1908–2001

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR

BARNARD COLLEGE, NEW YORK, B.A., 1928; COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, Ph.D., 1930

Brief Overview

Anne Anastasi (1908–2001) became synonymous with psychometrics—the measurement of human characteristics—by the 1950s. As the long-touted "Test Guru," Anastasi remained the key influence for anyone who had ever administered or taken an achievement, intelligence, aptitude, personality, or creativity test. Even at the time of her death in 2001, Anastasi's 1954 textbook, Psychological Testing, remained the standard for students and professionals alike doing research in the design and analysis of psychological tests.

What made Anastasi unique among her contemporary research and professional community members was her keen interest that went beyond test results. She found a way to seek the underlying cause of behaviors, and to explain statistics in the simplest way possible. This gave her students a grasp of the complex principles that could prove an obstacle to understanding the crucial...