Fergus Ian Muirden Craik FRS (born 17 April 1935, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a cognitive psychologist known for his research on levels of processing in memory. This work was done in collaboration with Robert Lockhart at the University of Toronto in 1972 and continued with another collaborative effort with Endel Tulving in 1975. Craik has received numerous awards and is considered a leader in the area of memory, attention and cognitive aging. Moreover, his work over the years can be seen in developmental psychology, aging and memory, and the neuropsychology of memory.
He studied at the University of Edinburgh and gained his bachelor of science in psychology in 1960. In 1965, he received his PhD from the University of Liverpool. He began his academic career at Birkbeck College, and then moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to pursue an academic career at the University of Toronto in 1971. Currently, he is a Senior Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto. In recent times, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2008.
Early life
Craik was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, as the eldest of three siblings. A year and a half into his life, his family relocated to the small market-town of Lockerbie, Scotland. His initial career aspiration was to be a minister or a carpenter. He attended Lockerbie Academy throughout his childhood and his parents enrolled him in George Watson's Boys’ College, in Edinburgh, at age 12.
His parents’ decision to send him to a high-ranking high school enabled Craik to discover his strengths. He excelled in physics, english, and biological sciences which helped change his career aspirations upon graduating high school.
During his time at the University of Edinburgh, Craik met his wife, Anne, through a study for his undergraduate thesis. Together, they raised two children: Lindsay (born 1963) and Neil (born 1965).
Education and academic career
Craik's introduction to psychology stemmed from his dissatisfaction in medical school. While he found neurology, physiology, and psychiatry interesting, anatomical catalogues were challenging and tiresome and the company of sick patients were not of interest. While completing his final undergraduate year in psychology, Craik was introduced to experimental psychology. He completed his undergraduate thesis on the effect of rate of information processing on time perception, a topic that was heavily influenced by George Miller and his workings. His time at the University of Edinburgh also facilitated his exposure to theoretical psychology. Some of the courses he took allowed Craik to read the works of Donald Hebb, Dalbir Bindra, James J. Gibson, and some ethologists while another course introduced him to memory and learning. By the time Craik was ready to graduate with his bachelor of science, he began to realize his interests were in attention and perception. He graduated in 1960.
In 1960, Craik was offered a position at the Medical Research Council in London, England, to study how aging occurs. This job allowed Craik to make connections with the Department of Psychology at the University of Liverpool in which he was accepted for graduate studies. During his time working for the MRC, Craik investigated age-related changes in confidence and decision-making abilities. While working here, Craik was also able to gain exposure to on-going research in other MRC-based branches. One of the researchers he found most profound was Donald Broadbent, thus, Craik was able to approach psychologists of interest to him and develop his interests in psychology. The work that he completed throughout this tenure here formed the basis of his Ph.D. dissertation, however, Craik's interests became more cognitive-based. Following his graduation in 1965, the appeal of emerging cognitive psychological views became a newfound interest.
Later in 1965, Craik accepted his first faculty position at Birkbeck College over the following six years. During this time, his research focus shifted entirely to memory processes. Peter Venables, a research professor at the same institution, was simultaneously conducting research on the neurophysiology of schizophrenia and influenced Craik's interests via processing deficits in the human mind. It is here that neuropsychology begins to reform Craik's research.