Who I Am & What I Do
July 6, 2011
My name is Ken Tangen. I live in southern California (south of Disneyland, just before you hit the beach). But I have students from all over the world.
My degrees are in psychology. Specifically, I earned a BA in psychology, a masters in counseling psychology, and a PhD in educational psychology. But mostly, I think of myself as a cognitive scientist. Or more simply as a teacher.
If you are more knowledgeable than me, let me enlist your help. When you find something I’ve screwed up, let me know. I have very little ego when it comes to helping others. So when you have a suggestion, send on to me: ken at kentangen.com.
Disneyland, Albinism & Psych
July 4, 2011
If I could describe myself without revealing that I’m an albino, I would. But my birth defect and the fight to appear “normal” probably define me more than I would care to admit. Although some aspects are entertaining, I work hard at making sure people don’t discount me because I look odd — I prefer they dislike me because I’m a rotten person.
Disneyland, Albinism & the Study of Psychology
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Resume
January 22, 2011
A short and out of date summary of stuff I used to do. Check out the computer systems and languages I use to know.
KENNETH L. TANGEN, Ph.D.
3461 Santa Clara, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
ken@kentangen.com 714.805.6884
Education
University of Washington, Ph.D., 1983, Educational Psychology
Central Washington University, MS, 1974, Counseling Psychology
Seattle Pacific University, BA, 1972, Psychology
Employment
Management Consultant, 1987-present:. Select, manage and lead multi-discipline research teams in the design and implementation of marketing and feasibility studies, including surveys, polls, structured interviews, and focus groups. Conduct large scale surveys and studies of national and international scope. Develop tracking systems of consumer-dealer information, values and performance. Evaluate educational and training programs, implement and maintain databases and perform financial, forecasting, profitability and statistical analyses.
Adjunct Teaching, 1988-present:. Taught courses in statistics, research methods and psychology at Orange Coast College, Cal. State Long Beach, Chapman University, UCIrvine, and TESC.
Asst. Prof. of Distance Learning & Director, Office of Electronic Education, 1996-1999. Chapman University, Orange, CA 92666. Serve as the University’s chief officer for all areas of electronic instruction; report directly to the Provost. Responsible for the development of short- and long-range plans, establishment of policies, and the development and implementation of all technologically-enhanced and stand-alone courses, including internet, television, satellite, animations, video conferencing, and CD-ROM technologies. Founding faculty member and chair of the Dept. of Distance Learning.
Assistant Professor, 1985-1987. Southern California College, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Taught courses in learning, developmental, history-systems, counseling methods, statistics and tests-measurements. Served as department chair.
Honors and Memberships
Cited in Who’s Who in the West (1980-1983); President, Costa Mesa Rotary Club (1995-96). Member: United States Distance Learning Association, American Association of Higher Education, American Psychological Association, American Statistical Association.
Analytic Skills
Able to translate technical jargon into everyday language. Represent University on IT, and educational research issues at national and regional meetings. Expert on distance learning, video compression and e-commerce. Experienced with statistical programs (e.g., SAS, SPSS, BMDP, Systat, Minitab, etc.); micros, multi-user multi-tasking micros (Alpha Micro), minis (VAX, Convex) and mainframes (Digital, IBM); programming experience in BASIC, C, COBOL, FORTRAN, Pascal, and Forth. Operating systems include DOS, WIN, NT, TSO, CICS, VAX/VMS, and multi-site network systems.
Scholarly Publications
Butterfield, Nielsen, Tangen & Richardson. “Theoretically Based Psychometric Measures of Inductive Reasoning,” in Embretson, S (ed.), Test Design: Developments in psychology and psychometrics. Orlando: Academic Press, 1985.
Tangen, K.L. “Processes underlying the solution of letter series and analogical reasoning tasks.” Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington, 1983.
Tangen, KL. “Pupilary reactivity to visual stimuli as a function of Allport’s intrinsic-extrinsic orientations.” Masters thesis, Central Washington University, 1974.