Mark Rosenzweig (psychologist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mark Rosenzweig
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| Born | September 12, 1922 Rochester, New York, U.S.
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| Died | July 20, 2009 (aged 86) Berkeley, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | University of Rochester Harvard University |
| Occupation | Psychologist |
| Employer | University of California, Berkeley |
| Spouse(s) | Janine Chappat |
| Children | 2 daughters and 1 son |
Mark Richard Rosenzweig (born September 12, 1922 – died July 20, 2009) was an American psychologist. He studied how the brain changes and adapts. His research showed that even adult brains can change and grow. This happens based on what we learn and experience in life. This idea was new because many scientists used to think the brain stopped changing after childhood.
Early Life and Schooling
Mark Rosenzweig was born in Rochester, New York, in 1922. His parents spoke both English and German. This helped him become very interested in languages and learning.
He first planned to study history at the University of Rochester. But he soon switched to psychology, which is the study of the mind. He earned his first college degree in 1943. Then, he got a master's degree in 1944, focusing on how we hear sounds.
After college in 1944, he joined the United States Navy. He worked as a radar technician. Later, he was stationed in China on a ship called the USS Chincoteague.
After his time in the Navy, he went to Harvard University in 1946. He earned his Ph.D. degree in 1949. For his Ph.D., he showed that scientists could study brain connections without surgery. He used special tools placed on the head to do this.
Research at UC Berkeley
In 1949, Mark Rosenzweig started working at the University of California, Berkeley. He became a professor of physiological psychology. This field studies how the body and brain affect our behavior. He taught there until he retired in 1991.
Rosenzweig began important research on how our surroundings affect the brain. Another scientist, Donald O. Hebb, had noticed something interesting in 1947. He found that rats raised as pets were better at solving problems than rats kept in plain cages.
Mark Rosenzweig and his team, including David Krech and Marian Diamond, wanted to learn more. In the late 1950s, they started comparing rats in different environments. Some rats lived alone in simple cages. Others lived in groups in "enriched" cages. These special cages had toys, ladders, tunnels, and running wheels.
They made an amazing discovery in 1962. They found that rats growing up in these enriched environments had bigger cerebral cortexes. The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain responsible for thinking and learning. This showed that a stimulating environment could actually change the brain's size and structure.
These findings were very important. They went against the old idea that the brain's structure was fixed after childhood. Rosenzweig's work proved that learning and experiences later in life can indeed change the brain. This idea is now called neuroplasticity. It means the brain is flexible and can keep changing throughout our lives.
Mark Rosenzweig received the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award in 1982. This award recognized his important work from the American Psychological Association.
Later Life
Mark Rosenzweig lived in Berkeley, California. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 86. He was survived by his two daughters, a son, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
He married Janine Chappat in 1947. She was from France and had studied at the University of Oxford. They were married for 60 years before she passed away in 2008.
