Daniel Kahneman

Daniel Kahneman - American-israeli Psychologist, Family and Childhood

Violet FieldHome › IsraeliDaniel KahnemanMarch 5, 1934362 views

0 based on 0 rates
Daniel Kahneman Biography Stories 

Daniel Kahneman's Personal Details

David Kahneman, a Nobel Memorial prize recipient, has made notable contribution in psychology and economics

InformationDetail
BirthdayMarch 5, 1934
NationalityIsraeli, American
FamousHolocaust Survivors, University Of California, Berkeley, Intellectuals & Academics, Economists, Psychologists, American-israeli Psychologist
SpousesAnne Treisman
Universities
  • University Of California, Berkeley
Notable Alumnis
  • University Of California
  • Berkeley
Birth PlaceTel Aviv, Israel
Born CountryIsrael
GenderMale
Sun SignPisces
Born inTel Aviv, Israel
Famous asAmerican-Israeli psychologist

Daniel Kahneman's photo

Who is Daniel Kahneman?

Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli-American psychologist who is noted worldwide for his work in the field of psychology and economics. A Nobel Memorial award recipient, his work on cognitive biases, prospect theory and behavioural economics is eye-opening and extremely enriching. Educated in the field of psychology, Kahneman started his career as an academician at his alma mater, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He soon took up important positions at various other institutions including University of California, British Columbia and Princeton University. Interestingly, trained as a research psychologist and despite having zero experience in economics, he went on to receive a Nobel Memorial Prize in economics due to his work on Prospect Theory. His contribution in psychology has been immense, given that it was through his work that a new field of research was founded that laid emphasis on integrated economic analysis with fundamental insights from cognitive psychology, in particular regarding behavior under uncertainty.

// Famous Intellectuals & Academics

Bertil Gotthard Ohlin

Bertil Gotthard Ohlin

Bertil Gotthard Ohlin was a famous Swedish economist. This biography profiles his childhood, family life & achievements.

Emily Greene Balch

Emily Greene Balch

Emily Greene Balch was an American economist, sociologist and pacifist who won the 1946 Nobel Peace Prize. This biography of Emily Greene Balch provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Martin Buber

Martin Buber

One of the greatest philosophers to have ever walked on earth, Martin Buber contributions to philosophy is a long-standing one. Explore all about his profile, childhood, life and timeline here.

Childhood & Early Life

Daniel Kahneman was born on March 5, 1934 in Tel Aviv when his mother was on a trip to her relatives’ place. His parents, originally from Lithuania, were settled in Paris, France where young Kahneman spent much of his early years.

In 1940, the Paris was occupied by the Nazi Germany and from then on difficult times started for the Kahneman family. His father was arrested but was later released due to the intervention of his employer. The family was constantly on run till the end of the Second World War and during this time Daniel’s father succumbed to diabetes in 1944.

In 1948, the family moved to British Mandatory Palestine, just before the creation of the state of Israel.

Completing his preliminary education, he enrolled at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from where he graduated in 1954 with a Bachelor degree in Science, majoring in psychology with mathematics as a minor subject.

Attaining his graduate degree, he was drafted into the Israeli Defense Force, where he worked in the psychology department. His profile included evaluating candidates for the officer training program in school and developing test to gauge the candidates suitability for the purpose.

Gaining some work experience, he resumed his studies and went to United States in 1958, to pursue his PhD degree in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. He completed his PhD in 1961.

Career

Concluding his studies, he returned to his alma mater, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he took up an academic position as a lecturer of psychology in 1961. Within a span of five year, he was promoted to the rank of senior lecturer.

Other than pursuing his academic career, he continued with research and came up with his first work, which was published in the prestigious journal ‘Science’ as ‘Pupil Diameter and Load on Memory’. In it, he dealt with visual perception and attention.

Meanwhile, in addition to his academic position at Hebrew University, he also worked as a visiting scientist at the University of Michigan from 1965 to 1966 and at the department of Applied Psychology Research Unit in Cambridge. He served as the fellow at the Center for Cognitive Studies and as a lecturer in psychology at Harvard University in 1966/1967.

His association with Amos Tversky dates back to his time at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, during which he had invited the latter for a guest lecture. The two collaborated together and came up with their first jointly written paper ‘Belief in the Law of Small Numbers’ which was published in 1971.

Over the years, from 1971 to 1979, the duo came up with seven more articles in the field of judgement and decision-making, each of which was published in reputed journals.

For the academic year of 1977-78, the duo served as fellows at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. It was at Stanford that he first met Richard Thaler, a visiting professor at the university, and the two influenced each other greatly.

