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Ralph Reitan
Ralph M. Reitan (August 29, 1922 – August 24, 2014) was an American neuropsychologist and one of the founding fathers of American clinical neuropsychology having brought the notion of brain-behavior relationships to the forefront of the field. He is best known for his role in developing the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery and his strong belief in empiricism and evidence-based practice. He was a strong advocate of use of a fixed battery in neuropsychological assessment, published prolifically, and mentored many students who also became prominent in the field. As an author, he has been collected by libraries.
Ralph M. Reitan was born on August 29, 1922, in Beresford, South Dakota. His family was of Norwegian descent and spoke Norwegian at home; therefore, Reitan did not learn English until he began school. His father was a clergyman, and his moral teachings guided Reitan throughout his life. Growing up during the Great Depression, Reitan worked to help support his family as he grew up and graduated from the Chicago Central YMCA High School for Boys. After attending two years of college, Reitan attempted to join the U.S. Marine Corps but was declared medically ineligible. In 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and completed a third year of college while waiting to be drafted. However, in 1944, Reitan dislocated his shoulder repeatedly during basic training, was discharged, and returned to college to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Central YMCA College in Chicago.
Reitan graduated with a BA in psychology from Central YMCA College in Chicago in 1944. He started graduated school at the University of Chicago in 1945 to pursue a doctorate in psychology. He took both psychology courses and two years of medical courses while doing research in Ward Halstead's lab assessing the behavioral effects of brain injury in humans. However, he never received any graduate credit for working Halstead's lab because it was in the medical school and would not be accepted by the Psychology department. Within the Psychology department, Reitan was advised by Louis Leon Thurstone.
Reitan was the third of five children in his family. His father was a clergyman, and his mother was trained as a teacher. As an adult, he married Ann Kirsch and they had five children, Ellen, Jon, Ann, Richard, and Erik. He also had a long-term relationship with Sondra Radcliffe and they had two children, Carla and Sarah. He later married Deborah Wolfson. He died in August 2014 after a long illness.
After receiving his bachelor's degree, Reitan worked as a psychometrist at the Chicago Armed Forces Induction Station, using tests to see whether inductees had basic reading and writing abilities and could therefore be accepted into the army. Despite a lack of doctoral training, he was recommended from there for a job as a psychologist and began working at the Mayo General Hospital in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1945. This was his first exposure to soldiers with brain injuries. It was here that he met Ward Halstead who encouraged Reitan to apply to graduate school and subsequently offered him a position as a graduate research assistant in his laboratory. It was in this laboratory that Reitan learned how to test and observed performances and deficiencies of brain lesioned patients. He was also greatly influenced by Edward Thorndike’s work in statistics, measurement, and psychometrics.
In 1951, Reitan became the sole psychologist on the faculty in the Surgery and Neurology department at Indiana University Medical Center when he joined as Assistant Professor of Surgery. He established a research lab there focused on brain-behavior relationships. Reitan began giving invited speeches in 1954, often speaking at meetings of the American Psychological Association, and by the 1960s, he was directing three-day workshops on the presentation and analysis of test data.
In 1970, Reitan accepted a professorship at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He later moved to the University of Arizona’s Department of Psychology where he finished his career.
Reitan was a pioneer of neuropsychology’s goal of understanding brain-behavior relationships (Adams, 2015). During his tenure at the Mayo General Hospital, he observed the effects of brain injury on adaptive behavior and wanted a better way to describe patients’ deficits when test results showed that they were technically within normal limits. Reitan valued evidence-based practice, precise work, transparency in science, and economical communication, and he was still described as “a softie” when speaking about his patients. He made numerous significant contributions to the field of neuropsychology throughout his more than 60 years of professional work.
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Ralph Reitan
Ralph M. Reitan (August 29, 1922 – August 24, 2014) was an American neuropsychologist and one of the founding fathers of American clinical neuropsychology having brought the notion of brain-behavior relationships to the forefront of the field. He is best known for his role in developing the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery and his strong belief in empiricism and evidence-based practice. He was a strong advocate of use of a fixed battery in neuropsychological assessment, published prolifically, and mentored many students who also became prominent in the field. As an author, he has been collected by libraries.
Ralph M. Reitan was born on August 29, 1922, in Beresford, South Dakota. His family was of Norwegian descent and spoke Norwegian at home; therefore, Reitan did not learn English until he began school. His father was a clergyman, and his moral teachings guided Reitan throughout his life. Growing up during the Great Depression, Reitan worked to help support his family as he grew up and graduated from the Chicago Central YMCA High School for Boys. After attending two years of college, Reitan attempted to join the U.S. Marine Corps but was declared medically ineligible. In 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and completed a third year of college while waiting to be drafted. However, in 1944, Reitan dislocated his shoulder repeatedly during basic training, was discharged, and returned to college to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Central YMCA College in Chicago.
Reitan graduated with a BA in psychology from Central YMCA College in Chicago in 1944. He started graduated school at the University of Chicago in 1945 to pursue a doctorate in psychology. He took both psychology courses and two years of medical courses while doing research in Ward Halstead's lab assessing the behavioral effects of brain injury in humans. However, he never received any graduate credit for working Halstead's lab because it was in the medical school and would not be accepted by the Psychology department. Within the Psychology department, Reitan was advised by Louis Leon Thurstone.
Reitan was the third of five children in his family. His father was a clergyman, and his mother was trained as a teacher. As an adult, he married Ann Kirsch and they had five children, Ellen, Jon, Ann, Richard, and Erik. He also had a long-term relationship with Sondra Radcliffe and they had two children, Carla and Sarah. He later married Deborah Wolfson. He died in August 2014 after a long illness.
After receiving his bachelor's degree, Reitan worked as a psychometrist at the Chicago Armed Forces Induction Station, using tests to see whether inductees had basic reading and writing abilities and could therefore be accepted into the army. Despite a lack of doctoral training, he was recommended from there for a job as a psychologist and began working at the Mayo General Hospital in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1945. This was his first exposure to soldiers with brain injuries. It was here that he met Ward Halstead who encouraged Reitan to apply to graduate school and subsequently offered him a position as a graduate research assistant in his laboratory. It was in this laboratory that Reitan learned how to test and observed performances and deficiencies of brain lesioned patients. He was also greatly influenced by Edward Thorndike’s work in statistics, measurement, and psychometrics.
In 1951, Reitan became the sole psychologist on the faculty in the Surgery and Neurology department at Indiana University Medical Center when he joined as Assistant Professor of Surgery. He established a research lab there focused on brain-behavior relationships. Reitan began giving invited speeches in 1954, often speaking at meetings of the American Psychological Association, and by the 1960s, he was directing three-day workshops on the presentation and analysis of test data.
In 1970, Reitan accepted a professorship at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He later moved to the University of Arizona’s Department of Psychology where he finished his career.
Reitan was a pioneer of neuropsychology’s goal of understanding brain-behavior relationships (Adams, 2015). During his tenure at the Mayo General Hospital, he observed the effects of brain injury on adaptive behavior and wanted a better way to describe patients’ deficits when test results showed that they were technically within normal limits. Reitan valued evidence-based practice, precise work, transparency in science, and economical communication, and he was still described as “a softie” when speaking about his patients. He made numerous significant contributions to the field of neuropsychology throughout his more than 60 years of professional work.