Ward Edwards

Ward Edwards (1927-2005) was an American psychologist, prominent for work on decision theory and on the formulation and revision of beliefs.

Education
Edwards received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard University].

Awards
Frank P. Ramsey Award from the Decision Analysis Society, 1988 Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award in Applied Psychology from American Psychological Association 1996

Research
Edwards published more than one hundred journal articles and books including Decision Analysis and Behavioral Research and Utility Theories: Measurement and Applications. In the introduction to a Festschrift for Edwards, Barbara Mellers states


 * Decision Science and Technology is a compilation of chapters written in honor of him. Among  Ward's many contributions are two significant accomplishments, either  of which would have been enough for a very distinguished career.  First, Ward is the founder of behavioral decision theory. This  interdisciplinary discipline addresses the question of how people  actually confront decisions, as opposed to the question of how they  should make decisions. Second, Ward laid the groundwork for sound normative systems by noticing which tasks humans can do well and which  tasks computers should perform.