Robert A. Rescorla

Robert A. Rescorla (May 9, 1940 - March 24, 2020) was an American psychologist who specialized in the involvement of cognitive processes in classical conditioning focusing on animal learning and behavior. One of Rescorla's significant contributions to psychology, with co-creator Allan Wagner, was the Rescorla-Wagner Model of conditioning. This model expanded knowledge on learning processes. Rescorla also continued to develop research on Pavlovian conditioning and instrumental training. Due to his achievements, Rescorla received the American Psychological Association Awards of the Distinguished Scientific Contributions in 1986. Early life and education Rescorla was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 9, 1940. He attended high school in Westfield, New Jersey. Beginning in 1958, he attended Swarthmore College, where conducted experiments on monkeys with Henry Gleitman and served as Solomon Asch's research assistant doing human learning experiments. He graduated in 1962 with a B.A. in psychology, with minors in philosophy and math. In 1966, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he worked with Richard Solomon. Career Rescorla taught at Yale University from 1966 to 1981. While at Yale, Rescorla began a fruitful collaboration with colleague Allan Wagner, which led to the development of the Rescorla–Wagner model. In 1975, he was elected into the Society of Experimental Psychologists. Rescorla returned to his alma mater in 1981 and was a member of faculty there until 2009. He served as the chair of the psychology department at Penn, as well as the director of undergraduate studies and the dean of the college of arts and sciences.