With deep sadness, I report the passing of Lyle E. Bourne, Jr. on March 2, 2023.听听He was 90 years old.听听Born on April 12, 1932, in Boston, Massachusetts, he received his BA from Brown University in 1953 and his MS in 1955 and PhD in 1956 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Lyle听served as Assistant and then Associate Professor of Psychology at the听University of Utah from 1956 to 1963, when he moved to the University of听Colorado Boulder (CU) as Associate Professor听Psychology.听听He was promoted to Professor of Psychology in听1965 and became Professor Emeritus in 2002.听听It was my great privilege to be a long-term听and extensive collaborator of Lyle鈥檚 at CU.
Most impressive is the crucial service Lyle provided to the field of psychological science continuously throughout his distinguished career.听听His contributions were at both the local and national level.听
In terms of local service, Lyle was the first Director of the Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS) at CU, from 1980 to 1983.听听He transformed the existing Institute for the Study of Intellectual Behavior to the current ICS, which flourishes today as one of the leading cognitive science institutes in the world.听听After setting this institute in motion, Lyle took over the role as Chair of the Psychology Department from 1983 until 1991.听听He completed two 4-year terms in this position with grace; his strong but gentle leadership allowed the Department to thrive.听听He led the Department through many challenges and effectively represented it at the national level by serving on the Executive Board of the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology from 1986 to 1989.
Lyle鈥檚 contributions at the national level were considerable as well.听听He served as Chair of the Governing Board of the Psychonomic Society (1981-1982), Chair of the Society of Experimental Psychologists (1987-1988), President of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association (1987-1988), President of both Division 3 (1991-1992) and Division 1 (2000-2001) of the American Psychological Association (APA), and President of the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences (1995-1997).听听In this last position, Lyle helped the Federation in its critical role of presenting psychology to the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government.听听He aided in introducing the public to the views of the Federation鈥檚 member organizations on issues of science policy, national support for research, and education and training in psychological science.
Lyle鈥檚 service to the profession and to APA has also included numerous important editorial positions.听听Most noteworthy was his 6-year term as Editor of the听Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory听(1975-1980).听听He was the first editor after the听Journal of Experimental Psychology听(JEP) split into separate specialty journals; thus, he and the editors of the other听JEP听journals were responsible for this transition, which proved to be extremely valuable, leading to the top journals in the field.听听The amount of service Lyle contributed to the field of psychology is truly astonishing, especially given how productive and influential he also was in terms of his research throughout his career.
With respect to research, he published well over 150 articles in preeminent journals and chapters in important books.听听His most well-known early research explored conceptual behavior (still influencing current work on Large Language Models), and his more recent research delved into mental arithmetic; classification skill acquisition; and training, retention, and transfer.听听He also published notable books including, among others, his first sole-authored book,听Human Conceptual Behavior听(1966); the extremely popular and successful introductory text听Psychology: Its Principles and Meanings听written with Bruce Ekstrand (which sold over a million copies and was published in five editions from 1973 to 1985); and the more recent APA Life Tools book听Train Your Mind for Peak Performance听that he and I co-authored听(2014).
Along with experimental cognitive psychology, Lyle鈥檚 passions included being a jazz drummer, sailing to exotic lands, and spending time with his beloved wife Rita Yaroush (dec.), his three remarkable children Barbara, Betsy, and Andrew, and his grandson Alex.听听We will all miss tremendously his generous, gracious, thoughtful, and wise spirit, but for many years in the future we will be reminded of these traits by the annual Bourne/Yaroush Family Scholarship in Psychology, which he and Rita donated to the Department.听
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- Alice F. Healy
- College Professor of Distinction Emeritus
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