Boris Semeonoff (1910-1998) was a British psychologist with particular expertise in personality assessment.

Boris Semeonoff
Born
Boris Semeonoff

St. Petersburg (Leningrad)
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology, Personality psychology
InstitutionsUniversity of Edinburgh
ThesisA review of work done on Weber's law as applied to the intensity of sound (1936)

Career

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Semeonoff was born in St. Petersburg, Russia but moved to Scotland when he was only four. The visit was intended as a holiday but with the outbreak of war he did not return to Russia. He was a student at George Watson's College, Edinburgh followed by the University of Edinburgh where he obtained an MA (Hons) in English Language and Literature (1931) followed by a B.Ed (1933). After the departure of George Seth, he was appointed to the staff of the Department of Psychology at the university and was subsequently awarded a Ph.D. (1936) for a thesis on Weber's Law in relation to the intensity of sound.[1]

From 1933 until his retirement in 1980, Semeonoff worked at the university rising to the position of Reader of Psychology. During the Second World War, he was involved in the selection of officers for the Special Operations Executive.[2]

He was actively involved in the British Psychological Society becoming its president in 1966. He edited the British Journal of Psychology between 1958 and 1964.[3]

Research

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His research was largely in the area of personality assessment and selection and he published several books on the subject (Semeonoff, 1958, 1970, 1976). His papers are held in the University of Edinburgh Archives.[4]

Honours

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Publications

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  • Semeonoff, B. (1958). Diagnostic Performance Tests.[6]
  • Semeonoff, B. (ed)(1970). Personality Assessment: Selected readings.[7]
  • Semeonoff, B. (1976). Projective Techniques[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Our History - Boris Semeonoff". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. ^ Semeonoff, Boris (1969). "Changing horizons: An essay in autobiography". Bulletin of the British Psychological Society. 22: 169–179.
  3. ^ Beloff, John (1998). "Obituary - Boris Semeonoff". The Psychologist.
  4. ^ "Collection: Papers of Professor Boris Semeonoff". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  5. ^ Beloff, John (1998). "Obituary - Boris Semeonoff". The Psychologist.
  6. ^ Semeonoff, Boris (1958). Diagnostic Performance Tests. London: Tavistock. OCLC 430947. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  7. ^ Semeonoff, Boris (1970). Personality Assessment. Harmondsworth: Penguin. OCLC 178237. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  8. ^ Semeonoff, Boris (1976). Projective Technique. London: Wiley. ISBN 9780471016847. OCLC 1859903. Retrieved 2 August 2020.