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Clark Leonard Hull (May 24, 1884 – May 10, 1952) was an influential American psychologist who sought to explain learning and motivation by scientific laws of behavior. Hull is known for his debates with Edward C. Tolman. He is also known for his work in drive theory.Hull spent the mature part of his career at Yale University, where he was recruited by the president and former-psychologist, James Rowland Angell. He performed research demonstrating that his theories could predict behavior. His most significant works were the Mathematico-Deductive Theory of Rote Learning (1940), and Principles of Behavior (1943), which established his analysis of animal learning and conditioning as the dominant learning theory of its time. Hull’s model is expressed in biological terms: Organisms suffer deprivation; deprivation creates needs; needs activate drives; drives activate behavior; behavior is goal directed; achieving the goal has survival value. He is perhaps best known for the "goal gradient" effect or hypothesis, wherein organisms spend disproportionate amounts of effort in the final stages of attainment of the object of drives. Due to the lack of popularity of behaviorism in modern contexts it is little referenced today or bracketed as obsolete. Background Early Life Hull was born in a log house in Akron, New York on May 24, 1884. He was born to a powerful father who was known to have a violent temper (Bingham et al., 1952). His father was largely uneducated and married his mother, a shy woman from Connecticut, when she was 15 (Bingham et al., 1952). Clark’s father didn’t get a lot of schooling because his father worked a lot as a child, so he didn’t learn how to read and was eventually taught by his wife (Bingham et al., 1952). At the age of three or four, Hull and his family moved to a farm in Michigan. Here, he and his younger brother, Wayne, helped the farm by performing manual labor and chores around the house. (Bingham et al., 1952) Hull was educated at a small, one room school in the village of Sickels where there were about twenty to thirty people. (Bingham et al., 1952) He often missed school to help work on the farm. He displayed an early proficiency for mathematics, but found grammar a bit difficult (Bingham et al., 1952). When he was 11 or 12, he was forcibly converted by a religious group known as the Christian Crusaders. This experience caused him to rethink his religious identity, eventually renouncing religion entirely. At the age of 17, he passed a teacher's examination test and became a teacher in a similar small schoolhouse. A combination of his religious crisis and his experience teaching inspired him to seek further education. He attended a high school in west Saginaw County, living with the superintendent of schools in exchange for household chores. Hull's atheism almost caused the superintendent to kick him out, but his wife got him to reconsider. After completing high school, Hull left the superintendent, but kept in contact with him until his death. Higher Education After completing high school, Hull went on to study at Alma Academy. He continued to excel in mathematics, particularly geometry. His interest in geometry inspired him to begin thinking about how the mind can create new connections based on what is already known. It was during his time at Alma Academy that he read the works of Baruch Spinoza, who he admired, though ultimately disagreed with. As he about about to graduate from the academy, he attended a banquet where the food was contaminated, and contracted a near deadly case of typhoid, which delayed his return to college. Many died during that time and Clark himself almost died. He was left with permanent amnesia and a general bad memory for names which affected him throughout the rest of his life (Bingham et al., 1952). As Clark's health improved, he returned to Alma College, where he studied math, physics, and chemistry, intending to become an engineer. His intent was to qualify for a mining engineering program at another institution. After two years at Atma College, Hull moved to Hibbing, Minnesota to work as a apprentice mining engineer. However, after two months he was afflicted by polio, which left him paralyzed with one leg, causing him to recover at his parents home for a year and forcing him to reconsider his life path (Bingham et al., 1952). He considered becoming a minister of Unitarianism, because he found their philosophy focused sermons appealing. His love of philosophy eventually led to his interest in Psychology, which he studied during his recovery. He began his journey by reading William James’ book Principles of Psychology (Bingham et al., 1952). He also took a particular interest in the works of Watson and Pavlov. A little after he started reading, his eyes would become weak and his mother would read to him until his eyes became strong enough for him to read on his own. A year later, he decided to teach back home in the one room school, which had expanded to two-rooms. After his two years teaching, he married Bertha Lutzi with very little money (Bingham et al., 1952). After marrying Bertha Iutzi, they both began attending the University of Michigan. Here he began his formal study of psychology and graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1913. After