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Karl Lashley

American psychologist (1890-1958)

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Early life and education

Lashley was born on June 7, 1890, in the town of Davis, West Virginia. He was the only child of Charles and Maggie Lashley. He grew up in a middle-class family with a reasonably comfortable life. Lashley's father held various local political positions. His mother was a stay-at-home parent, and had a vast collection of books in the home. She brought in women from the community, whom she would teach various subjects. This is no doubt what gave Lashley his love of learning. Lashley has always held his family in high regard. He has said that his father was a kind man.

Lashley's mother was a strong advocate of schooling, and she encouraged Lashley intellectually from an early age. Lashley was a very active boy, both physically and mentally. He was able to read by the age of four. His favorite thing to do as a child was to wander through the woods and collect animals, like butterflies and mice. He spent most of his childhood alone. Lashley did not have many friends. The reasons for his lack of friendships is unclear. Lashley graduated high school at age 14.

Lashley enrolled at West Virginia University, where he had originally intended to become an English major. He took a course in zoology, however, and switched his major to zoology due to his interactions with the professor John Black Johnston. Lashley wrote, "Within a few weeks in his class I knew that I had found my life's work".

After obtaining his Bachelor of Arts at West Virginia University, Lashley was awarded a teaching fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught biology along with biological laboratories. While there he also carried out research which he used for his master's thesis. Once Lashley completed his master's degree, he studied at Johns Hopkins University, where he received his PhD in genetics in June 1911. He became a professor at University of Minnesota, University of Chicago, and Harvard University.

At Hopkins, Lashley minored in psychology under John B. Watson, whom he continued to work closely with him after receiving his PhD. It was during this time that Lashley worked with Shepherd Ivory Franz and was introduced to his training/ablation method. Watson had a great deal of influence on Lashley. Together the two conducted field experiments and studied the effects of different drugs on maze learning of rats. Watson helped Lashley to focus on specific problems in learning and experimental investigation, followed by locating the area of the cerebrum involved in learning and discrimination.

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