Teplov, Boris Mikhailovich

Born Oct. 9 (21), 1896, in Tula; died Sept. 28, 1965, in Moscow. Soviet psychologist. Member of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the RSFSR (1945); Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1957).

After graduating from the University of Moscow in 1921, Teplov was engaged in scientific research work for the Red Army; from 1929 he worked at the Institute of Psychology, serving as deputy director from 1933 to 1935 and from 1945 to 1952. He was editor in chief of the journal Voprosy psikhologii (Problems of Psychology) from 1958 to 1965.

Teplov’s early research dealt with visual and auditory perceptions; he then turned to the study of human aptitudes and individuals’ psychological characteristics, and he developed new methods for the experimental study of individual differences. The law of inverse correlation between the capacity of the nervous system and sensitivity was established in Teplov’s laboratory, along with some other relationships (see the collection Typological Characteristics of Higher Human Nervous Activity, vols. 1–5, 1956–67). Teplov wrote a number of works on the history of psychology, as well as psychology textbooks and teaching aids. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and various medals.