Auke Tellegen

Auke Tellegen (1930 – March 08, 2024) was a Dutch-born American psychologist known for his contributions to personality psychology. He was a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota from 1968 to 1999 where he helped develop the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire and contributed to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.

Early life and education
Tellegen was born in the Netherlands in 1930. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1962 and did post-doctoral study in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Research
Tellegen, alongside David Lykken, studied the effects that genetics had on a person's happiness.

Absorption
Tellegen proposed the personality trait of absorption. In 1974 he developed the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS) with Gilbert Atkinson, which he revised in 1982 and 1992.

Awards

 * Bruno Klopfer Award, 2000
 * Jack Block Award, 2001
 * APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Assessment Psychology, 2012