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

He was a multi-faceted person, not only dedicated 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 in 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 .

Biography of Neal E. Miller

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

First years and training

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

Miller always had a strong interest in science, and so he decided to study biology and physics at the University of Washington in 1931. Later, he decided to study psychology in depth, especially in the behavioural current . Later he would study at Stanford University on personality psychology.

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

He would spend the next thirty years at Yale University, then go on to teach at Rockefeller University in 1966 and, in his early seventies, teach at Cornell University Medical College. He would return to Yale in 1985 as a research associate.

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

Career

At the beginning of his career as a psychologist, Neal E. Miller focused on experimenting with behavior in real situations, but with a still Freudian view .

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

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

Although today this may seem unquestionable to us, 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 of behavior and motivation.

Miller 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.

Together with John Dollard and O. Hobart Mowrer, Neal E. Miller tried to integrate concepts and theories coming from the 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 as valid Sigmund Freud’s view of anxiety, who held that this emotion was a warning sign of danger, whether imagined or real

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

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

Honors and Awards

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

In 1964 he became the first psychologist to receive the United States National Medal of Science , awarded by then president Lyndon B. Johnson.

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

Animal rights controversy

Psychology is a science that needs to conduct experiments in order to prove and disprove its theories. Sometimes, for ethical reasons, it is not possible to carry out research with human subjects, the best alternative being animal experimentation. Miller used animals in his experiments, something that already in his time involved 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 defender of the practice , as well as giving his opinion about those people who criticized him for using this type of subjects in his research.

In fact, on one occasion, he commented that if scientists did not have the right to use animals in research, then no one would have the right to kill animals either to eat or to make clothes from their fur.

He went on to comment that the matter was complex, saying that while all life could be considered sacred, where should the line be able to be drawn? There are animals that kill other animals to be able to feed themselves, which makes one wonder to what extent one should talk about animal rights and how it harms human beings not to be able to either experiment or feed themselves from the rest of the animal kingdom.

Theory of learning process and personality

Both Miller and Dollard considered that personality can be defined on the basis of habits . Habit refers to an association between a stimulus and a response that causes this habit to occur more frequently. Habits are something temporary, since they can be continued or, for one reason or another, stopped.

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

Another interesting aspect of the theory is that personality develops to the extent that one achieves control over and reduction of impulses. In this case, an impulse is understood as an uncomfortable feeling that, if satisfied, brings relief, such as hunger and eating behavior.

According to psychologist Clark Hull, learning occurs in the manner in which an impulse or need in the body is reduced, being satisfied in the appropriate manner.

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 generated by the need.

Dollard and Miller made a distinction between primary and secondary impulses. Primaries are those which are associated with physiologic processes necessary to the survival of the individual, such as eating and sleeping. The secondary 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.

In turn, these authors also made a distinction between primary and secondary reinforcers . A booster is understood as an event that encourages a certain response to take place. Primary reinforcers are those that reduce primary impulses, while secondary reinforcers reduce secondary impulses. As a primary reinforcer we would have food, water, and the ability to sleep, while as a secondary reinforcer we could talk about, 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.
  • Indication: specific stimulus that indicates when, how and where to act.
  • Response: the individual’s reaction to a clue.
  • Reinforcement: effect that produces the response.

Bibliographic references:

  • Dollard, J.; Miller, N. E. (1950). Personality and psychotherapy: an analysis in terms of learning, thinking, and culture. McGraw-Hill publications in psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  • Richter-Heinrich, E.; Miller, N. E., eds. (1982). Biofeedback: basic problems and clinical applications. Selected revised papers presented at the XXIInd International Congress of Psychology, Leipzig, GDR, July 6-12, 1980. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
  • Sears, R. R.; Hovland, C. I.; Miller, N. E. (1940). “Minor studies of aggression: I. Measurement of aggressive behavior”. The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied. 9 (2): 275-294.
  • Miller, N. E. (1948). “Studies of fear as an acquirable drive: I. Fear as motivation and fear-reduction as reinforcement in the learning of new responses”. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 38 (1): 89–101.