Robert F. Bales
Robert Freed Bales (March 9, 1916 – June 16, 2004) was an American social psychologist.[1] He specialized in small group interpersonal interaction and developed the SYMLOG (SYstematic MultiLevel Observation of Groups) method of group observation.[2]
Biography
Bales was born in Ellington, Missouri on March 9, 1916.[1] He received a B.A. and M.S. in sociology from the University of Oregon. In 1945 he received a Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University. Bales then became a professor at Harvard,[2] working in the university's Laboratory of Human Relations.[3]
Bales died in San Diego, California on June 16, 2004 at the age of 88.[1]
SYMLOG
The use of SYMLOG and the certification of SYMLOG consultants is now maintained by the SYMLOG Consulting Group, whose formation Bales supported.[4] In 2016 the group honoured the centenary of Bales' birth by publishing excerpts from a video interview which he gave in 1996.[5]
Awards
- Distinguished Career Award of the American Association of Specialists in Group Work (1982)[2]
- Cooley-Mead Award of the American Sociological Association (1983)[2]
- Distinguished Teaching Award of the American Psychological Foundation (1984)[2]
Bibliography
- Bales, R. F., (1950), Interaction Process Analysis; A Method for the Study of Small Groups, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Press
- Bales, R. F., (1950), "A Set of Categories for the Analysis of Small Group Interaction" in American Sociological Review, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Apr., 1950), pp. 257-263
- Hare, Alexander Paul, Edgar F. Borgatta, and Robert Freed Bales. Small groups. Knopf, 1965.
- Bales, Robert Freed. "Personality and interpersonal behavior." (1970).
- Bales, Robert Freed, Stephen P. Cohen, and Stephen A. Williamson. SYMLOG: A system for the multiple level observation of groups. Vol. 67. New York: Free Press, 1979
- Parsons, Talcott, Robert Freed Bales, and Edward A. Shils. Working papers in the theory of action. Greenwood Press, 1981.
- Bales, Robert Freed. "Social Interaction Systems: Theory and Measurement: Book review." (2000): 199.
References
- 1 2 3 "Robert Freed Bales Obituary". San Diego Union-Tribune. June 22, 2004.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Robert Freed Bales : Faculty of Arts and Sciences - Memorial Minute". Harvard University Gazette. November 22, 2005.
- ↑ Bales, R. F., (1950), Interaction Process Analysis; A Method for the Study of Small Groups, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Press, Preface
- ↑ SYMLOG Frequently Asked Questions, accessed 27 September 2018
- ↑ Video Exceprts from "An Interview with Robert Freed Bales - 1996", accessed 27 September 2018