A memorial service will be held on Monday, Sept. 25, for Robert G. Crowder, whose rigorous approach to the study of learning and memory inspired a generation of experimental psychologists.
The Yale professor of psychology died July 27 after a long illness. He was 60 years old. The service in his honor will begin at 4 p.m. in Battell Chapel, corner of Elm and College streets.
Professor Crowder, who began teaching at Yale in 1965, is best known for his work on human memory as well as on time and music perception. His first landmark publication, in 1969, described the concept of a brief auditory memory store that held information before it was categorized. Professor Crowder called this a precategorical acoustic store. The subject of auditory cognition remained the object of his scrutiny throughout his career.
In 1976 Professor Crowder published "Principles of Learning and Memory," a text which has guided generations of students in acquiring an understanding of the science of memory. He was editor of "Memory and Cognition," and served on the editorial boards of several journals.
"Among his most remarkable qualities as a scientist was his willingness to acknowledge the fallibility of his theories," says Peter Salovey, professor of psychology and chair of the department. In fact, when Crowder found evidence against his idea that auditory memory is assisted by a precategorical store, he actively sought evidence to debunk his own theory. "Through his example of openness in discovery, he not only moved the field forward but inspired colleagues and students by his practice of bowing to evidence," Salovey adds.
Professor Crowder's service to the University included serving for 16 years as director of graduate studies and director of undergraduate studies. He was also an adviser to graduate students, many of whom are now prominent researchers in the memory field. Crowder's impact on the field was demonstrated at a Festschrift in his honor held in the summer of 1999.
Born in Waterloo, Iowa, and raised in Evanston, Illinois, Professor Crowder received his bachelor's degree in 1960 and a doctorate in 1965 from the University of Michigan. While there, he worked with Arthur W. Melton. Through Melton, he came to be part of an intellectual tradition directly linked to a celebrated group that included the functionalists James Rowland Angell, also a former president of Yale, and John Dewey, as well as William James.
Professor Crowder's academic career is marked by many honors. He received a Fulbright Fellowship and was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Palo Alto. A fellow of the American Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association, he was elected to the governing board of the Psychonomic Society and served on its publications committee. In addition, he was elected to the Society of Experimental Psychologists, among the highest honors of the field.
Professor Crowder leaves his wife, Julie Crowder, and three grown children, Edward and Bruce Crowder of New Haven, and Lorial Crowder of Boston. Memorial contributions can be made to the International Alliance for Children, 2 Ledge Lane, New Milford, CT 06776 or to The Graduate Student Fund, Department of Psychology, Yale University, P.O. Box 208205, New Haven, CT 06520.
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