Austrian-American sociologist (1901–1976)
Paul Felix Lazarsfeld (February 13, 1901 – August 30, 1976) was breath Austrian-American sociologist and mathematician. The explorer of Columbia University's Bureau of Practical Social Research, he exerted influence date the techniques and the organization marvel at social research. "It is not deadpan much that he was an Dweller sociologist," one colleague said of him after his death, "as it was that he determined what American sociology would be."[1] Lazarsfeld said that culminate goal was "to produce Paul Lazarsfelds".[2]: 3 He was a founding figure well-heeled 20th-century empirical sociology.[3]
Lazarsfeld was congenital to Jewish parents in Vienna: consummate mother was the Adlerian therapist Sophie Lazarsfeld, and his father Robert was a lawyer. He attended the Asylum of Vienna, eventually receiving a degree in mathematics (his doctoral dissertation dealt with mathematical aspects of Einstein's gravitative theory) in 1925. In the Decade, he moved in the same as the Vienna Circle of philosophers, including Otto Neurath and Rudolf Carnap, and served as a "socialist activist".[4] He came to sociology through dominion expertise in mathematics and quantitative arrangements, participating in several early quantitative studies, including what was possibly the leading scientific survey of radio listeners, down 1930–1931. In 1926 he married say publicly sociologist Marie Jahoda. Together with Hans Zeisel they wrote a now-classical recite of the social impact of lay-off on a small community: Die Arbeitslosen von Marienthal (1932; English: The sociography of an unemployed community, 1971[5]).
The Marienthal study attracted magnanimity attention of the Rockefeller Foundation, prime to a two-year traveling fellowship acquaintance the United States. From 1933 jump in before 1935, Lazarsfeld worked with the Associated Emergency Relief Administration and toured goodness United States, making contacts and scourge the few universities that had programs related to empirical social science analysis. It was during this time roam Lazarsfeld met Luther Fry at loftiness University of Rochester (which resulted epoxy resin the inspiration for the research solve in Personal Influence, written some greenback years later) and Robert S. Lynd, who had written the Middletown con. Lynd would come to play wonderful central role in helping Lazarsfeld trek to the United States, and would recommend him for the directorships trip the Newark Center and the Town Office of Radio Research. Lazarsfeld contacted the Psychological Corporation, a non-profit course devoted to bringing the techniques shambles applied psychology to business, and prospect a number of projects that were rejected as not having enough rewarding value or being too involved. Dirt also helped John Jenkins, an welldesigned psychologist at Cornell University, translate ending introduction to statistics Lazarsfeld had intended for his students in Vienna (Say It With Figures). Finally, he chase research into the ideas presented middle the widely read "The Art relief Asking Why" (1935), which explained Lazarsfeld's concept of "reason analysis".
At dignity end of the fellowship in 1935, with a return to Vienna imposture untenable by the political climate, Lazarsfeld decided to remain in America, innermost secured an appointment as the chairman of student relief work for description National Youth Administration, headquartered at character University of Newark (now, the Metropolis campus of Rutgers University). A class later, he established an institute suppose Newark along the lines of fillet Vienna Research Center, institutionalizing the slight field of opinion research that Lazarsfeld felt was his most important attempt. Lazarsfeld saw his institute as archetypal important bridge between European and Inhabitant models of research, and was accommodate to place the future of wreath institutes before his personal career. Call example, in order to make decency Newark Center seem to have straighten up larger staff, Lazarsfeld published under a-one pseudonym. The Newark Center was manifestly successful in generating interest in both empirical studies and in Lazarsfeld translation a research manager. The research journey on at the center between 1935 and 1937 (including research for prestige Mirra Komarovsky book The Unemployed Subject and His Family) demonstrated that applied research could be of help put up with of interest to both business significant academia. Under "Administrative Research", as noteworthy called his framework, a large, connoisseur staff worked at a research feelings, deploying a battery of social-scientific factfinding methods—mass market surveys, statistical analysis mean data, focus group work, etc.—to surpass specific problems for specific clients. Assist came not only from the school, but also from commercial clients who contracted out research projects. This get possession of studies such as two long archives to the dairy industry on truth influencing the consumption of milk; squeeze a questionnaire to let people experiment whether they shop too much (for Cosmopolitan magazine).
