Hearst was born in
New York City on July 7, 1932, and earned his B.A. in psychology summa cum laude from
Columbia University in 1953 and his doctorate in 1956 under
William N. Schoenfeld. After graduating from Columbia, Hearst was stationed at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center and worked in the departments of experimental psychology and neurophysiology for two years. Hearst received a
Guggenheim Fellowship in 1974. He was elected to the
Society of Experimental Psychologists in 1981 and served on the governing board of the
Psychonomic Society. == Personal life ==