Theodore Newcomb
| Theodore Newcomb | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 24, 1903 Rock Creek, Ohio |
| Died |
December 28, 1984 (aged 81) Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Psychologist |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Doctoral students |
Joseph E. McGrath Susan M. Ervin-Tripp |
| Known for | Proximity principle |
Theodore Mead Newcomb (July 24, 1903 – December 28, 1984) was an American social psychologist, professor and author. Newcomb led the Bennington College Study, which looked at the influence of the college experience on social and political beliefs. He was also the first to document the effects of proximity on acquaintance and attraction. Newcomb founded and directed the doctoral program in social psychology at the University of Michigan. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Newcomb as the 57th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.
Theodore Newcomb was born in Rock Creek, Ohio, on July 24, 1903. His father was a minister. The Newcombs were ostracized for coming out against the Ku Klux Klan when Theodore was growing up. Newcomb attended small rural schools until he started high school in Cleveland. He graduated as valedictorian of his high school, and during his address he criticized the New York State Legislature for "Having denied seats to two legally elected members on grounds that they were bolshvistic socialists." Newcomb graduated summa cum laude from Oberlin College in 1924 and attended Union Theological Seminary. While at seminary, Newcomb decided to become a psychologist. He completed a PhD at Columbia University in 1929 where he worked closely with Goodwin Watson and Gardner Murphy.
Newcomb held academic appointments at Lehigh University (1929-1930), Case Western Reserve University (1930-1934), Bennington College (1934-1941) and the University of Michigan (1941-1972). He served in the military during World War II between 1942 and 1945, assigned to the Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service in the Office of strategic Services and in the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey. Shortly after his return from the war, Newcomb founded Michigan's Survey Research Center, which became the Institute for Social Research. He also founded Michigan's doctoral program in social psychology with Robert Angell and Donald Marquis, and he chaired the program from 1947 to 1953. He was also editor of Psychological Review from 1954-1958
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