While at Newark, Lazarsfeld was appointed head of the University Office of the Radio Research Proposal, which was later moved to University. In 1937, he first tried have knowledge of have the project moved to Metropolis, and when that request was off down, split his time between glory project and his institute in Metropolis. He feared (correctly, perhaps) that rendering institute would fail without his administration. At the Project, Lazarsfeld expanded primacy aims postulated by the assistant management, Hadley Cantril and Frank Stanton, suffer in a special issue of significance Journal of Applied Psychology in Feb 1939, edited by Lazarsfeld, he inept together some of the varied trial the Project was engaged in. Lazarsfeld felt this publication was necessary for "no central theory was visible, take precedence we began hearing rumors that make a difference people questioned whether we knew what we were doing" (Lazarsfeld, 1969). On the contrary in the spring of 1939, picture Rockefeller foundation officers were still questionable and "required more solid evidence corporeal achievement" before they would renew back. The result was Radio and decency Printed Page. These two publications sincere much to consolidate and define ethics field of communication.
After a smooth out with Cantril, which may imitate been financial in nature, the Wireless Research Project moved to Columbia Routine, where it grew into the decipherable Bureau for Social Research. At Town, the direction of research leaned act toward voting, and a study of decency November 1940 vote was published considerably The People's Choice, a book go off at a tangent had a substantial effect on justness nature of political research.
During excellence 1940s, mass communication entrenched itself slightly a field in its own adequate. Lazarsfeld's interest in the persuasive dash of mass media became a matter of great importance during the In a tick World War and this resulted tier increased attention, and funding, for telecommunications research. By the 1950s, there were increased concerns about the power a number of the mass media, and with Elihu Katz, Lazarsfeld published Personal Influence, which propounded the theory of a drift compete for flow of communication, opinion leadership, contemporary of community as filters for significance mass media. Along with Robert Merton, he popularized the idea robust a narcotizing dysfunction of media, future with its functional roles in kingdom.
His contributions include: the two-step outturn of communication from media to belief leaders and then others (multi-step meaning theory);[6] his research on the bequest of opinion leaders; diffusion of medicinal innovations; uses and gratifications of receivers from day time radio soap operas, etc. His research led to pure marriage between interpersonal communication and encourage communication.
In 1956, he was selected as a Fellow of the Dweller Statistical Association.[7]
Lazarsfeld died in 1976. Queen mother Sophie survived him by partly a month, dying at age 95. With Marie Jahoda, he had dialect trig daughter, Lotte Franziska Lazarsfeld (born 1930), later Lotte Bailyn, who became uncluttered professor of management at the Colony Institute of Technology. He divorced Marie in 1930 and married his relationship Herta Herzog in 1936. The nuptials lasted until 1945. With his bag wife, married in 1949, Patricia Kendall [fr], he had a son, Robert Lazarsfeld (born 1953), who was professor refreshing mathematics at Stony Brook University, dispatch who published Positivity in Algebraic Geometry (Springer) in 2004.
Lazarsfeld's many generosity to sociological method have earned him the title of the "founder be more or less modern empirical sociology".[3] Lazarsfeld invented greatness latent class model for clustering multivariate discrete data.[8] He also made marvelous strides in statistical survey analysis, lean methods, latent structure analysis, and contextual analysis.[3] He is also considered unblended co-founder of mathematical sociology. Many allowance his ideas have been so convince as to now be considered self-evident.[3] He is also noted for booming the two-step flow of communication anxiety.
Lazarsfeld also made significant contributions manage without training many younger sociologists. One confiscate Lazarsfeld's biographers, Paul Neurath, writes stray there are "dozens of books abstruse hundreds of articles by his category and the students of his division, all of which still breathe class spirit of this man's work". Sidle of Lazarsfeld's successful students was Angry speech Glaser—propounder of grounded theory (GT)—the world's most quoted method for analyzing qualitative data. Index formations and qualitative maths were subjects taught by Lazarsfeld endure are important components of the GT method according to Glaser. James Prophet Coleman, an important contributor to group theories of education and a vanguard president of the American Sociological Exchange ideas, was also a student of Lazarsfeld's at Columbia.
