Alumni of University College London