Harry Kay (psychologist)

Professor Harry Kay CBE
Born	(1919-03-22)22 March 1919
Died	19 December 2005(2005-12-19) (aged 86)
Board member of	Universities Central Council on Admissions British Association for the Advancement of Science
Spouse	Diana Kay
Children	2
Academic background
Education	Rotherham Grammar School
Alma mater	Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge
Thesis	Experimental Studies of Adult Learning (1953)
Influences	Frederic Bartlett
Academic work
Discipline	Psychology
Sub-discipline	Applied cognitive psychology, occupational Psychology
Institutions	University of Sheffield University of Oxford
Doctoral students	Peter B. Warr
Notable students	Neville Moray
Main interests	Ageing, learning and memory
Vice-chancellor of University of Exeter
In office 1973–1984
Preceded by	John Llewellyn
Succeeded by	Sir David Harrison
President of the British Psychological Society
In office 1971–1972
Preceded by	Harry Gwynne Jones
Succeeded by	Max Hamilton
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant colonel
Unit	Royal Artillery
Conflict	World War II

Harry Kay (1919–2005) was a British psychologist and academic administrator.

Career

Kay attended Rotherham Grammar School and then in 1938 went to the University of Cambridge to read for a degree English. However, World War II intervened and he enlisted in the Royal Artillery, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1946 he returned to Cambridge to complete a degree in Moral Sciences. He remained at Cambridge in the Nuffield Unit for Research into Problems of Ageing.

Kay moved to the University of Oxford in 1951 as a lecturer in experimental psychology. He continued his research and was awarded a PhD. Among his students at Oxford was Neville Moray, later known for his work on the cocktail party effect. Moray would go on to join Kay as a colleague at his next post at the University of Sheffield.

In 1960, Kay was appointed Chair of Psychology at the University of Sheffield. It was here that he established the Social and Applied Psychology Research Unit.

In 1973, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter. He remained there until his retirement in 1984.

He was active in the British Psychological Society becoming its president in 1971. In his presidential address, he promoted 'giving psychology away'.

Research

Kay's early research interest was experimental work on motor skills and then moved into the more general area of occupational psychology.

During his time at Cambridge, Kay was influenced by the works of Frederic Bartlett, who inspired his interest in the practical application of psychology to address real world problems.

At Sheffield, Kay supervised Peter B. Warr's doctoral work, and the two later became close colleagues, co-founding the Social and Applied Psychology Research Unit.

Honours

• 1971 - 1972 - President, British Psychological Society
• President, Experimental Psychology Society
• President, Psychology Section, British Association for the Advancement of Science
• Hon DSc – University of Sheffield
• Hon DSc – University of Exeter
• 1981 – CBE

Kay Building on Streatham Campus of University of Exeter is named after Professor Harry Kay.