Adelbert Ford

Adelbert Ford (April 23, 1890 – April 1976) was an American psychologist who looked at the role of our senses in learning, as well as how distractions interact with this process.

Life and career Ford was born and raised in Michigan. He completed his undergraduate and master's degree at the University of Michigan. After spending a year teaching, Ford decided to return to school to pursue his interest in psychology. He spoke with Professor Walter Pillsbury at the University of Michigan, and although Pillsbury discouraged this "impractical career choice" he accepted Ford into the program. Ford's curriculum consisted of a year of experimental psychology, a year of general biology, and a year of college mathematics, with a continued emphasis on philosophy. Pillsbury held him to a high standard, and expected a straight-A report. When he completed his third year of schooling, World War I began and he enlisted in the Navy.

After attaining his doctoral degree, Ford took over teaching a class for Pillsbury after Pillsbury abruptly left academia. Over time, Ford began to offer courses on the central nervous system and mental processes. He had a particular interest in applied psychology and offered courses on salesmanship as well as the math of applied psychology.

He was appointed the Chairman of the Department of Psychology at Lehigh University in 1931.

Ford's most famous published work, "Eye movements during simulated radar search.", was co-authored with Carroll White in 1960. In this journal they examined the electrical method of the electro-oculogram (EOG), a device used to record eye movement. They collected information to see the pattern of search, spatial distributions, and duration of fixation on one object. In 1954, Ford also published "Bioelectrical potentials and mental effort: II. Frontal lobe effect.", examining electroencephalography potentials that were recorded while resting compared to subjects engaging in mental arithmetic. Results indicate mental work increases integrated frontal potentials. He also published several books including Group Experiments in Elementary Psychology and Instructor's Manual for Group Experiments in Elementary Psychology, text books for elementary psychology students outlining the basic structure of experiments. He focused on the nervous system, sensation of temperature, Weber's law, perception, and attention.