Nicholas Mackintosh facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicholas Mackintosh
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| Born |
Nicholas John Seymour Mackintosh
9 July 1935 |
| Died | 8 February 2015 (aged 79) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Winchester College |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford (BA, DPhil) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychology |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge |
| Thesis | Discrimination learning in animals (1963) |
| Doctoral advisor | Stuart Sutherland |
Nicholas John Seymour Mackintosh (born July 9, 1935 – died February 8, 2015) was a smart British scientist. He was an experimental psychologist and author. This means he studied how people and animals learn and think. He focused on topics like intelligence, how we measure minds (called psychometrics), and how animals learn new things.
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Nicholas Mackintosh's Early Life and Education
Nicholas Mackintosh was born in London, England. His parents were Ian Mackintosh and Daphne Cochrane. He went to a school called Winchester College. Later, he studied at the University of Oxford. At Oxford, he was a student at Magdalen College, Oxford. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree there. In 1963, he completed his Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree. A DPhil is a very high university degree. His supervisor, or main teacher, was Stuart Sutherland.
Nicholas Mackintosh's Career in Psychology
Nicholas Mackintosh started his teaching career in 1964. He was a lecturer at the University of Oxford until 1967. From 1967 to 1973, he worked in Canada. He was a Killiam Professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Teaching and Leadership Roles
In 1973, he moved back to England. He taught at the University of Sussex until 1981. After that, he became the Head of the Department of Experimental Psychology. This was at the famous University of Cambridge. He led this department from 1981 until he retired in 2002.
Professor Mackintosh also taught in many different places. He was a visiting professor at several universities. These included the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley. He also taught at the University of Hawaii, the University of New South Wales, and Yale University. He was also a Fellow at King's College, Cambridge. This means he was a senior member of that college.
Awards and Special Honours
Nicholas Mackintosh received many important awards. The British Psychological Society gave him the Biological Medal in 1984. They also gave him the President's Award in 1986. In 1987, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Being a Fellow of the Royal Society is a very high honour for scientists in the UK.
Until he passed away, he was an Emeritus Professor. This means he was a retired professor who kept his title. He was also a Distinguished Associate at the Psychometrics Centre. Both roles were at the University of Cambridge. Nicholas Mackintosh died in Bury St Edmunds on February 8, 2015. He was 79 years old.