teaching in Kentucky, Hull accepted a teaching assistant position at the University of Wisconsin under Joseph Jastrow in order to join their graduate program. While taking classes and working, he privately worked on research based on the evolution of concepts, which he later applied to his dissertation, "Quantitative Aspects of the Evolution of Concepts." After graduating, he spent some time working as a half-time assistant and eventually teaching as a full-time instructor at the University of Wisconsin before moving on to Yale (Bingham et al., 1952). Later Life In addition to his other teachings, he was able to teach a psychological test and measurement course. Because he loved the mathematical portion of the course, he changed the class to aptitude testing, which focused on scientific basis of vocational guidance (Bingham et al., 1952). On the side, Hull also conducted research to build a machine that could perform all the correlational work for him automatically. After teaching the aptitude testing class, Clark went on to teaching an introductory class for premedical students. While teaching this class he particularly took notice of suggestion and hypnosis. This was the starting point of his experimental testing in this field in which Clark focused on the quantitative methodology in experimental psychology. After ten years of in-depth research, he wrote the book Hypnosis and Suggestibility in 1933 (Bingham et al., 1952). After writing the book, he decided to continue in experimental field by teaching this course in addition to the premedical course. Clark had a great desire to teach this course and felt as though this specific type of science was the foundation of true psychology. In 1929 he was called to the Institute of Psychology at Yale University as a research professor of psychology where he worked on the problems concerning systematic behavior theory (Bingham et al., 1952). In 1930, he came to several conclusions about psychology: the first was that he believed that psychology is a true natural science. The second was that its primary laws are expressed quantitatively by moderate number equations and that all complex behavior or single individuals will be derived as second laws. The third was that the primary laws with the behavior (based on the condition) can also be derived as quantitative laws from the same primary equation (Bingham et al., 1952). As he and other psychologists (Neal E. Miller, John Dollard, and O.H Mower) looked into these ideas more, they sought to understand what underlined conditioned reflex and behavior while also seeking to understand Freud and others like him (Bingham et al., 1952). This eventually led to his work that he is primarily known for: Principles of Behavior. Research and Work in Psychology Hull’s primary interest was in theories of learning and behaviors that lead to learning. This was the goal of most of his research; in the end Hull created his own learning theory sometimes referred to as drive theory or systematic behavior theory. He also showed interest in hypnosis, but this was not his top priority in his work and research life (Hovland, 1952). In both his drive theory and hypnosis research, Hull made sure that his experiments were under strict control. Also, in his work he emphasized quantitative data so everything could be analyzed more precisely, and less open to interpretation than previous studies on the topics (Hovland, 1952). Aptitude Training Hull began working in aptitude testing after he began teaching Daniel Starch's class at the University of Wisconsin. His interest in the field was stimulated by his dissatisfaction with contemporary tests, believing them to be lacking in procedure and validity. His book on the subject, Aptitude Testing (1928), showed his work with analyzing validity and creating scale scores. He also created his own test, the Wisconsin Lathe Test. He created a computing machine to lessen the work of producing tables of test correlations. The machine interpreted data from punch cards to produce these tables. This machine would later influence his theories on behaviorism. Hull eventually became cynical regarding the future of the field, causing him to pursue other interests. Though no longer doing active research in the field, he retained an interest, debating Karl Lashley's beliefs on the heritability of intelligence. Hypnosis Hull is often credited with having begun the modern study of hypnosis. He became interested in the field while taking over a pre-medical course on psychology from Jastrow. After successfully putting a disturbed student into a trance with a gifted hypnotic crystal, he began to research the phenomenon and its medical applications. Dissatisfied with the unscientific nature of the field, Hull sought to bring greater academic rigor through measuring behavior instead of relying on self-reports. While teaching, he encouraged his students to do their research with hypnosis, teaching them the techniques involved. His work Hypnosis and Suggestibility (1933) was a rigorous study of the phenomenon, using statistical and experimental analysis. Hull's studies demonstrated emphatically once and for all that hypnosis is not related to sleep ("hypnosis is not sleep, … it has no special relationship to sleep, and the whole concept of sleep when applied to