William K. Estes

William K. Estes was an American psychologist

Education
He achieved his B.A.in 1940 and his PhD in 1943, both at University of Minnesota

Positions
Estes first joined the Indiana University faculty in 1946 and reached the rank of Research Professor in 1960. In 1962, he moved to Stanford University, then in 1968 to Rockefeller University and in 1979 to Harvard University. He returned to Indiana 1999.

Main areas of interest
Estes's early research, involved animal learning and behavior. He worked with with B. F. Skinner, on the development of a widely used method of measuring *emotional reactions (the "CER").

He the took to studying visual information processing in the 1960's, contributing to the visual detection method of estimating the information apprehended from brief visual displays.

In later years his research has focused on mathematical and computer modeling of human memory and classification learning. He is credited with being one of the founders of modern mathematical psychology

Honors
Estes was received a a large number of honours. They include
 * Being elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1963
 * Being elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1982.
 * Distinguished Research Contribution Award of the American Psychological Association in 1962,
 * Warren Medal of the Society of Experimental Psychologists in 1963,
 * American Psychological Foundation Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Psychological Science in 1992 and the
 * U. S. National Medal of Science in 1997.

Books
Estes, W.K. (1994) - Classification and Cognition. Oxford University Press.

Estes, W.K. (1991) - Statistical models in behavioral research. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Associates

Papers
Estes, W.K. (1997) - Processes of memory loss, recovery, and distortion. Psychological Review, 104, 148-169.