In 1978, Kahneman gave up on his academic position at the Hebrew University to take up a post at the University of British Columbia. Meanwhile, his exclusive tie-up with Tversky dwindled as he associated himself with other research analysts including his wife, Anne Treisman with whom he published two papers.

In 1979, they came up with their magnum opus work, ‘Prospect Theory’, which won them Nobel Memorial Prize in 2002. Their psychological research work included assimilating insights into economic science in the field of judgment and decision-making under uncertainty.

In addition to ‘Prospect Theory’, the duo came up with their work, ‘Judgement Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases’ which was published in the esteemed journal, ‘Science’. The work held as much importance as the one on ‘Prospect Theory’ as it introduced the notion of anchoring.

For eight years, from 1979 to 1986, Kahneman published a total of 23 works in multiple fields. During this period, he came up with a single chapter that focussed on hedonics. The work was essentially inspired by his earlier work on economic notion of utility.

In 1980, taking prospect theory and Kahneman and Tversky's body of work as basis, Thaler pusblished a paper "Toward a Positive Theory of Consumer Choice", which Kahneman has called "the founding text in behavioral economics".

From behavioural economics, he shifted his focus to hedonic psychology in the 1990s, a sector which was experiencing a boom at that time. The field was related to the positive psychology movement and was concerned with the study of feelings of pleasure and pain.

Following this, he came up with works on utility and the psychology of utility, by collaborating with other psychologists such as Thaler, Varey and Snell. In 1992, he joined forces with Varey to come up with a method that helped evaluate moments.

In 1998, he, together with David Schkade, developed the notion of focussing illusion. In this particular work, he highlighted the mistakes that people maKe while calculating or forecasting future happiness in various scenarios.

He believed that people often related their overall happiness to one particular factor rather than counting the numerous other factors that caused the same effect or sometimes even more. Through his work, he aimed at breaking this particular illusion, thus judging the overall effect of different situations over future happiness.

Currently, he is a senior scholar and faculty member emeritus at Princeton University's Department of Psychology and Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He is also a fellow at Hebrew University and a Gallup Senior Scientist

Awards & Achievements

In 2002, he was conferred with the prestigious and highly-esteemed Nobel Memorial Prize in economics for his work on ‘Prospect Theory’. He shared this award with Amos Tversky.

In 2003, he along with Tversky was awarded the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology.

The American Psychological Association bestowed upon him the Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology Award in 2007.

The Department of Economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands awarded him with an honorary doctorate on November 6, 2009.

For two years consecutively in 2011 and 2012, he was listed under Bloomberg 50 most influential people in global finance

In 2011, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded him with the Talcott Parsons Prize. Same year, his book, ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ won the Times Book Award for Current Interest.

In 2012, for his book, ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’, he was awarded the National Academy of Sciences Communication Award in the category of Best Book published in 2011. Same year, he was accepted as corresponding academician at the Real Academia Espa�ola (Economic and Financial Sciences).

In 2013, he received the highly-esteemed and prominent Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Barack Obama.

Personal Life & Legacy

He tied the nuptial knot with Anne Treisman, who too serves as a professor of psychology at Princeton University. She is a Royal Society fellow and award-winning cognitive psychologist.

// Famous Holocaust Survivors

Simon Wiesenthal

Simon Wiesenthal

Simon Wiesenthal was an Austrian writer and a famous Nazi hunter. This biography gives detailed information about his childhood, life, works, and timeline.

Irena Sendler

Irena Sendler

Irena Sendler was a Polish nurse who along with her network is credited to have saved the lives of 2,500 Jewish children during the Holocaust. .

Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel is a Jewish Writer who has authored more than fifty books including, the best-known “Night”. To know more about the childhood, life and timeline of Elie Wiesel, read the brief biography and profile of Elie Wiesel.

Daniel Kahneman's awards

YearNameAward

Other

0Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics (2002)

