Samuel A. Stouffer

Samuel Andrew Stouffer ( born June 6, 1900 in Sac City, Iowa; † August 24, 1960 ) was an American social psychologist and sociologist as well as 43rd President of the American Sociological Association. Stouffer is considered a pioneer of survey research and classics of military sociology.

After a bachelor's degree in Iowa Stouffer went to Harvard University, where he graduated in 1923, the master. After working as a journalist, he focused on the sociology and in 1930 at the University of Chicago for the Ph.D. doctorate. Already in his dissertation he dealt with the methods of empririschen social research. He taught as a professor of Sociology and Social Statistics in Chicago, the University of London and the University of Wisconsin- Madison.

Stouffer designed and conducted two major social science surveys. During the Second World War, he had half a million American soldiers to question their assessments of their position in the military structure. These researches also Leonard Slater Cottrell was involved. In 1954, he was questioning 6,000 U.S. citizens to test their attitude toward deviant behavior. The result confirmed the widespread intolerance of the McCarthy era.

Stouffer officiated in 1953 as president of the American Sociological Association.

Writings (selection )

• The American Soldier, 1949
• Communism, Conformity and Civil Liberties. A Cross Section of the Nation Speaks its Mind, 1955
• Social Research to Test Ideas, 1962.