May, Mark Arthur, 1891-....

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Mark Arthur May was born in Jonesboro, Tennessee on August 12, 1891. May earned an A.B. from Maryville College in 1911, a Ph.B. from the University of Chicago in 1912, and a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University in 1917. May was a professor of educational psychology at Yale University from 1927 until his retirement in 1960. For most of that time, he was also director of Yale University's Institute of Human Relations, a position for which he became well-known. May married Ruby Charles in 1917 and they had two children. May died in Manchester, New Hampshire on January 2, 1977.

From the description of Mark Arthur May papers, 1911-1978 (inclusive). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702170709

Mark Arthur May was an educational psychologist whose long career encompassed teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities. He was born on August 12, 1891 in Jonesboro, Tennessee. In 1911, he received an A.B. from Maryville College in Tennessee and, in 1912, he earned a Ph.B. at the University of Chicago. Following a period in which he pursued ministerial studies at the Union Theological Seminary, May entered Columbia University and earned a Ph.D. in psychology in 1917. During WorldWar I, May served in the United States Army and administered the Army's mental testing program.

In 1919, May accepted a professorship in psychology at Syracuse University where he became one of the key figures in the development of the psychology department. Thereafter, a collaborative projecton-themoralbehavior of children called the Character Education Inquiry, which May undertook as a research associate at Columbia University from 1924-1926, brought him greater recognition within the discipline. The Inquiry led to highly regarded published work on the nature ofmoral behavior among school children.

In 1927, May accepted a full professorship in educational psychology at Yale University, where he remained until he retired in 1960. Soon after his arrival at Yale, May became executive secretary and then director (1935-1961) ofthe University's Institute ofHuman Relations (IHR), work for which he became well known. The IHR was first organized in 1929 to further develop and integrate teaching and learning at Yale that pertained to the study of man. Under May's leadership, the Institute concentrated on developing a "base science ofhuman behavior and social life." In doing so, the Institute made important contributions to understanding juvenile delinquency, psychotherapy, cultural conflicts, child rearing, and education.

In addition to working for Yale, May was a scientific consultant to the War Department during World War II on matters ofpsychological warfare and the psychological effects ofweaponry. After the war, he was a member of the Advisory Commission on Information to the United States Information Agency (USIA) and became the Commission's chairman in 1952. The Commission was comprised ofpresidentialappointees. In its role as an independent oversight committee, it observed and assessed USIA information programs at home and abroad and reported its findings to Congress on a regular basis. May made several trips abroad as part ofhis work for the Commission, during which he developed and made use ofhis expertise in propaganda and propaganda techniques. May's life-long interest in films and their educational uses led him to chair the Teaching Films Custodians (TFC) from 1946 to 1958. TFC was a cooperative venture that combined the talents of educators and motion picture experts in the development of classroom films.

May was a productive and respected scholar who published a number of works during his career. Among the more notable are Education in the World of Fear (1941), A Social Psychology of War and Peace (1943), and Learning from Films (1957). He was a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was also a member of the National Academy of Education.

May married Ruby Charles in 1917. They had two children: Samuel Cassamere and Martha Norwood. May died in Manchester, New Hampshire on January 2, 1977.

From the guide to the Mark Arthur May papers, 1911-1978, (Manuscripts and Archives)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf House, Floyd Nelson, 1893-1975. Papers of Floyd Nelson House [manuscript], 1919-1974. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Centers and Programs. Center for the Study of New Religious Movements Collections, 1977-1983 Graduate Theological Union
creatorOf Records of the U.S. Information Agency. 1900 - 2003. Meeting Files National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Wigmore, John Henry, 1863-1943. Correspondence with Johan Thorsten Sellin, 1910-1933. University of Pennsylvania Library
creatorOf May, Mark Arthur. An experimental study in values. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Yerkes, Robert Mearns, 1876-1956. Papers, 1822-1985 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
creatorOf May, Mark Arthur, 1891-. Mark Arthur May papers, 1911-1978 (inclusive). Yale University Library
referencedIn University of Connecticut, President's Office Records [Charles C. McCracken, 1930-1935], undated, 1926-1935. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Center.
referencedIn Abraham Aaron Roback papers, 1909-1965. Houghton Library
referencedIn Sheldon Glueck papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Mark Arthur May papers, 1911-1978 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn J. B. Matthews Papers, 1862-1986 and undated David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
referencedIn Records of the U.S. Information Agency. 1900 - 2003. Records Related to the Commissioners and Secretariat Staff National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Day, Edmund Ezra, 1883-1951. Edmund Ezra Day papers, 1921-1952. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Yerkes, Robert Mearns, 1876-1956. Robert Mearns Yerkes papers, 1822-1985 (inclusive). Yale University Library
referencedIn Yerkes, Robert Mearns, 1876-1956. Robert Mearns Yerkes papers, 1822-1985 (inclusive). Yale University Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Center for the Study of New Religious Movements, Graduate Theological Union corporateBody
associatedWith Day, Edmund Ezra, 1883-1951. person
associatedWith Glueck, Sheldon, 1896- person
associatedWith House, Floyd Nelson, 1893-1975. person
associatedWith Matthews, J. B. (Joseph Brown), 1894-1966 person
correspondedWith Roback, A. A. (Abraham Aaron), 1890-1965 person
associatedWith Union Theological Seminary (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith United States Information Agency. corporateBody
correspondedWith University of Connecticut. President's Office. corporateBody
associatedWith Wigmore, John Henry, 1863-1943. person
associatedWith Yale University corporateBody
associatedWith Yale University. Dept. of Psychology. corporateBody
associatedWith Yale University. Dept. of Psychology. corporateBody
associatedWith Yale University. Faculty. corporateBody
associatedWith Yale University. Institute of Human Relations. corporateBody
associatedWith Yale University. Institute of Human Relations. Monday Night Group. corporateBody
associatedWith Yerkes, Robert Mearns, 1876-1956. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
Educational psychology
Learning ability
Learning ability
Moral education
Moral education (Early childhood)
Moral education (Elementary)
Moral education (Higher)
Moral education (Secondary)
Personality
Personality assessment
Personality questionnaires
Propaganda
Psychology
Teaching
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1891

English

Information

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