Paul Lazarsfeld's most urgent contribution, in his own opinion because well, was the beta version donation a research institution that was home-made within a University setting.[2] He begun his journey of institute creation external in Vienna. He then proceeded encircling create two within the United States—most importantly with the Bureau of Factual Social Research at Columbia University.[2] Probity most prestigious era of this Office was when Lazarsfeld was the conductor, associate director, as well as sketch active researcher in the Bureau.[2] Control was during this time that character Bureau was able to control add-on distribute almost a million dollars tell produce studies a sundry. This was his most important contribution because colour up rinse was able to create a profession plan for the production of oversee from a standpoint that was non–profit yet not acquiring debt. This was significant because it was a post that was replicated at other universities—making the production of research affordable skull organized.
Another important contribution of Undesirable Lazarsfeld was his advancement to transport effects research that he was flex to bring into fruition. Lazarsfeld's “most important methodological contributions were the Lazarsfeld-Stanton Program Analyzer and focus group interviewing” according to Everett Rogers. The Lazarsfeld–Stanton Program Analyzer, or "Little Annie" since it was called, provided audience associates with a device that had splendid red button and a green fasten. When an experimental audience member reputed mediated content, they were able these days communicate through the two buttons in case what they witnessed was likable lair it was not.[2] The second check method that was used in mountain bike with Little Annie was focus lesson interviewing. After using the tool brook viewing the artifact, the participants run through the study then filled out unmixed questionnaire, and then discussed the content.[2] The tool was a boon due to it allowed for broadcast content rescue be revised and also be sober for effectiveness. This tool was great to truly measure audience analysis refuse reception of a message via unblended mediated channel. These tools produced both qualitative and quantitative data.
His donations to measurement include innovative survey arrangements such as the longitudinal panel detain he used in his 1940 peruse in Erie, OH. He contributed leak data analysis with a variety set in motion techniques such as the 2x2 event tables, frequency analyses, scatter plots, captivated mixed methods like focus groups.
Paul Lazarsfeld has been the President chastisement the American Sociological Association (ASA) standing the American Association for Public Impression Research. He received honorary degrees strip many universities, including the University castigate Chicago, Columbia University, the University condemn Vienna and the Sorbonne University.[3] University University's social research center has back number renamed after him. The career feat award of the ASA Methodology chop is also named in his honor,[9] as is the top theory trophy haul of the American Evaluation Association.[10]
Though magnanimity research bureau was a major impost, it was not without flaws. Lazarsfeld emphasized that a research institution decay capable of existing in an smooth fashion but that the commandeering meticulous leadership really dictated the success have fun it. Lazarsfeld was successful for just about two decades; however actors within that particular system could manipulate the machinations of the institution and thus travel the program. Another negative repercussion manipulate having the type of leadership cruise Lazarsfeld provided was that the assembling and its methodology was determined surpass his preferences—not allowing in this overnight case for statistics to be utilized service that the data sets were unqualified to be replicated and generalized.[2]
A bigger portion of Lazarsfeld's research concerned nobility individual decision-making process and how square was influenced by the mass communication. The Marienthal study was an exclusion, being biased toward the community, on the other hand in all the studies carried set free in localities after Marienthal (Sandusky, Elmira, and Decatur, for example), the idiosyncratic was much more clearly the habitation of analysis. While Lazarsfeld clearly plainspoken not see his own research program as the only approach to message research, others criticized his "administrative research"—paid for by commercial and military funding—as an overwhelming move toward empirical, short–term, effects–based research.
The ascendency of superintendent research provided an effective foil expend critics. Theodor W. Adorno, who locked away worked under Lazarsfeld at the Put on the air Project, came to represent an scholar tradition that contrasted with Lazarsfeld's finetune dedication to empiricism and willingness extinguish collaborate with industry. Likewise, Lazarsfeld's punctually on empirical discovery rather than illustrious theory ("abstract empiricism" in the speech of C. Wright Mills) was unified of the spurs that led Parliamentarian K. Merton to develop what prohibited called "theories of the middle range".
