Robert Louis Kahn (March 28, 1918 – January 6, 2019) was an American

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

and

social scientist Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

, specializing in

organizational theory Organizational theory refers to a series of interrelated concepts that involve the sociological study of the structures and operations of formal social organizations. Organizational theory also seeks to explain how interrelated units of organiza ...

and

survey research In research of human subjects, a survey is a list of questions aimed for extracting specific data from a particular group of people. Surveys may be conducted by phone, mail, via the internet, and also in person in public spaces. Surveys are used ...

, having been considered a "founding father" of the modern approach to these disciplines.Biographical Note at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
/ref> He has also been involved in developing studies on aging and his work is critically acclaimed by experts.University of Michigan Institute for Social Research Profile of Robert Kahn
/ref>

Biography

Kahn was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

on March 28, 1918. He earned his PhD at the University of Michigan and was one of the founding members of the Institute for Social Research.University of Michigan Institute for Social Research Timeline
/ref> He taught at the University of Michigan from 1948 to 1976, and directed the "Survey Research Center". In 1963 he was elected as a

Fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The designation of ASA Fellow has been a sign ...

. He was president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues in 1970. Kahn died in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

on January 6, 2019.

Thought

Kahn's work on

, including the book "The Social Psychology of Organizations" (1966) that he co-authored with Daniel Katz, has been described as "a major influence on the field of organizational research, applying a framework of open system theory—the assumption that an organization continuously interacts with its environment—to research on leadership, role behavior, and organizational effectiveness". Kahn has also been appraised as a leading scholar in the study of aging, especially after the publication of "Successful Aging" (1998) that he co-authored with

John Wallis Rowe John Wallis Rowe is an American businessman and academic physician, who served as chairman and CEO of Aetna Inc., a large health insurance company based in Connecticut, titles he retired from in February 2006. During his Aetna tenure, ''Business ...

. The book and other pertaining research on the topic by Kahn and collaborators have contributed to the understanding of mechanisms of

successful aging Ageing (or aging in American English) is the process of becoming older until death. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi; whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biolo ...

.Martha R. Crowther et al., "Rowe and Kahn's Model of Successful Aging Revisited," ''The Gerontologist'' (2002) 42 (5): 613-620
/ref>

Publications

* 1966. ''The Social Psychology of Organizations'', co-authored with Daniel Katz. * 1998. ''Successful Aging'', co-authored with

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Robert L. 1918 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American psychologists American sociologists University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan Department of Psychology faculty Fellows of the American Statistical Association American men centenarians