John RP French

John Robert Putnam French (born August 7, 1913 in Boston , † October 14, 1995 ) was an American psychologist and professor emeritus from the University of Michigan . His best-known work is the power base theory , developed in collaboration with Bertram H. Raven in 1959, which is the most frequently cited theory of power in business and behavioral social research .

life and career

As one of three children of Eleanor Campbell Fisher (1886-1973) and John Robert Putnam French (1883-1953) born in Boston, French graduated from Antioch College in the US state of Ohio and from Black Mountain College in North Carolina . In 1940 he received his doctorate from Harvard University with a dissertation on group cohesion under stress. Together with Dorwin Cartwright and Jerome Brunner, he belonged to a cohort of Harvard graduates who later distinguished themselves particularly through their experimental work. He has become a recognized expert in organizational psychology and experimental research , particularly on the application of Kurt Lewin's field theory in organizational or industrial settings. He gained particular fame through his research into power bases in organizations and the effects of the social environment on health.

French took a job at Harwood Manufacturing Company, where he could experimentally demonstrate the realignment of an autocratic manager through role-playing and group discussions while maintaining or even increasing productivity. This research gained importance as the Second World War increasingly recruited older workers whose stereotypical prejudices and attitudes could not be changed by conventional means. Here, too, French was able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods by involving foremen and managers in the change process.

When Lewin opened the Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , French was one of the first to join the research group. He worked alongside Cartwright, Ronald O. Lippitt and Leon Festinger as a program director. After Lewin's premature death in 1947, the whole institute was transferred to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor . The success story of the institute continued unabated there. While Cartwright was head of the institute, French researched the power base theory with his student Bertrand H. Raven. After a few successful years, French left this research to Raven and turned to how the psycho-social environment affected health. The result of the research became known as the person-environment-fit theory .

French published his work in various channels, served in 1947 as director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics and as president of the Society of Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). He was supported by the Fulbright program promoted and with the Career Award of the National Institute of Mental Health Award.

In 1937, French married Sophia L. Hunt. The marriage has two children, Rebecca Kennedy and John RP French III. He died at the Glacier Hills Nursing Center at the age of 82.

bibliography

Books

1963 Self-acutalization and utilization of talent
1965 Work load of university professors
1965 Self-actualization and self-identity theory
1882 The mechanisms of job stress and strain
1983 Career change in midlife: stress, social support, and adjustment

items

JRP French and BH Raven (1959) The bases of social power ; in D. Cartwright (Editor) Studies in social power ; Pages 150-167; Ann Arbor, Michigan

About John RP French

JS House (1993) JRP French: A Lewinian's Lewinian ; Journal of Social Issues, 44 (4), pages 221-226

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Diane Swanbrow: Psychology Prof. Emeritus John RP French Jr. died Oct. 14. (No longer available online.) In: University of Michigan website. University of Michgan, October 17, 1995, archived from the original August 14, 2019 ; accessed on August 14, 2019 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
^ Karl Sandner: Processes of Power . To the emergence, stabilization and change of the power of actors in the company. 2nd Edition. Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg 1992, ISBN 3-7908-0647-1 .
^ John Robert Putnam French: Behavior in organized and unorganized groups under conditions of frustration and fear . Thesis, Harvard University, Boston 1940.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Keith Dowding (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Power . Sage Reference, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4129-2748-2 , pp. 265-266 .

personal data
SURNAME	French, John RP
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	French, John Robert Putnam; French, JRP
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American psychologist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH	August 7, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH	Boston
DATE OF DEATH	October 14, 1995
Place of death	Ann Arbor

[Swanbrow2006-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Diane Swanbrow: Psychology Prof. Emeritus John RP French Jr. died Oct. 14. (No longer available online.) In: University of Michigan website. University of Michgan, October 17, 1995, archived from the original August 14, 2019 ; accessed on August 14, 2019 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[Sandner1992-2] Karl Sandner: Processes of Power . To the emergence, stabilization and change of the power of actors in the company. 2nd Edition. Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg 1992, ISBN 3-7908-0647-1 .

[French1940-3] John Robert Putnam French: Behavior in organized and unorganized groups under conditions of frustration and fear . Thesis, Harvard University, Boston 1940.

[Dowding2011-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Keith Dowding (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Power . Sage Reference, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4129-2748-2 , pp. 265-266 .