hypnosis obscures the situation"). The main question of Hull's study was to examine the veracity of the apparently extravagant claims of hypnotists, especially regarding extraordinary improvements of cognition or the senses by hypnosis. Hull's experiments showed the reality of some classical phenomena such as mentally induced pain reduction and apparent inhibition of memory recall. However, Hull's work indicated that these effects could be achieved without hypnosis being considered as a distinct state, but rather as a result of suggestion and motivation, which was a forerunner of the behavioral study of hypnosis. Similarly, moderate increases of certain physical capacities and changes to the threshold of sensory stimulation could be induced psychologically; attenuation effects could be especially dramatic. After moving to Yale, his work in hypnosis quickly encountered resistance. The medical school's concern over the dangers of hypnosis caused him to discontinue his research. Behavior Quantification was a chief concern of Hull's studies, and he continued to apply this interest to behaviorism. While interested in the work of Watson, he was not entirely convinced. After listening to lectures by gestalt psychologist Kurt Koffka, he began to work towards a neobehaviorism. His goal was to determine the laws of behavior and how they can be used to determine future behaviors. His work with the computing machine led him to believe a machine could be built to replicate mental processes. In his book, Principles of Behavior, he developed the following formula: SER = SHR × D × V × K Where: SER is excitatory potential (likelihood that the organism would produce response r to stimulus s), SHR is the strength of the habit habit strength (derived from previous conditioning trials), D is drive strength (determined by, e.g., the hours of deprivation of food, water, etc.), V is stimulus intensity dynamism (some stimuli will have greater influences than others, such as the lighting of a situation), and K is incentive (how appealing the result of the action is). A variety of other factors were gradually added to the formula to account for results not included by this simple function. Eventually the formula became: SER = V x D x K x J x SHR - IR - SIR - SOR - SLR such that IR is reactive inhibition (inhibition caused by continual performance of a behavior that dissipates over time), SIR is conditioned inhibition (inhibition caused by continual performance of a behavior that does not dissipate over time). Hull originally intended to make a trilogy of books on behavior, explaining social and cognitive behavior. Instead, he focused on continuously revising his original formula as exceptions showed up. Hull's emphasis was on experimentation, an organized theory of learning, and the nature of habits, which he argued were associations between a stimulus and a response. Behaviors were influenced by goals that sought to satisfy primary drives—such as hunger, thirst, sex, and the avoidance of pain. Other behaviorists found Hull's theories to be too cumbersome for practical use, leading to his work to be eclipsed by Skinner. Impact, Recognition, and Death Hull's Impact on Psychology   Early Impact  In 1936 Hull worked with students and associates and together they started a series of evening seminars that became known as “Monday Night Meetings”. They would discuss topics such as conditioned reflexes, behavior laws, and Freud’s psychoanalysis. These meetings became popular with many kinds of people, such as psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists and sometimes as many as seventy people would attend (Beach, 1959). Later in life when Hull was in poor health, he had the help of his research assistants and volunteers to conduct his experiments. He also relied on people to keep him up to date on current discussions on current psychological experiments and theories that he was unable to attend and participate in. Some of these former students and associates were Kenneth Spence, Neal Miller, and John Dollard (Beach, 1959). Awards and Recognition Clark Hull has been honored by a number of scientific societies. Hull was president of the American Psychological Association from 1935-1936 (Beach, 1959). Hull was elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1935 and also to the National Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1936. Hull received the Warren Medal during 1945 from the Society of Experimental Psychologists. Hull was one of the most frequently cited psychologists during the 1940’s and 1950’s (Hovland, 1952). Aptitude Testing (1928) was a widely quoted textbook and his work Hypnosis and Suggestibility: An Experimental Approach (1933) was widely studied. Hull’s Principles of Behavior (1943) was one of the most widely cited books in psychology (Hovland, 1952). In an old Handbook of Experimental Psychology, his work was mentioned on over eighty pages, which was more than all other scientists at the time (Hovland, 1952). In previous issues of the Journal of Experimental Psychology and the Psychological Review over forty percent of the bibliographies included one or more of his writings (Hovland, 1952). During 1929, he began employment with Yale University and retained it until his death. He died on May 10, 1952, in New Haven, Connecticut. People Influenced