Auke Tellegen

Auke Tellegen (July 16, 1930 – March 11, 2024) was a Dutch-born American psychologist known for his contributions to personality psychology.^[1] He was a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota from 1968 to 1999 where he helped develop the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire and contributed to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.^[2]

Auke Tellegen
Born	(1930-07-16)July 16, 1930 Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Died	March 11, 2024(2024-03-11) (aged 93) Arden Hills, Minnesota, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Minnesota
Scientific career
Fields	Clinical Psychology, personality, behavior genetics
Institutions	University of Minnesota
Thesis	The Effect of Genetic and Experiential Factors Upon Emotional Reactions in Mice (1962)
Academic advisors	Gardner Lindzey
Doctoral students	James V. Haxby, David Watson, Wendy Slutske

Early life and education

Tellegen was born in Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies, in 1930.^[3] He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1962 and did post-doctoral study in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.^[1][4]

Research

Tellegen, alongside David Lykken, studied the effects that genetics had on a person's happiness.

Absorption

Tellegen proposed the personality trait of absorption. In 1974 he developed the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS) with Gilbert Atkinson, which he revised in 1982 and 1992.^[5]

Awards

• Bruno Klopfer Award, 2000^[6]
• Jack Block Award, 2001^[7]
• APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Assessment Psychology, 2012 ^[4]