Stanley Schacter
Encyclopedia
Stanley Schachter was an American
psychologist
.
Schachter proposed the two factor theory of emotion
. He said emotions have two ingredients: physiological arousal and a cognitive label. A person's experience of an emotion stems from the mental awareness of the body's physical arousal.
, his father from Vasilau a small village in Bukovina
and his mother from Radauti
. Schachter initially studied Art history at Yale University
and then took his Masters in Psychology, when he was influenced by Clark Hull.
Stanley Schachter had a broad curiosity about social behavior. During his career he studied the misattribution of arousal, the causes of overeating and obesity, the physiological basis for nicotine addiction, and the origins of miserliness. In each domain Schachter provided the field with creative, thought-provoking experiments.
In 1946 Schachter went to MIT to work with the German social psychologist Kurt Lewin
, in his Research Center for Group Dynamics
, studying social issues. Lewin died in 1947, and the research center moved to the University of Michigan
, where it became a part of the Institute for Social Research. This was where Schachter gained his Ph.D. in 1949. Schachter's dissertation supervisor was Leon Festinger. With Henry Riecken, they wrote the book When Prophecy Fails (1956), describing what happened to millennial groups after their predicted date for the end of the world had passed.
He joined the Columbia University (New York, N.Y.) faculty as professor of psychology in 1961. He was named Robert Johnston Niven Professor of Social Psychology in 1966 and retired in 1992 with an emeritus designation.
He is survived by his wife, the former Sophia Duckworth. Elijah, their only son, was born in 1969.
Schachter died on June 7, 1997 at his home in East Hampton, New York. His papers are archived at the Bentley Historical Library of the University of Michigan.
Schachter, Columbia University Record By Bob Nelson
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
.
Schachter proposed the two factor theory of emotion
Two factor theory of emotion
Schachter & Singer The two-factor theory of emotion, or Schachter–Singer theory, states that emotion is a function of both cognitive factors and physiological arousal...
. He said emotions have two ingredients: physiological arousal and a cognitive label. A person's experience of an emotion stems from the mental awareness of the body's physical arousal.
Biographical background
Schachter was born to Nathan and Anna Schachter in Flushing, New York. His parents were both Romanian JewsHistory of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
, his father from Vasilau a small village in Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
and his mother from Radauti
Radauti
Rădăuţi is a municipality in Suceava County, Romania with a population of 27,759 inhabitants.-Geography and demographics:Rădăuţi is situated in Bucovina, northern Moldavia, on a plain between the Suceava and Suceviţa rivers, north from Suceava, at 375 m altitude...
. Schachter initially studied Art history at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and then took his Masters in Psychology, when he was influenced by Clark Hull.
Stanley Schachter had a broad curiosity about social behavior. During his career he studied the misattribution of arousal, the causes of overeating and obesity, the physiological basis for nicotine addiction, and the origins of miserliness. In each domain Schachter provided the field with creative, thought-provoking experiments.
In 1946 Schachter went to MIT to work with the German social psychologist Kurt Lewin
Kurt Lewin
Kurt Zadek Lewin was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology....
, in his Research Center for Group Dynamics
Group dynamics
Group dynamics refers to a system of behaviors and psychological processes that occur within a social group , or between social groups...
, studying social issues. Lewin died in 1947, and the research center moved to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where it became a part of the Institute for Social Research. This was where Schachter gained his Ph.D. in 1949. Schachter's dissertation supervisor was Leon Festinger. With Henry Riecken, they wrote the book When Prophecy Fails (1956), describing what happened to millennial groups after their predicted date for the end of the world had passed.
He joined the Columbia University (New York, N.Y.) faculty as professor of psychology in 1961. He was named Robert Johnston Niven Professor of Social Psychology in 1966 and retired in 1992 with an emeritus designation.
He is survived by his wife, the former Sophia Duckworth. Elijah, their only son, was born in 1969.
