Neal E. Miller: biography of this psychologist

Neal E. Miller was an American psychologist, especially known for having contributed significantly in the experimental field of behavioral science.

He was a versatile person, dedicating himself not only to the study of psychology, but also having extensive knowledge of biology and physics, which contributed to the formation of several of his theories and findings.

This researcher, who became the eighth most cited psychologist of the last century, has worked on several universities and has shown quite controversial opinions regarding the applied field of psychology. Here we will see a summary of his life through a biography of Neal E. Miller.

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Biography of Neal E. Miller

Next we will see the interesting life of this American experimental psychologist.

Early years and training

Neal Elgar Miller He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, on August 13, 1909.. He was lucky to have been born into a family that was already knowledgeable in behavioral science, since his His father, Irving Miller, worked for Western Washington University, managing the department of education and psychology.

Miller always had a marked interest in science, and for this reason he decided to study biology and physics at the University of Washington in 1931. Subsequently, he decided to delve into psychology, especially in the behavioral current. He would later study at Stanford University on personality psychology.

Later, along with one of his professors, Walter Miles, Miller would work as a research assistant at Yale University's Institute for Human Relations. In 1935 he obtained a doctorate in psychology from that same university. That same year he would travel to Vienna, Austria, to collaborate with the Institute of Psychoanalysis, to return to Yale the following year.

He would spend the next thirty years at Yale University, to go on to teach at Rockefeller University in 1966 and, in his late 70's, he would teach at Cornell University Medical College. He would return to Yale in 1985 as a research associate.

Neal E. Miller passed away on March 23, 2002 in Connecticut, United States, at the age of 92.

Career

Early in his career as a psychologist, Neal E. Miller he focused on experimenting on behavior in real situations, but still having a Freudian vision.

The most recurring topic of his research was fear, and he believed that this emotion could be acquired through conditioning.

After that, he decided to address other emotions and automatic sensations, as are hunger, using the same techniques with which he had managed to condition a terrifying response in the subjects.

Although today this may seem unquestionable, at that time it was not so clear, and that is why the new techniques and findings made by Miller resulted in a great change in the conception that was had about the behavior and the motivation.

It should be said that Miller he is considered one of the first to use the concept of biofeedback, that is, the process of gaining greater awareness of many psychological functions using tools that provide information about those same functions.

Along with John Dollard and O. Hobart Mowrer, Neal E. Miller attempted to integrate concepts and theories from behavioral and psychoanalytic currents. He was able to 'translate' psychoanalytic concepts into behavioral language, making it easier to approach them experimentally.

This trio of great American psychologists focused especially on the main theory of behaviorism, that is, the relationship between stimulus and response.

It is also important to mention that they recognized Sigmund Freud's vision of anxiety as valid, who maintained that this emotion was an alarm signal in the face of danger, whether imagined or real.

It is important to note that the academic and professional life of Neal E. Miller was very prolific, being the author of about 300 articles, books and other publications.

His best-known work, co-authored with John Dollard, was Personality and Psychotherapy (1950). This work deals with neurosis and learning.

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Honors and recognitions

Among all the honors that this North American psychologist has had are having been the president of the APA between 1960 and 1961. In addition, a year earlier, he received the award for the most distinguished scientific contribution by the same association.

in 1964 became the first psychologist to receive the United States National Medal of Science, given by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Other notable honors include serving as president of the Neuroscience Society, the Biofeedback Society of America, and the Academy for Behavioral Medicine Research.

Animal rights controversy

Psychology is a science that needs to carry out experiments in order to prove and disprove its theories. Sometimes, for ethical reasons, it is not possible to carry out research with human subjects, being the best alternative animal experimentation. Miller used animals in his experiments, something that already in his time implied some debate, especially from sectors that defend animal rights.

Although it can be said that it is not always necessary or ethical to experiment with animals, Neal E. Miller was a staunch advocate of the practice, in addition to also giving his opinion about those people who criticized him for using this type of subject in his investigations.

In fact, he once commented that if scientists did not have the right to use animals in investigation, then no one would have the right to kill animals neither to eat nor to make clothes with your skin

Furthermore, he went on to comment that the issue was complex, saying that while all life could be considered sacred, where should the power line be? There are animals that kill other animals in order to feed themselves, which makes one wonder to what extent one should speak of animal rights and how it harms the human being not being able to experiment or feed from the rest of the kingdom animalia.

Theory on the learning process and personality

Both Miller and Dollard believed that personality can be defined based on habits. A habit is understood as an association between a stimulus and a response that makes this habit occur more frequently. Habits are temporary, since they can be continued or, for one reason or another, stop being done.

The main objective of the theory of these two authors was to find out and specify the environmental conditions that promote the acquisition of a particular habit.

Another interesting aspect of the theory is that personality develops to the extent that impulse control is achieved and reduced. In this case, impulse is understood as an uncomfortable sensation that, if satisfied, provides relief, such as hunger and eating behavior.

According to the psychologist Clark Hull, learning occurs in the way in which an impulse or need of the organism is reduced, being satisfied in the convenient way.

Reducing an impulse by getting what you want is something reinforcing, making the individual behave in such a way that he manages to relieve the tension that the need generates.

Dollard and Miller made a distinction between primary drives and secondary drives. The primary ones are those that are associated with physiological processes necessary for the survival of the individual, such as eating and sleeping. The secondary ones are forms of the primary impulses but more refined, such as having to eat at a certain time, or needing to sleep in a special type of bed.

At the same time, these authors also made a distinction between primary and secondary reinforcers. A reinforcer is understood as that event that promotes the carrying out of a certain response. Primary reinforcers are those that reduce primary drives, while secondary reinforcers reduce secondary drives. As a primary reinforcer we would have food, water, being able to sleep, while as a secondary reinforcer we could talk, for example, money or professional success.

Dollard and Miller indicated that the learning process may be due to four aspects.

• Impulse: what makes a person act.
• Cue: specific stimulus that indicates when, how and where to act.
• Response: individual's reaction to a clue.
• Reinforcement: effect produced by the response.