Daniel Kahneman
Born 1934 · Age 91
Israeli-American psychologist and behavioral economist known for work on judgment and decision-making, heuristics and biases, prospect theory; 2002 Nobel laureate; author of Thinking, Fast and Slow.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Tel Aviv
Born in Tel Aviv while his mother was visiting family; family domicile was in Paris.
Lived in Nazi-occupied Paris
Kahneman and family were living in Paris when Nazi Germany occupied the city; family went on run and his father was detained and later died in 1944.
Father died during WWII
His father Efrayim died of diabetes in 1944 while family was displaced in France.
Family moved to Mandatory Palestine
Kahneman and family moved to Mandatory Palestine shortly before the creation of the state of Israel.
First marriage to Irah Kahn (approx.)
Married Irah Kahn while students; they had two children. (Exact year not specified in text; presence at Berkeley in 1958 as 'my wife, Irah' confirms marriage before 1958.)
Drafted into Israel Defense Forces
Began military service as a second lieutenant; served a year in infantry and then in the psychology department.
Received B.S. from Hebrew University
Bachelor of Science with major in psychology and minor in mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Developed structured interview for IDF
Designed a structured interview for combat recruits that remained in use in the IDF for decades.
Left Army / returned to civilian life (approx.)
Came out of the Israeli Army and prepared for graduate studies; fellowship arranged to study abroad.
Went to UC Berkeley for PhD
Traveled to the United States with his wife Irah to begin PhD studies in psychology at University of California, Berkeley.
Completed PhD dissertation
Finished PhD (dissertation: An analytical model of the semantic differential) at UC Berkeley; engaged in correlational analysis and FORTRAN programming.
Appointed lecturer at Hebrew University
Returned to Jerusalem and began teaching in the psychology department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Visiting scientist at University of Michigan
Sabbatical/visit; discovered pupillary dilation correlates with mental effort leading to research published in Science.
Promoted to senior lecturer
Promoted at Hebrew University (senior lecturer, 1966).
Fellow and lecturer at Harvard
Spent 1966–1967 as fellow at Center for Cognitive Studies and lecturer in cognitive psychology at Harvard University.
Published pupillary dilation research
Published seminal studies (with Jackson Beatty) on pupil diameter and mental load leading to broader theories of attention and effort.
Visiting scientist at Cambridge (summers)
Visited the Applied Psychology Research Unit in Cambridge in the summers of 1968 and 1969 for research.
Collaboration with Amos Tversky began
Kahneman's long, influential collaboration with Amos Tversky began after a guest lecture at Hebrew University.
First joint paper with Tversky published
Published 'Belief in the Law of Small Numbers' — the first of multiple seminal papers with Tversky.
Published on representativeness and availability heuristics
Key papers with Tversky on heuristics (representativeness, availability) and on overconfidence and anchoring in judgment.
Fellow at Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (Stanford)
Spent 1972–1973 at CASBS, Stanford (interdisciplinary research fellowship).
Published book 'Attention and Effort'
Released Attention and Effort, presenting a theory of mental effort based on pupillary studies.
Published 'Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases'
Seminal article (with Tversky) introducing heuristics such as anchoring, availability, representativeness; attracted broad attention.
Completed early revised version of prospect theory
Kahneman and Tversky completed an early (revised) version of prospect theory in early 1975 after several years of work.
Left Hebrew University for University of British Columbia
Took a position at the University of British Columbia; moved from Israel to Canada.
Married Anne Treisman (spouse from 1978)
Married Anne Treisman, a prominent cognitive psychologist; they remained married until her death in 2018.
Prospect Theory published in Econometrica
Final version of prospect theory published (1979), becoming a landmark and highly cited paper in economics.
Influence on Richard Thaler's 'Toward a Positive Theory of Consumer Choice'
Kahneman and Tversky's work helped inspire Thaler's 1980 paper which Kahneman called the founding text of behavioral economics.
Edited 'Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases'
Co-edited compilation with Paul Slovic summarizing heuristics and biases research.
APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award (joint with Tversky)
Received the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions from the American Psychological Association.
Edited influential anthology on heuristics
Co-edited Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases (Cambridge University Press) with Paul Slovic and Amos Tversky.
Shifted publication patterns after early 1980s
Period of reduced collaboration intensity with Tversky beginning in early 1980s; published less jointly though collaboration continued until Tversky's death in 1996.
Published work on 'Timid Choices and Bold Forecasts'
Published influential 1993 Management Science paper (work from late 80s/early 90s) with Dan Lovallo on risk taking and forecasting biases.
Worked with Richard Thaler and Jack Knetsch
Collaborated (mid-1980s) on research building behavioral economics (endowment effect, fairness), strengthening ties between psychology and economics.
Joined University of California, Berkeley
Left University of British Columbia and took a professorship at UC Berkeley (teaching there 1986–1994).
Society for Consumer Psychology award
Received the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the Society for Consumer Psychology.
Joined Princeton University (Eugene Higgins Professor)
Became Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology and professor of public affairs at Princeton University (1993); started at Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
Hilgard Award & Warren Medal
Received the Hilgard Award for Lifetime Contributions to General Psychology and the Warren Medal of the Society of Experimental Psychologists (joint with Tversky).
Death of Amos Tversky
Amos Tversky died in 1996; Kahneman later stated Tversky would have shared the Nobel Prize had he lived.
