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Bernard Berelson: Behavioral scientist
Author(s) -
Sills David L.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of the history of the behavioral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1520-6696
pISSN - 0022-5061
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6696(198107)17:3<305::aid-jhbs2300170302>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - behavioural sciences , reading (process) , empiricism , psychology , cognitive science , epistemology , psychoanalysis , sociology , political science , philosophy , psychotherapist , law
Bernard Berelson (1912–1979) was trained as a librarian and wrote two important books on reading and readers, but his major contributions to the behavioral sciences were in the fields of communications research, voting studies, and population. He virtually created the term “behavioral sciences” and he was principally responsible for the establishment of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California. His energy and intelligence and his belief both in the importance of behavioral empiricism and the ethical and moral dimensions of behavioral research have left an enduring legacy.