Lyle H. Miller

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Bio:

LYLE H. MILLER (Born Nov 29,1927 )
* Birth place:
Des Moines, Iowa.
* Education:
B.A., Drake University, Iowa, 1962.
Ph.D., Duke University, 1967, under Barry M. Shmavonian
"The bidimensional nature of the galvanic skin response."
* Positions:
o 1967-1968, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Washington Hospital.
o 1968-1973, Associate to Full Professor, Louisiana State University & Head of the Division of Psychology, Louisiana
State University Medical Center.
o 1973-1977, Professor of Medical Psychology, Department of
Psychiatry, Temple University Medical School.
o 1977-1978, Professor of Psychology, Temple University.
o 1978 1986, Professor of Psychology, Boston University.
o 1985-present, Founder & Director, Biobehavioral Institute,
Brookhaven, MA.
* Research:
Stress; memory; polypeptide influences on brain-behavior
mechanisms.
* Publication with advisor:
Shmavonian, Barry M., Miller, Lyle H., & Cohen, S. I. (1968).
Differences among age and sex groups in electro-dermal conditioning. Psychophysiology, 5, 119-131.
* Points of interest:
During a high school history class Miller argued with the teacher about the history of the American Indians. He would not relent on his position, which he supported with a strong factual knowledge, so the teacher sarcastically asked Miller if he wanted to give the rest of the lesson. Miller eagerly accepted the challenge and delighted the class with a lesson that concluded with rousing support from his peers. Shortly thereafter in 1944, Miller dropped out of High School to join the Navy where he specialized as a neuropsych-technician. He recalled, "All the 'big guys' were off to war, so, I too, wanted to join the war effort."
Miller entered Drake University in 1959 at 31 years of age and graduated three years later. He studied under A.C. Westerhall who was a student of Louis Wilhelm Stern (1871-1938). Stern, a German psychologist and student of Ebbinghaus, introduced the now common term "mental age" in 1911 that replaced Binet and Simon's term "mental level." Also, it was Stern who introduced the "mental quotient" as a ratio of mental age to chronological age. Incidentally, Stern spent the latter portion of his career at Duke University where A.C. Westerhall received his degree and strongly encouraged Miller to attend.
While at Drake, Miller read Hans Selye’s work on “stress” and conducted research using the GSR method. Miller recalled, "My first electrodes where silver-chloride covered dimes with wire leads attached." During his first year at Duke, Miller attended a guest lecture on GSR. Professor Shmavonian was hosting the lecturer and met Miller during discussions after the lecture. Shmavonian and Miller developed a close relationship that continued for about 15 years. Later in their careers they were not only colleagues and collaborators at Temple University, but friends and neighbors, living only one house apart.
After receiving his Ph.D. at Duke, Miller went to University of Washington for one year, then was vigorously recruited to LSU by the new chairman, S. I. Cohen. Cohen had been Head of the Psychophysiology Laboratory at Duke while Miller was a student there. Although Cohen left for Boston University after only three years at LSU, Miller and Cohen were to be colleagues at Boston University eight years later.
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