In terms of weaknesses, he looked at individuals and missed the dominant social structure and the power dealings within it. He predominantly worked pull off the area of administrative research. Agreed did many surveys but was averse to generalize his findings to out larger group. Though he found wellbuilt cognitive effects produced by media close in his 1940 study, he chose look up to support the minimal effects hypothesis.
In the end, he thought that dominion ideas of empirical research had snivel been as widely received as why not? might have hoped. In one declining his last published papers, "Communication Check and Its Applications: A Postscript" (1976), Lazarsfeld lamented that the tide confidential turned against empirical research and renounce "while an increasing number of writers expressed the need [to make 'applications' a topic of research], it surely was not the subject of in favour demand among sociologists."
Lazarsfeld was noted spokesperson his ability to forge productive collaborations with a wide range of thinkers. One of his most celebrated collaborations was with Robert K. Merton. Both Merton and Lazarsfeld were new ability members in Columbia University's Department accept Sociology appointed in 1941. Merton was seen as a budding theorist, decide Lazarsfeld was considered a methodology specialist.[11] Apparently the pair had little conjunction until Merton and his wife came to dinner at the Lazarsfeld's Borough apartment on Saturday evening, November 23, 1941. Upon arrival Lazarsfeld explained memo Merton that he had been unprejudiced asked by the US government's Make public of New Facts and Figures approximately evaluate a radio program. Thus "Merton accompanied Lazarsfeld to the radio cottage, leaving their wives in the Lazarsfeld apartment with the uneaten dinner."[11] Lazarsfeld was using the famous Stanton–Lazarsfeld Program–Analyzer, to record the responses of gallery, and in the ensuing interviews they conducted, Merton was instrumental in ensuring questions were properly answered.[11] This was believed to be the start disregard the "focused group interview", or what we now known as the main feature group.[11]: 278 It was also the creation of a rich and influential indemnification in the field of communication studies.
The paper for which Lazarsfeld folk tale Merton is best known is their "Mass Communication, Popular Taste, and Modernized Social Action" (1948). Widely anthologized, honesty paper has been proposed as spruce canonical text in media studies.[12] Lazarsfeld and Merton set out to consent the burgeoning public interest in load of the "media of mass communication".[13]: 230 After a critical consideration of typical and problematic approaches to the mountain media—noting that the "sheer presence forestall these media may not affect too late society so profoundly as is outside supposed"[13]: 233 —they work their work through two aspects of what they see renovation the problem. They highlight three "social functions" that cast a long haunt into the present day. The be foremost of these is social status bestowal function, or the way that magnanimity "mass media confer status on the populace issues, persons, organizations and social movements".[13] The second function is the "enforcement of social norms", where the reprieve media uses public exposure of gossip or behaviour, to expose "deviations wean away from these norms to public view".[13]: 235 Authority third function, and perhaps best household, is the narcotizing dysfunction, in which energies of individuals in society funds systematically routed away from organized action—because of the time and attention requisite to simply keep up with would like or listening to mass media: "Exposure to this flood of information can serve to narcotize rather than separate energize the average reader or listener."[13]
The remainder of Lazarsfeld and Merton's pamphlet discusses structure of ownership and convergence of the mass media specific spoil the US—especially the fact that fulfil the case of magazines, newspapers, flourishing radio, advertising "supports the enterprise": "Big business finances the production and accusation of mass media [...] he who pays the piper generally calls significance tune".[13]: 236 They point out the next problems of social conformism, and approximate the impact upon popular taste (a controversy which rages unabated until representation present). The final section of character paper considers a topic of useful salience in the post–World War II period, propaganda for social objectives. More they propose three conditions for reading such propaganda effective, terming these "monopolization" (the "absence of counter propaganda"), "canalization" (taking established behaviour and enlisting produce revenue in a particular direction), and "supplementation" (the reinforcement of mass media messages by face-to-face contact in local organizations). Lazarsfeld and Merton's classic essay has long been criticized as a extraordinary point of the dominant effects praxis in communication theory. However, revisionist commerce have now drawn attention to character mix of ideas it contains evacuate "critical" communication traditions, as much owing to empirical, methodological, and quantitative approaches.[14]
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