Dr. Harrison G. Gough

1921 - 2014

Dr. Harrison G. Gough
Feb. 25, 1921 - May 4, 2014
Resident of Pebble Beach
Dr. Harrison G. Gough, 93, Pebble Beach, California, passed away on Sunday, May 4, 2014. Harrison Gough was born February 25, 1921, in Buffalo, Minnesota, and grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He received his BA degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota in 1942, graduating summa cum laude. Shortly afterward, he enlisted in the military during World War II, serving from 1942 to 1946. His first assignment was to the Air Crew Selection Program, considered by many psychologists to be the outstanding example of applied psychology in the history of the field. There, he would later remark, he learned that psychological tests, properly used, could forecast complex and important outcomes. After the war, he returned to the University of Minnesota to earn his master's and PhD degrees in psychology (in 1947 and 1949, respectively). After completing his PhD degree, he joined the faculty of the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served with distinction until his retirement in 1986. In 1955, Dr. Gough began the construction of one of his many notable works, the California Psychological Inventory™ (CPI™) assessment. His goal was to meet the high psychometric standards set by the aviation selection program, with primary emphasis on understanding the individual respondent. In 1956, Dr. Gough formed a lifelong partnership with his friend and colleague John D. "Jack" Black, PhD, then Director of Counseling and Testing Services at Stanford University, to publish the CPI assessment. Together they co-founded Consulting Psychologists Press (now CPP, Inc.), with the CPI assessment as its first product. Dr. Gough played a significant role in shaping the company and served on CPP's Board of Directors from the company's inception in 1956 until 1996. In his lifetime, Dr. Gough created 38 assessments and published more than 200 research papers, chapters, manuals, books, and reviews, and received numerous awards and honors. Among his most notable works are the CPI, Adjective Check List (ACL), Personnel Reaction Blank, and Interpersonal Dependency Inventory assessments. He served as president of the California State Psychological Association in 1960-61. He received two Fulbright fellowships and one Guggenheim Foundation fellowship. In 1986, he was recognized as Professor of Psychology Emeritus at UC Berkeley. A year later, in 1987, he was honored by the California State Psychological Association as the instructor most frequently nominated by its members as having made a substantial contribution to their graduate training. In 2001, he was awarded the SIOP fellowship for his outstanding contributions in normal personality measurement. Then, in 2005, he was awarded the Jack Block Award by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) in recognition of his distinguished contributions in the field of personality psychology. Dr. Gough is survived by his loving wife of 71 years Kathryn Gough, brother Philip, daughter Jane and son-in-law Jeff Rhodes, grandchildren Brendon Rhodes, Kevin and granddaughter-in-law Nallyre Rhodes, and great grandchildren Shirin and Harrison.