Ian M.L. Hunter

Born| (1927-10-14)14 October 1927

Dunfermline, Scotland

Died| (2004-08-30)30 August 2004 (aged 76)

Edinburgh

Nationality| British
Alma mater| University of Edinburgh; University of Oxford
Known for| Experimental psychology
Scientific career
Fields| Psychology
Institutions| University of Edinburgh
Keele University
Influences| George Humphrey

Ian Melville Logan Hunter (1927-2004) was a British experimental psychologist.

## Personal life[edit]

Hunter was born in Dunfermline in 1927. He attended the University of Edinburgh from which he graduated in 1949 with a first class honours degree in psychology. He proceeded to the University of Oxford where he was supervised by George Humphrey. He obtained his DPhil in 1953 and then returned to Edinburgh as a lecturer. He remained there until 1962 when he was appointed the Foundation Professor of Psychology at Keele University. He retired in 1982 and moved back to Edinburgh where he died in 2004.[1]

## Academic work[edit]

Hunter was an experimental psychologist. His early work at Oxford was on transposition behaviour which led to a number of publications (Hunter, 1952).[2] At Oxford, he also became interested, through his supervisor George Humphrey, in Victor of Aveyron \- the feral child who was found in Aveyron southern France in 1800 (Hunter, 1993; Itard, J.M.G., 1932)).

While at Edinburgh he became acquainted with Alexander Aitken, a mathematician who had an amazing memory. Hunter undertook some research on Aitken's memory (Hunter, 1962, 1977).[3] Later, he wrote two popular books on memory which sold several hundred thousand copies (Hunter, 1957, 1964).

## Publications[edit]

* Hunter, I.M.L. (1952). An experimental investigation of the absolute and relative theories of transposition behaviour in children. British Journal of Psychology, 43, 113-128
* Hunter, I.M.L. (1957). Memory: Facts and Fallacies. London: Penguin.
* Hunter, I.M.L. (1962). An exceptional talent for calculative thinking. British Journal of Psychology, 53, 243–258.
* Hunter, I.M.L. (1964). Memory. London: Penguin.
* Hunter, I.M.L. (1977). An exceptional memory. British Journal of Psychology, 68, 155–164.
* Hunter, I.M.L. (1993). Heritage from the wild boy of Aveyron. Early Child Development and Care, 95, 143–155.
* Itard, J.M.G. (1932). The Wild Boy of Aveyron. Translated by George Humphrey and Muriel Humphrey. New York: Centuy.

## References[edit]

1. ^ Wetherick, N.E. (2005). "Ian M.L. Hunter (1927-2004)". History & Philosophy of Psychology. 7 (1): 79–82.
2. ^ "A comparative investigation of generalization processes (DPhil thesis)". British Library EThOS. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
3. ^ "Correspondence between Dr. Ian M. L. Hunter and Prof. Alexander C. Aitken". Jisc Archives Hub. Retrieved 10 March 2023.