Tribute for James (Jim) E Wright

Jim was born in Maryland in 1936, and passed away at his home near Hebden Bridge on 28th February, 2020. He was a member of academic staff in Psychology at the University of Leeds for over 30 years; his huge impact on academic colleagues and students, arising from his passionate interest in the discipline of Psychology, and from his ability to engage and inspire other people – that is his gift to the field. Jim’s academic influence can be seen in three areas: his almost single-handed facilitation of Behaviour Analysis in the UK in the 1970s and 80s; his work supporting field observations in behavioural ecology; and his work on schedules of reinforcement. More important than these scholarly achievements, Jim was admired and respected by the whole Psychological community as a warm, positive, and generous human being. He brought joy to the Leeds Department and to the UK learning community. Jim represented the best in human values, and he was loved by everyone. Without his influence many of today’s learning theorists would not be learning theorists.