John Dollard was born in in Menasha, Wisconsin in 1900. His father, a railroad engineer, died in an accident when John was very young. John was a psychologist and also a social scientist who had greatly studied the race relations in the United States. He originally received a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1931. Yale University’s Institute of Human Relations appointed him as a research associate in psychology in 1932. Some of his best work was done here.
John and another Yale psychologist, Neal Miller, conducted a study that was titled “Fear and Courage under Battle Conditions” while John was serving as a consultant for the United States Department of War from 1942 to 1945. The research looked at the fear and moral of soldiers who were in modern combat conditions. Also, 300 veterans who were volunteers with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War were used as subjects for the study that was conducted. The Anthropology major, John V. Murra, of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, helped with giving out and receiving surveys. John was able to summarize his findings in “Fear in Battle,” which was published in 1944. Basically, it was a handbook for those in the military during World War II. In 1952 he became the professor in Yale’s Department of Psychology. He retired with the title of professor emeritus in 1969. John was also a learning theorist who contributed greatly to social psychology. He looked into cultural differences in behavior. Dollard developed the explanation for aggressive behavior called the frustration-aggression hypothesis. In 1980 John Dollard died.
References:
1. “Guide to the John Dollard Research Files for Fear and Courage under Battle Conditions 1942-1944.” Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. (2003) Former link, http://dlib.nyu.edu:8083/tamwagead/servlet/SaxonServlet?source=fear.xml&style=saxon01t2002.xsll (2007).
2. “John Dollard.” John Dollard Main Page. http://www.stedwards.edu/bss/swinkels/SEUWebpage/CoursePages/SocialCourse/socialconnections/DollardJohnMain.htm ( 25 April 2004).
Written By: Chris Bova