Harold Kelley facts for kids

Harold Kelley (born February 16, 1921 – died January 29, 2003) was an American social psychologist. He was a professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He made big contributions to how we understand people.

He helped create "interdependence theory" with his colleague John Thibaut. He also did early work on "attribution theory". Plus, he spent his whole life studying how close relationships work. In 2002, a study ranked Kelley as the 43rd most mentioned psychologist of the 20th century.

Biography

Harold Kelley was born in Boise, Idaho. When he was 10, his family moved to Delano, California. There, he met and married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy. They had three children: Ann, Sten, and Megan. Later, they had five grandchildren.

After high school, Kelley went to Bakersfield Junior College. In 1942, he earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. He continued his studies at UC Berkeley. In 1943, he earned his master's degree in Psychology.

During World War II, Kelley worked for the army air force. He was part of the Aviation Psychology Program. His job was to create tests to choose aircrew members. He also looked at how well aircrews performed.

After the war, his mentor, Stuart Cook, told him to keep studying. So, Kelley joined the Center for Group Dynamics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This center was led by Kurt Lewin. Kelley earned his Ph.D. from MIT in 1948. After Lewin passed away, the center moved to the University of Michigan. Kelley worked there for another year.

In 1950, Kelley started his first teaching job at Yale University. He worked with Carl Hovland and Irving Janis. Together, they wrote his first book, "Communication and Persuasion." In 1955, Kelley left Yale and moved to the University of Minnesota. There, he co-wrote "The Social Psychology of Groups" with John W. Thibaut.

Later, Kelley moved to UCLA. He stayed there for the rest of his career. He retired in 1991 but remained active at UCLA. He held many leadership roles, including being a chairman for some organizations. His strong work ethic and love for social psychology inspired many students. They looked up to him and chose to study psychology too. Harold Kelley passed away from cancer in January 2003 at his home in Malibu.

Work

One of Kelley's most famous studies was from 1948. He was inspired by another psychologist, Solomon Asch. Asch studied how people form "positive" or "negative" first impressions. These impressions were often based on key traits like "warm" or "cold."

Kelley did an experiment where he described a person as "warm" to some people and "cold" to others. But the person's actions were exactly the same for everyone. Kelley found that people had more positive impressions when the person was called "warm." They had more negative impressions when the person was called "cold." This showed how much a single word could change how we see someone.

Interdependence theory

Harold Kelley's most important teamwork was with John Thibaut. Together, they created "interdependence theory." This idea is often seen as a type of social exchange theory. It was first talked about in their 1959 book, "The Social Psychology of Groups." They explained it more fully in their 1978 book, "Interpersonal Relations: A Theory of Interdependence."

Experts have praised interdependence theory for its smart ideas. For over 50 years, it has helped scientists study many topics. These include how groups work, how people compare themselves to others, and how we explain why people act the way they do. It also helps us understand love, commitment, and conflict.

Interdependence theory looks at how much one person can affect another's results in an interaction. It focuses on the interaction itself. This means the relationship between people is just as important as the people themselves.

The theory uses a "rewards and costs" idea, similar to what's used in game theory. It suggests that people try to get good results (high rewards, low costs) in relationships. Just like they do with money or other decisions. These rewards and costs are often shown in charts called matrices. These charts help visualize all the possible outcomes in an interaction.

Personal relationships

As Kelley explored his theories, he started looking at young couples. He studied how they interacted when they got along and when they had conflicts. He also looked at how they tried to solve their disagreements. This work led him to write an important book in 1979, "Personal Relationships."

Later, he co-wrote "Close Relationships." This book encouraged studying topics that social psychology had often ignored. These included attraction, love, commitment, power, and conflict in relationships.

Even though he used the terms "close" and "personal relationships" later in his career, Kelley was interested in this topic from the start. His 1959 book, "The Social Psychology of Groups," used many examples of interactions between two people. Interdependence theory also focused on how two people and their situation affect interactions.

Through his work, Kelley clearly defined what an interpersonal relationship is. In 1979, he said a personal relationship has three key parts:

• How people's actions affect each other.
• How they respond to each other's results.
• How they explain each other's actions based on their personalities.

He later defined a "close relationship" in 1983. He said it's "one of strong, frequent and diverse interdependence that lasts over a considerable period of time."

After he retired, Kelley led another group of researchers. They worked for six years to create a guide to different social situations. This project resulted in "An Atlas of Interpersonal Situations."

Collaboration

Kelley's work with John Thibaut from 1953 to 1986 is seen as one of the greatest partnerships in psychology.

Kelley loved working with others throughout his life. This is clear from the many co-authors on his books. These include "Close Relationships" and "An Atlas of Interpersonal Situations."

His desire to work with others also led to the creation of the first group for relationship researchers. This was the International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships (ISSPR). Kelley was one of its first leaders, serving as President from 1987 to 1990. This group has now become part of the International Association for Relationships Research (IARR).

Awards

Kelley received many awards for his important work in psychology.

• In 1971, he got the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association.
• In 1999, he received the Cooley-Mead Award from the American Sociological Association.
• He was also recognized by many other groups. These include the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and the American Psychological Society.

Kelley's many contributions helped social psychology grow and be better understood.

See also

In Spanish: Harold Kelley para niños

Collaborators, advisors, colleagues

• Ellen Berscheid
• Fritz Heider
• Kurt Lewin
• Donald R. Peterson
• Caryl Rusbult
• John Thibaut
• Paul Van Lange

Relevant psychological contributions

• Social psychology
• Interpersonal relationship
• Intimate relationship
• Covariation model
• Attribution theory
• Implicit personality theory
• Halo effect
• Society of Experimental Social Psychology