by Hull Hull advised and inspired a number of graduate students and psychologists that went on to revise his theories and make contributions to the field of psychology. Some of these important people influenced by Hull were Neal Miller, John Dollard, Kenneth Spence, and Janet Taylor Spence. Neal Miller and John Dollard Dollard taught anthropology, psychology and sociology at Yale and was interested in studying social class and specific learning experiences. Miller studied under Hull at Yale, which is where he earned his Ph.D. Miller also founded the Laboratory of Physiological Psychology at Rockefeller University in New York, which is where he conducted research on animal training and this work helped to develop biofeedback (Coons, 2002). Miller and Dollard collaborated and developed a social learning theory that was successfully applied to psychotherapy and understanding. Their book, Social Learning and Imitation, listed the four fundamentals necessary for instrumental learning. These were drive, cue, response and reward and were based off of Hull’s drive reduction theory of learning (Sahakian, 1976) . They used a similar construct to Hull’s theory, however, they proposed that any strong stimulus could have motivating or drive properties without essentially being tied to the need of that particular organism (Sonoma.edu). Kenneth Spence Kenneth Spence was one of the most well-known of Hull’s graduate students. He developed and extended Hull's neo-behaviorist theory into what came to be called the Hull-Spence theory of conditioning, learning, and motivation. This theory states that people learn stimulus-response associations when a stimulus and response occur together, and reinforcement motivates the person to engage in the behavior and increases the occurrence of the learned behavior (Bali, 2008). Spence contributed to the study of incentive motivation and developing mathematical formulation and equations to describe learning acquisition (Bali, 2008). Spence attributed improvement in performance to motivational factors rather than the habit factors of Hull’s theory. He believed that reinforcement was not always necessary for learning to occur and that people can learn through latent learning (Bali, 2008). He also developed a discrimination learning theory (Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, 2008). His discrimination theory suggests that there are gradients of excitatory and inhibitory potential that are generated around the values of the stimulus that are either reinforced or not (Bali, 2008). Janet Taylor Spence Janet Taylor Spence began her research while working as a graduate student with Kenneth Spence at the University of Iowa. Kenneth became her husband in 1960. Her research was on anxiety and was an extension of the Hull-Spence hypothesis. She studied anxiety as a dispositional trait, or “drive”, which is the component of Hull’s motivational theory (American Psychology, 2004). She predicted that people with higher anxiety levels would show higher levels of eyelid conditioning than those with lower levels of anxiety (American Psychology, 2004). Spence then developed her own instrument to measure her hypothesis, the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (American Psychology, 2004). Her later research focused primarily on elaborating Hull’s drive theory (American Psychology, 2004). Drive reduction theory The Logic of Modern Physics References ↑ The Goal-Gradient Hypothesis Resurrected: Purchase Acceleration, Illusionary Goal Progress, and Customer Retention Ran Kivetz, Columbia University↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 Hull, Clark (1952). "Clark L. Hull". A History of Psychology in Autobiography. Worcester, MA: Clark University Press. pp. 143–162. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 Hovland, Carl (September 1952). "Clark Leonard Hull, 1884-1952". Psychological Review 59 (5): 347-350. doi:10.1037/h0056239. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 Smith, Laurence (2000). Kazdin, Alan E., ed. Encyclopedia of Psychology, Vol. 4. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 168–170. ISBN 1-55798-653-3. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Friedman, H., & Schustack, M. (1999). Personality classic theories and modern research. (Fifth ed., pp. 201-202). Pearson.↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 King, D. Brett; Viney, Wayne; Woody, William (2009). A History of Psychology: Ideas and Context (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. pp. 332–335. ISBN 978-0-205-51213-3. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Kihlstrom, John (April 2004). "Clark L. Hull, Hypnotist". PsycCRITIQUES 49 (2). doi:10.1037/004274. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Scriven, Michael (1961). "An overview of stimulus-response reinforcement theory". Psychology. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon. pp. 321–329.  External links "The Conflicting Psychologies of Learning: A Way Out", Clark L. Hull (1935), Psychological Review, 42, 491-516. Lemov, Rebecca (2005). World as Laboratory: Experiments with Mice, Mazes, and Men. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Chapter 4. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum. National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir