Carolyn Sherif

Carolyn Wood Sherif (1922 – 1982) was an American social psychologist who helped to develop social judgment theory. Wood connected this psychology to feminist psychology by comparing daily lifestyles, where women must cope with discrimination, to the ideal lifestyles, where people overcome these issues (Fine, 2002). She was born Carolyn Wood on 26 June 1922, the youngest of three children of Bonny Williams and Lawrence Anselm Wood, in Loogootee, Indiana. In 1945, she married fellow psychologist, Muzafer Sherif. In July 1982, Carolyn Sherif died of cancer at age 60 in State College, Pennsylvania.

Education

Carolyn Wood graduated from West Lafayette High School in 1940.

Undergraduate

Carolyn Wood earned a Bachelors of Science from Purdue University in 1943 with highest distinction in an experimental program developed for women science majors, focusing on studying the sciences within humanist and historical perspectives. Wood had little interest in psychology at this point, but the sudden shift of American's attitudes from isolationism to war support, along with a desire to better the world and her personal success, encouraged Wood to pursue a career in social psychology.

Graduate

Wood went on to obtain a Master's Degree from the University of Iowa in 1944 in social psychology. While working on her master's thesis, Wood read The Psychology of Social Norms (1936), written by Muzafer Sherif, whose work would have a profound impact on Wood.

Post-Graduate

In 1944, following the completion of her Master's, Wood went to work for Audience Research Inc., at Princeton. After a short employment, Wood left the survey research field, and applied to a research assistant position with Muzafer Sherif. In December of 1945, Sherif and Wood married, and began a long relationship of collaboration. However, considering Princeton did not accept women as graduate students until 1961 , Carolyn Sherif studied at Columbia while her husband continued work at Princeton . Carolyn returned to graduate school as a full time student at the University of Texas in 1958. In 1961, Carolyn Wood Sherif completed her Ph.D, under Wayne Holtzman, from the University of Texas.

Contributions to the Field

Robber's Cave Experiment

In, what is now considered, a classic study in social psychology aimed at the origin of prejudice and discrimination in social groups, Muzafer and Carolyn Sherif observed 22 eleven-year-old boys at a summer camp. The results would later be related directly to Realistic conflict theory.

Publications

Note: Carolyn's work often went unnoticed, due to the fame of her husband, Muzafer Sherif. Many of these works cite Carolyn as a co-author or editor, some due to "corrections" of authorship made later which would list her husband as first author . In Carolyn's own words:

In several instances, when Muzafer asked me to appear as co-author, instead of in footnote or preface, I declined, a tendency that persisted into the 1960s. I would not do so again. I now believe that the world which view me as a wife who probably typed her husbands' papers (which I did not) defined me to myself more than I realized. (C. W. Sherif, 1983, p.286)

• Sherif, Muzafer W (1964). Reference groups exploration into conformity and deviation of adolescents. New York: Harper and Row.
• Sherif, Muzafer W (1965). Problems of youth: transition to adulthood in a changing world. Chicago: Aldine Pub. Co.
• Sherif, Carolyn W (1967). Attitude, ego-involvement, and change. New York: Wiley.
• Sherif, Muzafer W (1969). Social Psychology. New York: Harper & Row.
• Sherif, Muzafer W (1969). Interdisciplinary relationships in the social sciences. Chicago: Aldine.
• Sherif, Muzafer W (1953). Groups in harmony and tension an integration of studies on intergroup relations. New York: Harper.
• Sherif, Carolyn W (1965). Attitude and attitude change the social judgment-involvement approach. Philadelphia: Saunders.
• Sherif, Muzafer W (1956). An outline of social psychology. New York: Harper.
• Sherif, Carolyn W (1976). Orientation in social psychology (0-06-046104-7, 978-0-06-046104-1). New York: Harper & Row.
• Sherif, Muzafer (2009). Interdisciplinary relationships in the social sciences (0-202-36287-6, 978-0-202-36287-8). New Brunswick [N.J.]: AldineTransaction.
• Baer, Helen R (1974). A topical bibliography (selectively annotated) on psychology of women,. [Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.
• Sherif, Muzafer (2009). Problems of youth : transition to adulthood in a changing world (0-202-36288-4, 978-0-202-36288-5). New Brunswick [N.J.]: AldineTransaction.
• Kraut, Alan G (1982). G. Stanley Hall Lecture Series. Vol. 2 (0-912704-60-8, 978-0-912704-60-9). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.
• Sherif, Muzafer W (1969). Instructor's manual to accompany Social psychology. New York: Harper & Row.
• Sherif, Muzafer W (1975). Psicología social. México: HARLA Harper & Row Latinoamericana.
• Sherif, Carolyn W (1965). Reference groups and self concepts as factors in educational and vocational problems of youth. Norman Okla.: Institute of Group Relations.
• Sherif, Muzafer W (1970). Problemas de la juventud estudios técnicos de la transición a la edad adulta en un mundo en cambio. México: Editorial F. Trillas.
• Sherif, Muzafer W (1953). Groups in harmony and tension. New York: Harper.
• Sherif, Mustapha W (1969). Social Psychology. New York: Harper and Row.
• Sherif, Mustapha W (1964). Reference groups : exploration into conformity and deviation of adolescents. New York: Harper and Row.

