John Anthony Nevin

Who is John Anthony Nevin?

John Anthony Nevin is Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of New Hampshire. He was born July 5, 1933, in New York City. In 1954, he obtained a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Yale University, in 1961 an M.A. at Columbia University, then in 1963 a Ph.D. in Psychology. William N. Schoenfeld was his dissertation advisor. From 1954-1959, he served in the US Coast Guard. From 1963 to 1968, he was Assistant Professor of Psychology at Swarthmore College. In 1968, he joined the Columbia University Psychology department as an Associate Professor, becoming a professor in 1969. From 1972 to 1995, he was Professor of Psychology, University of New Hampshire. He has received many honors including Distinguished University Professor, University of New Hampshire, 1991; Basic Research Award, Division 25, American Psychological Association, 1999; Award for Impact of Science on Application, Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, 2004; Don Hake Basic/Applied research Award, Division 25, American Psychological Association, 2004.

He is cofounder of the Society for Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. He has founded two of the major subfields in quantitative analysis of behavior. These include the application of signal detection to understanding reinforcement schedules. The second the field of behavioral momentum and persistence of behavior. His work is therefore extremely influential.