Schachter died on June 7, 1997 at his home in East Hampton, New York. His papers are archived at the Bentley Historical Library of the University of Michigan.
Books
- Schachter,S (1950) With L. Festinger and K. Back. Social Pressures in Informal Groups. New York: Harpers.
- Schachter,S (1956) With L. Festinger and H. Riecken. When Prophecy FailsWhen Prophecy FailsWhen Prophecy Fails is a 1956 classic book in social psychology by Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter about a UFO religion that believes the end of the world is at hand.- Cognitive dissonance :...
. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. - Schachter,S (1959) The Psychology of Affiliation. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
- Schachter,S (1971). Emotion, Obesity and Crime. New York: Academic.
- Schachter,S & Rodin, J.Judith RodinJudith Rodin was the 7th president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2004 and the first permanent female president of an Ivy League university. She is currently the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, a position she has held since 2005. A University of Pennsylvania alumna, she...
(1974). Obese Humans and Rats. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
Book chapters
- Schachter,S (1964) The interaction of cognitive and physiological determinants of emotional state. In Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, ed. L. *Berkowitz, pp. 49–79. New York: Academic Press.
- Schachter,S & Latané, B.Bibb LatanéBibb Latané is a United States social psychologist. He is probably most famous for his work with John Darley on bystander intervention in emergencies, but he has also published many articles on social attraction in animals, social loafing in groups, and the spread of social influence in populations...
(1964). Crime, cognition and the autonomic nervous system. In Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, ed. D. Levine, pp. 221–73. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. - Schachter,S (1980). Nonpsychological explanations of behavior. In Retrospective on Social Psychology, ed. L. Festinger, pp. 131–57. New York: Oxford University Press.
Papers
- Schachter,S (1951) Deviation, rejection and communication. J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol. 46:190-207.
- Schachter,S (1962) With J. Singer. Cognitive, social and physiological determinants of emotional state. Psychol. Rev. 69:379-99.
- Schachter,S (1963) Birth order, eminence and higher education. Am. Sociol. Rev. 28:757-68.
- Schachter,S (1968). Obesity and eating. ScienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
161:751-56. - Schachter,S (1971). Some extraordinary facts about obese humans and rats.Am. Psychol. 26:129-44.
- Schachter,S (1977). Nicotine regulation in heavy and light smokers. J. Exp. Psychol. 106:5-12.
- Schachter,S (1978). Pharmacological and psychological determinants of cigarette smoking. Ann. Intern. Med. 88:104-14.
- Schachter,S (1982). Recidivism and self-cure of smoking and obesity. Am. Psychol. 37:436-44.
- Schachter,S (1991) With N. J. S. ChristenfeldNicholas ChristenfeldNicholas Christenfeld is a professor of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego. He first joined the department in 1991 and has been a full professor since 2003....
, B. Ravina, and F. R. Bilous. Speech disfluency and the structure of knowledge. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 60:362-67.
Biographies, Autobiographies and Festschrift
- Grunberg, N. E., Nisbett, R. E.Richard E. NisbettRichard Nisbett is Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished Professor of social psychology and co-director of the Culture and Cognition program at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Nisbett's research interests are in social cognition, culture, social class, and aging. He received his Ph.D...
, Rodin, J.Judith RodinJudith Rodin was the 7th president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2004 and the first permanent female president of an Ivy League university. She is currently the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, a position she has held since 2005. A University of Pennsylvania alumna, she...
, and Singer, J. E. (1987). A Distinctive Approach to Psychological Research: The Influence of Stanley Schachter. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. google books - G. Lindzey (ed.) A History of Psychology in Autobiography, Vol. VIII (1989). Stanford: Stanford University Press.
External links
- Stanley Schachter Dies at 75; Psychologist of the Mundane, June 11, 1997
- Behavior: The Chemistry of Smoking, Monday, February 21, 1977
- Stanley Schachter, Psychologist, 75
Schachter, Columbia University Record By Bob Nelson