Krech, David

David Krech was born in 1909 in Russia. His family soon relocated to the United States, settling in New Britain, Connecticut. Krech attended New York University, graduating with a B.A. in 1930 and a Masters in 1931. Krech continued his graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, earning his Ph.D. in 1933 under Edward Tolman. That year, Krech went to the University of Chicago with a National Research Council Fellowship. He helped found the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) in 1936. In 1939, Krech joined the WWII efforts in Likert's Division of Program Surveys in the War Department. Though he taught at several institutions, Krech spent the majority of his teaching career at the University of California. There, he was a professor of psychology from 1947 until his retirement in 1971.

David Krech was both an experimental and social psychologist. He studied trial-and-error learning in rats and the relationship between brain activity and behavior. Krech won several awards, including the Distinguished Scientific Contribution award from the APA and a citation of achievement from New York University, and was involved with numerous psychological organizations.

David Krech died July 14, 1977 at the age of 67.

From the guide to the David Krech papers, 1949-1974, (Center for the History of Psychology)