23 Facts About Julian Rotter

Julian B Rotter was an American psychologist known for developing social learning theory and research into locus of control.

Julian Rotter was a faculty member at Ohio State University and then the University of Connecticut.

Julian Rotter was born in 1916 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, as the third son of Jewish immigrant parents.

Julian Rotter attended Brooklyn College in 1933, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1937.

Julian Rotter majored in chemistry even though he found psychology to be more fascinating because chemistry seemed more remunerative.

Julian Rotter then earned a master's degree at the University of Iowa in 1938, studying there under Kurt Lewin, the renowned gestalt psychologist whose field theory of personality, with its emphasis on goals, valence, and barriers, clearly influenced Rotter's later theory-building.

At Ohio State, Julian Rotter worked with George Kelly, founder of personal constructs theory.

In 1963, Julian Rotter went to the University of Connecticut, becoming director of that school's clinical psychology program, where he remained for the rest of his career.

Julian Rotter assumed emeritus status in 1987, but continued to teach graduate classes in personality and test construction for several more years.

Julian Rotter served as president of the American Psychological Association Division of Clinical Psychology, the Eastern Psychological Association, and the American Psychological Association Division of Social and Personality Psychology.

Julian Rotter died at the age of 97 on January 6,2014, at his home in Mansfield, Connecticut.

When Julian Rotter was a graduate student and early professional, American academic psychology was dominated by the approach known as behaviorism.

Julian Rotter liked the methodological and theoretical rigor of behaviorists like Clark Hull, but found their mechanistic learning theories too limited for application to complex human social behavior.

Julian Rotter found the gestalt "field theories" appealing, especially the work of his former professor Kurt Lewin, but was disturbed by their imprecision and failure to generate specific predictions.

Julian Rotter saw SLT as an alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism that would be useful to clinicians and researchers alike.

An important refinement of Julian Rotter's Social Learning Theory was the concept of generalized expectancies for problem-solving skills.

In 1966, Julian Rotter published his famous I-E scale in the journal "Psychological Monographs", to assess internal and external locus of control.

Julian Rotter himself was astounded by how much attention this scale generated, claiming that it was like lighting a cigarette and seeing a forest fire.

Julian Rotter himself believed that the scale was an adequate measure of just two concepts, achievement motivation and outer-directedeness, or tendency to conform to others.

Julian Rotter has been reported as one of the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century.

Julian Rotter was 18th in frequency of citations in journal articles and 64th in overall eminence.

Julian Rotter had two children after marrying Clara Barnes, whom he had met at Worcester State.

Julian Rotter was married from 1941 until his wife died in 1985.