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Michael Apter

Michael Apter is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Michael Apter rather than just read about it. In short: Michael J. Apter (born 1939) is a British psychologist who was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham and grew up in Bristol.

Michael Apter — main illustration
Michael Apter — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Michael Apter belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Michael Apter to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Michael Apter from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Michael J. Apter (born 1939) is a British psychologist who was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham and grew up in Bristol. He was educated at Clifton College (1965) and at Bristol University where he gained both his Bachelor of Science degree and his Doctorate in Psychology in 1965, having also spent a doctoral year at Princeton University. He taught for twenty years at Cardiff University in Wales and has since held invited positions at Purdue University, the University of Chicago, Yale University, University of Toulouse, and Georgetown University. He also taught at Northwestern University where he received a teaching award. He has held visiting positions at several additional universities and is a chartered psychologist and fellow of the British Psychological Society. Apter's work has been mainly in motivation and phenomenology, particularly through the lens of reversal theory.

Selected works Apter, Michael J. (1966) Cybernetics and Development. Oxford: Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-08-011431-6 Apter, Michael J. (1970/2018) The Computer Simulation of Behaviour. London. Routledge. ISBN 978-1138496743 Apter, Michael J. (1982) The Experience of Motivation: The Theory of Psychological Reversals, London Academic Press. ISBN 0-12058920-6 Apter, Michael J. (1992) The Dangerous Edge: The Psychology of Excitement. New York. The Free Press. ISBN 0-02900765-8 Apter. Michael J. (2001) (Ed) Motivational Styles in Everyday Life. A Guide to Reversal Theory. Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association. ISBN 1-55798-739-4 Apter. Michael J. (2007) Reversal Theory: The Dynamics of Motivation, Emotion and Personality 2nd, Edition. Oxford: Oneworld. ISBN 978-1851684809 Apter, Michael J. (2018) Zigzag: Reversal and Paradox in Human Personality. Leicestershire U.K.: Matador. ISBN 978-1788038867

References

Illustrations

Michael Apter illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Michael Apter

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Michael Apter claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Michael Apter before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Michael Apter ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Michael Apter

In research
Michael Apter appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Michael Apter in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Michael Apter is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1939 births, 20th-century British psychologists, 21st-century British psychologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Michael Apter outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Michael Apter in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Michael Apter means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Michael Apter out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Michael Apter in simple terms?

Michael J. Apter (born 1939) is a British psychologist who was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham and grew up in Bristol.

Why does Michael Apter matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Michael Apter?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Michael Apter.

Tags

  • 1939 births
  • 20th-century British psychologists
  • 21st-century British psychologists
  • Artificial intelligence people
  • Living people
  • Motivation
  • People from Stockton-on-Tees
  • Personality psychologists

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