Stanley Coren

Stanley Coren (b. 1942) is a psychology professor and researcher who has become best known for a series of books regarding the intelligence of dogs. Through television shows and media coverage that has been broadcast in Canada and the United States as well as overseas, he has become popular with dog owners, while continuing research and instruction in psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Background

Coren was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1942 and attended undergraduate classes at the University of Pennsylvania before earning his doctorate at Stanford University. He went on to teach in The Graduate Faculty of The New School for Social Research in New York, New York before moving to UBC, where he is currently a psychology professor and the Director of the Human Neuropsychology and Perception Laboratory. [ [http://www.stanleycoren.com/bio.htm Stanley Coren bio] ]

Outside of the classroom, Coren is an aficionado of dogs, and has made a long career of research into dog behaviour [ [http://www.readersdigest.ca/mag/2001/01/stanley.html Reader's Digest interview] , undated] that has led him to national television and into international media. He is an instructor with the Vancouver Dog Obedience Training Club [ [http://VancouverDogObedience.com Vancouver Dog Obedience] ] , and has participated in numerous obedience trials and competitions across Canada.

Research

In his career, Coren has produced research papers and published items in a wide range of psychological areas, with more than 300 papers and articles published in journals like Science, Nature [http://search.nature.com/search/?sp-q=%22Stanley+Coren%22&sp-x-9=cat&sp-s=date&submit=go&sp_a=sp1001702d&sp_sfvl_field=subject%7Cujournal&sp_t=results&sp_x_1=ujournal&sp_p_1=phrase] , The New England Journal of Medicine and many more. His research has been recognized with numerous awards over the years, and one of his publications, "Sensation and Perception," has been listed as required reading for university coursework [example: [http://www.jacobs-university.de/academics/courses/Spring_2007/SHSS/710101_1/ Course listing, Jacobs University, 2007] ] and has gone through five printings thus far.

Books

Coren's first widely recognized book outside of psychology circles was 1993's "The Left-Hander Syndrome: the causes and consequences of left-handedness," discussing the challenges faced by left-handed people in society. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5D91338F93AA1575BC0A96F948260 A Sinister Bias: New Studies Cite Perils for Lefties] , New York Times, Aug. 29, 1989] [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1D91F3BF930A15752C0A964958260 Books of The Times; Sinister Aspects of Left-Handedness] , New York Times, Jan. 23, 1992] His research was discussed widely, and has been printed and discussed in a number of professional journals such as The Psychiatric Times. [ [http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/54471 The Psychiatric Times] , March 1, 1998] His next book was "Sleep Thieves," the result of his studies into sleep and the lack of it [example: [http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/54471?pageNumber=1 Sleep Deprivation, Psychosis and Mental Efficiency] , Psychiatric Times, Vol. 15 No. 3, March 1, 1998] . The book examined how the reduction of sleeping time in modern society has created problems of sleep deprivation for many people. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/stories/s122784.htm The Health Report] , Radio National, Australia, May 1, 2000] [ [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/CAREER/trends/12/04/napping/index.html Hitting the wall] , CNN.com, December 4, 2000]

Arguably, however, it was the 1994 publication of "The Intelligence Of Dogs" that brought Coren to the public eye. A combination of Coren's background in psychology and his long-lasting love of dogs, the book became an international hit, and has gone through 16 printings to this point. [ [http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=25&pid=513840 Simon & Schuster website] ]

Since then, Coren has gone on to pen a number of other books on dog intelligence and training [ [http://www.cnn.com/books/reviews/9806/29/dogs.cnn/index.html A canine valentine for dog lovers: Why We Love the Dogs We Do, by Stanley Coren] , CNN.com, June 29, 1998] [ [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/20/earlyshow/living/petplanet/main637165.shtml "How Dogs Think"] , The Early Show, Aug. 20, 2004] that have continued to make him a favourite among dog lovers. [ [http://www.stanleycoren.com/library.htm Bibliography] ] His research into animals has also looked at whether they have the ability to predict natural disasters. [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/sounds-trouble-like/2007/03/03/1172868805142.html?page=4 Sounds Trouble Like] , The Age, March 4, 2007]

Television

With the success of "The Intelligence Of Dogs," Coren received substantial media coverage, appearing on shows throughout Canada and the United States, as well as being cited by major newspapers throughout North America. His success led to the creation of the television show Good Dog!, appearing on the Life Network in Canada and syndicated in Australia and New Zealand. [ [http://www.lifenetwork.com/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=43424 The Life Network] ] The show is focused on training for the family dog, including how to read body language and how to test his intelligence. He is also one of the human stars of The Animal Attraction, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation program. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/animals/human_stars.htm The Animal Attraction website] ]

Coren was also involved in the development of a DVD series aimed at aiding dogs with separation issues, providing video intended to give dogs something they can watch when left alone. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071120.wxlpetting20/BNStory/lifeMain/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20071120.wxlpetting20 Two paws down for this canine TV adventure] , Lisan Jutras, The Globe & Mail, November 20, 2007]

Awards and Honors

* Fellow of Association for Psychological Science [cite web |url=http://www.psychologicalscience.org/fellows/fellows.cfm |title=APS Fellows |accessdate=2008-07-27 |work= |publisher=Association for Psychological Science |date= ]
* Fellow of Canadian Psychological Association [cite web |url=http://www.cpa.ca/aboutcpa/cpaawards/cpafellows/ |title=CPA Fellows |accessdate=2008-07-27 |work= |publisher=Canadian Psychological Association |date= ]
* Robert E. Knox Master Teacher AwardFact|date=July 2008

References

External links

* [http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Stanley+Coren%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Search Stanley Coren on Google Scholar]
* [http://www.psych.ualberta.ca/~gcpws/Coren/Biography/Coren_bio1.html Great Canadian Psychology Website - Stanley Coren Biography]