Co-edited 'Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology'
Edited volume with Ed Diener and Norbert Schwarz on hedonic psychology and subjective experienced utility.
Published 'Choices, Values and Frames'
Collection (with Amos Tversky) further disseminating decision research and framing effects.
Named fellow / senior scholar at Hebrew University and Gallup Senior Scientist
Held fellowships and senior scientist roles including at his alma mater and the Gallup organization.
Honorary degree from University of Pennsylvania
Received an honorary doctorate (one of many) — began a long list of honorary degrees from top institutions (2001 onward).
Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Elected a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in recognition of his scientific contributions.
Awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Received the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics for integrating psychological research into economic science (shared with Vernon L. Smith).
Nobel Prize increases public demand & speaking engagements
Following the Nobel Prize, Kahneman's public profile rose sharply, leading to broader influence, books, awards and speaking invitations worldwide.
Nobel Lecture and global recognition
Delivered Nobel lecture 'Maps of Bounded Rationality' and received international acclaim as founder of behavioral economics.
Grawemeyer Award for Psychology
Co-recipient (with Amos Tversky) of the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology (2003).
Received National Academy of Sciences Communication Award (for 2011 book later)
Thinking, Fast and Slow later received the NAS Communication Award for best book published in 2011 (award year listed in Wikipedia as for 2011).
Elected to American Philosophical Society
Elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society.
Honorary degree from Harvard University
Received honorary degree from Harvard among many honors awarded in 2000s and 2010s.
Decision Analysis Publication Award (best 2003 paper)
Received Decision Analysis Publication Award from the Decision Analysis Society for best paper published in 2003.
Multiple awards in 2006
Received Kampe de Feriet Award, Thomas Schelling Prize (Harvard Kennedy School), and Frank P. Ramsey Medal (joint with Tversky) in 2006.
Frank P. Ramsey Medal (joint with Tversky)
Awarded by the Decision Analysis Society (2006) along with Amos Tversky.
Retired as emeritus from Princeton (approx.)
Became professor emeritus of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University (retirement formalized around 2007).
APA Lifetime Achievement Award
Presented with the American Psychological Association's Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology.
Elected Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy
Recognized by the British Academy as a Corresponding Fellow.
John McGovern Award Lecture (AAAS)
Delivered the John McGovern Award Lecture of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2008).
Co-founding partner of TGG Group (approx.)
Text states Kahneman was a founding partner of TGG Group (business and philanthropy consulting). Year not specified in text; estimated here.
Leontief Prize recipient
Received the Leontief Prize from Tufts University for contributions to economics and public policy.
Thinking, Fast and Slow becomes best seller
Book topped best-seller lists and greatly expanded Kahneman's public influence beyond academia.
Named Distinguished Fellow of American Economic Association
Recognized by the AEA as a Distinguished Fellow in 2011 for contributions bridging psychology and economics.
Named top global thinker by Foreign Policy and Bloomberg 50
Named among Foreign Policy's top global thinkers and appeared on Bloomberg's 50 most influential people in global finance (2011).
Published 'Thinking, Fast and Slow'
Published bestselling book summarizing decades of research; became widely influential and a best seller.
Talcott Parsons Prize & Book Awards
Awarded the Talcott Parsons Prize by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Thinking, Fast and Slow won Los Angeles Times Book Award and National Academy of Sciences Communication Award.
Accepted as corresponding academician, Real Academia Española
Accepted as corresponding academician (Economic and Financial Sciences) by the Real Academia Española in 2012.
McGovern Award and SAGE-CASBS Award
Received the McGovern Award in Science by the Cosmos Club and the SAGE-CASBS Award for Social Science in 2013.
Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
President Barack Obama announced Kahneman as a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom (2013).
Honorary degree from Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Awarded an honorary degree by the Hebrew University — recognition from his alma mater.
Listed by The Economist as influential economist
The Economist listed Kahneman as the seventh most influential economist in the world (2015).
Honorary degrees (Stellenbosch, Univ. of Haifa)
Received honorary degrees from Stellenbosch University and University of Haifa in 2016.
Death of spouse Anne Treisman
Anne Treisman, Kahneman's wife since 1978 and a noted cognitive psychologist, died in 2018.
Named Gold Medal Honoree by National Institute of Social Sciences
Recognized as a Gold Medal Honoree by The National Institute of Social Sciences (December 2018).
Received Golden Plate Award
Awarded the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (2019).
Partnered with Barbara Tversky
From 2020, lived in New York City with Barbara Tversky, widow of Amos Tversky.
Co-authored 'Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment'
Co-authored Noise with Olivier Sibony and Cass R. Sunstein — a book on variability and errors in human judgment.
Honorary degree from HEC Paris
Received an honorary degree from HEC Paris (2021).
Honorary degree from York University
Received an honorary degree from York University in 2023.
Helen Dinerman Award
Presented with the Helen Dinerman Award of the World Association for Public Opinion Research (2023).
Died by assisted suicide in Switzerland
Kahneman died by assisted suicide on March 27, 2024, in Nunningen, Switzerland; assistance was provided by Pegasos due to fear of dementia.
Posthumous details publicized about manner/location of death
The manner and precise location of Kahneman's assisted death were revealed publicly in March 2025.
Key Achievement Ages
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