2011 James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award

J. Frank Yates

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Throughout his career, Frank Yates has earned the admiration of his peers in psychological science—as well as the gratitude of professionals in numerous other fields—for his seminal insights and excellent empirical work devoted to better understanding the cognitive processes underlying how we make judgments that lead to decisions. Among other things, his research examines the biases and errors that go into making judgments and the impact of such judgments and other contextual information on decision making.

In applying his research to judgment and decision processes in realworld circumstances, Yates has demonstrated how to manage decision making, culminating in influential publications on such topics as how to make better decisions in cross-cultural collaborations and in various risk-taking contexts, such as business management, marketing, marriage, law, and medicine.

Yates has been invited to participate in many symposia and conferences in an array of fields and has served in editorial roles for numerous journals and on numerous committees for professional societies. His teaching and mentoring are also highly valued and are recognized by a number of significant awards from the University of Michigan over the years. In addition to these activities that distinguish a highly productive and respected scientist, Yates has actively worked to develop the next generation of scientists through a variety of programs. He represents our ideal of the dedicated scholar, teacher, and mentor.