Courtesy of WorldCat.org

Awards and Distinctions

Dr.Sherif has received many awards and distinctions for her work. She received the Association for Women in Psychology's Distinguished Publication award in 1981. She also received an award for her contribution to education in psychology in 1982. She was also appointed the editor of the Journal of Social Issues. However, due to her untimely death in July 1982, she was not able to take on this honour.

Carolyn Wood Sherif Award

In response to the significant contributions Dr. Sherif has made to the field of Psychology of Women, APA Division 35: Society for the Psychology of Women sponsors the Carolyn Wood Sherif Award, awarded annually to those who exemplify excellence in the field in regards to professional leadership, mentoring/teaching, and research/scholarship.

Additional Readings

Additional information regarding Carolyn Wood Sherif, and the psychology of women, can be found in the following:

• Denmark, F. L. (1998). Women and psychology: An international perspective. American Psychologist, 53(4), 465-473.
• Hogan, J. D. & Sexton, V. S. (1991) Women and the American Psychological Association. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15(4), 23-634.
• Kite, M. E., Russo, N. F., Brehm, S. S., Fouad, N. A., Hall, C. C., Hyde, J. S., Keita, G. P. (2001). Women psychologists in academe: Mixed progress, unwarranted complacency. American Psychologist, 56(12), 1080-1098.
• Moradi, B. & Townsend, D. T. (2006). Raising students’ awareness of women in psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 33(2), 113-117.
• O'Connell, A. N. & Russo, N. F. (1980). Eminent women in psychology: Models of achievement [Special issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly], 5(1).
• O'Connell, A. N. & Russo, N. F. (1983). Models of achievement: Reflections of eminent women in psychology. New York: Columbia University Press.
• O'Connell, A. N. & Russo, N. F. (1988). Models of achievement: Reflections of eminent women in psychology. Volume 2. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• O'Connell, A. N. & Russo, N. F. (1990). Women in psychology: A bio-bibliographic sourcebook. NY: Greenwood Press.
• O’Connell, A. N. & Russo, N. F. (1980). Models for achievement: Eminent women in psychology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 5(1), 6-10.
• Scarborough, E., & Furumoto, L. (1987). Untold lives: The first generation of American women psychologists. NY: Columbia University Press.
• Shields, S. A. (2004). Carolyn Wood Sherif. In S. Ware, Notable American women (pp. 587-589). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Shields, S. A. (2006). Pioneers in psychology: Magda B. Arnold (1903-2002). In D. A. Dewsbury, L.T. Benjamin, Jr., & M. Wertheimer (Eds.), Portraits of pioneers in psychology. Volume VI. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Storm, C. & Gurevich, M. (2001). Looking forward, looking back, Women in psychology. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 42(4), 245-248.

External links

• Women in Psychology
• Biography
• Social judgment theory
• American Psychological Association