Daniel Kahneman biography timelines

  • // 5th Mar 1934
    Daniel Kahneman was born on March 5, 1934 in Tel Aviv when his mother was on a trip to her relatives’ place. His parents, originally from Lithuania, were settled in Paris, France where young Kahneman spent much of his early years.
  • // 1944
    In 1940, the Paris was occupied by the Nazi Germany and from then on difficult times started for the Kahneman family. His father was arrested but was later released due to the intervention of his employer. The family was constantly on run till the end of the Second World War and during this time Daniel’s father succumbed to diabetes in 1944.
  • // 1948
    In 1948, the family moved to British Mandatory Palestine, just before the creation of the state of Israel.
  • // 1961
    Gaining some work experience, he resumed his studies and went to United States in 1958, to pursue his PhD degree in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. He completed his PhD in 1961.
  • // 1961
    Concluding his studies, he returned to his alma mater, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he took up an academic position as a lecturer of psychology in 1961. Within a span of five year, he was promoted to the rank of senior lecturer.
  • // 1965 To 1967
    Meanwhile, in addition to his academic position at Hebrew University, he also worked as a visiting scientist at the University of Michigan from 1965 to 1966 and at the department of Applied Psychology Research Unit in Cambridge. He served as the fellow at the Center for Cognitive Studies and as a lecturer in psychology at Harvard University in 1966/1967.
  • // 1971
    His association with Amos Tversky dates back to his time at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, during which he had invited the latter for a guest lecture. The two collaborated together and came up with their first jointly written paper ‘Belief in the Law of Small Numbers’ which was published in 1971.
  • // 1971 To 1979
    Over the years, from 1971 to 1979, the duo came up with seven more articles in the field of judgement and decision-making, each of which was published in reputed journals.
  • // 1977 To 1978
    For the academic year of 1977-78, the duo served as fellows at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. It was at Stanford that he first met Richard Thaler, a visiting professor at the university, and the two influenced each other greatly.
  • // 1978
    In 1978, Kahneman gave up on his academic position at the Hebrew University to take up a post at the University of British Columbia. Meanwhile, his exclusive tie-up with Tversky dwindled as he associated himself with other research analysts including his wife, Anne Treisman with whom he published two papers.
  • // 1979
    In 1979, they came up with their magnum opus work, ‘Prospect Theory’, which won them Nobel Memorial Prize in 2002. Their psychological research work included assimilating insights into economic science in the field of judgment and decision-making under uncertainty.
  • // 1979 To 1986
    For eight years, from 1979 to 1986, Kahneman published a total of 23 works in multiple fields. During this period, he came up with a single chapter that focussed on hedonics. The work was essentially inspired by his earlier work on economic notion of utility.
  • // 1980
    In 1980, taking prospect theory and Kahneman and Tversky's body of work as basis, Thaler pusblished a paper "Toward a Positive Theory of Consumer Choice", which Kahneman has called "the founding text in behavioral economics".
  • // 1992
    Following this, he came up with works on utility and the psychology of utility, by collaborating with other psychologists such as Thaler, Varey and Snell. In 1992, he joined forces with Varey to come up with a method that helped evaluate moments.
  • // 1998
    In 1998, he, together with David Schkade, developed the notion of focussing illusion. In this particular work, he highlighted the mistakes that people maKe while calculating or forecasting future happiness in various scenarios.
  • // 2002
    In 2002, he was conferred with the prestigious and highly-esteemed Nobel Memorial Prize in economics for his work on ‘Prospect Theory’. He shared this award with Amos Tversky.
  • // 2003
    In 2003, he along with Tversky was awarded the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology.
  • // 2007
    The American Psychological Association bestowed upon him the Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology Award in 2007.
  • // 2009
    The Department of Economics at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands awarded him with an honorary doctorate on November 6, 2009.
  • // 2013
    In 2013, he received the highly-esteemed and prominent Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Barack Obama.

// Famous Psychologists

Abraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow was a humanistic psychologist best known for his theory of self-actualization. This biography of Abraham Maslow provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Felicitas Rombold

Felicitas Rombold

Felicitas Rombold is a German model, academic and the wife of actor Daniel Brühl. Check out this biography to know about her birthday, childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about her.

Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget was a psychologist and philosopher known for his theory of cognitive development. This biography of Jean Piaget provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

B. F. Skinner

B. F. Skinner

B.F. Skinner, the inventor of the operant conditioning chamber, was one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century. This biography of B.F. Skinner provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Lev Vygotsky

Lev Vygotsky

Lev Vygotsky was a Soviet developmental psychologist, known as the "Mozart of psychology." This biography of Lev Vygotsky provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline

Jacques Lacan

Jacques Lacan

Jacques Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and a psychiatrist, considered to be the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him.

Daniel Kahneman's FAQ

  • What is Daniel Kahneman birthday?

    Daniel Kahneman was born at 1934-03-05

  • Where is Daniel Kahneman's birth place?

    Daniel Kahneman was born in Tel Aviv, Israel

  • What is Daniel Kahneman nationalities?

    Daniel Kahneman's nationalities is Israeli, American

  • Who is Daniel Kahneman spouses?

    Daniel Kahneman's spouses is Anne Treisman

  • What was Daniel Kahneman universities?

    Daniel Kahneman studied at University Of California, Berkeley

  • What was Daniel Kahneman notable alumnis?

    Daniel Kahneman's notable alumnis is University Of California, Berkeley

  • What is Daniel Kahneman's sun sign?

    Daniel Kahneman is Pisces

  • How famous is Daniel Kahneman?

    Daniel Kahneman is famouse as American-Israeli psychologist