Harold Lasswell Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Harold Lasswell

Born	(1902-02-13)February 13, 1902 Donnellson, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 18, 1978(1978-12-18) (aged 76) New York City, U.S.
Education	University of Chicago (PhD)
Scientific career
Institutions	Yale University
Influences	Sigmund Freud, Theodor Reik

Harold Dwight Lasswell (born February 13, 1902 – died December 18, 1978) was an American political scientist and expert in communication. He earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy and economics. He also got his PhD from the University of Chicago. Later, he became a professor of law at Yale University.

Lasswell studied in many famous cities like London, Geneva, Paris, and Berlin in the 1920s. He was also the president of important groups. These included the American Political Science Association (APSA) and the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS).

Many people thought he was like a "one-man university." This means he was skilled in many subjects. These included anthropology, economics, law, and psychology. He was seen as one of the most original thinkers in political science of his time.

Lasswell studied how personality, social structure, and culture affect politics. He didn't see strict lines between subjects. Instead, he blended ideas from communication, political science, psychology, and sociology.

Lasswell's Important Work
Lasswell's Contributions
See also

Lasswell's Important Work

Harold Lasswell is famous for his ideas about communication.

Understanding Communication

His most well-known idea is the "model of communication." It helps us understand how messages are sent. This model asks five key questions:

Who (says it)?
What (is said)?
To Whom (is it said)?
In What Channel (is it said)?
With What Effect (does it have)?

This model helps us break down any communication. It shows how important it is to look at the results of a message.

Books and Ideas

Lasswell wrote important books about politics and human behavior. One book was Psychopathology and Politics. It looked at how leaders' minds work. Another famous book was Politics: Who Gets What, When, and How. This book explored how power and resources are shared in society.

Influences on Lasswell

Lasswell studied at the University of Chicago in the 1920s. He was influenced by John Dewey and George Herbert Mead. But a bigger influence was Sigmund Freud's ideas. Freud's work helped Lasswell understand propaganda and communication better.

During World War II, Lasswell worked for the Library of Congress. He studied Nazi propaganda films. He wanted to find out how they convinced people to support Hitler. He looked for the ways they used persuasion.

Later in his life, Lasswell thought about "astropolitics." This is about the political effects of living on other planets. He also thought about the "machinehood of humanity."

The Garrison State

In 1941, Lasswell wrote about the "garrison state." This idea described a future where military leaders might have a lot of power. These "specialists in violence" would control the state. This article was very important and is still talked about today.

Lasswell also asked a big question: Should human rights be given to robots? He raised this idea in a speech.

Studying Behavior and Propaganda

Lasswell's work helped develop "behavioralism" after World War II. This is a way of studying politics by looking at how people actually behave.

His ideas also changed how people viewed propaganda. He showed that propaganda doesn't just change opinions. It can also change actions. He inspired the definition of propaganda from the Institute for Propaganda Analysis. They said propaganda is about influencing others' opinions or actions. This is done on purpose through psychological tricks. Lasswell believed that people are not always the best judges of their own interests.

Using Psychology in Politics

Lasswell used Sigmund Freud's methods. He studied with Theodor Reik, who was a follower of Freud. Lasswell even set up a lab at the University of Chicago. There, he measured people's emotions when they spoke. He also used interview methods from Elton Mayo at Harvard.

Lasswell was a big supporter of the "behavioral revolution." He is seen as a founder of political psychology. This field combines psychology and political science. He used psychoanalytic biographies of political leaders. This meant he looked at their lives and minds to understand their political actions. This helped him use "content analysis."

What is Content Analysis?

Content analysis is a way to study messages. It involves putting message content into groups. This helps measure certain things about the message. For example, Lasswell analyzed messages from armies during wartime. This method is still used today.

Impact on Public Policy

Lasswell also had a big impact on Political Science in the area of Policy, especially Public Policy. He defined public policies as government decisions. He focused on how policy goals connect to the ways they are achieved.

He also suggested a "seven-stage cycle" for public policy. This cycle helps make sure that society's problems are handled. Some people argue that he didn't mean for it to be a strict, step-by-step process.

Lasswell's Contributions

Harold Lasswell made several key contributions to the study of communication and social science:

Communication Model: His five-question model of communication helped people focus on the effects of messages.
Content Analysis: He was a pioneer in content analysis. He created ways to measure communication messages, like propaganda and newspaper articles.
Propaganda Study: His research on political and wartime propaganda was very important. Even though the word "propaganda" now has a negative meaning, his work helped us understand how messages influence people.
Freudian Theory: He brought Sigmund Freud's ideas into American social sciences. He used Freud's ideas about the mind to study political leaders and societal issues.
Policy Sciences: He helped create the "policy sciences." This was an effort to combine social science knowledge with public action. He wanted social science to help solve real-world problems.

Harold Lasswell facts for kids

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