Fred Strodtbeck

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Fred Strodtbeck
Born(1919-06-10)June 10, 1919
Middletown, Ohio
DiedAugust 7, 2005(2005-08-07) (aged 86)
Alma materMiami University, Indiana University, Harvard University
Known forContributions to Group dynamics, Scientific jury selection, Gang research
SpouseOlive Stedman
Scientific career
FieldsSociology, Social psychology, Sociology of law
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Los Angeles, Yale University, University of Chicago
Doctoral advisorFlorence Kluckhohn, Robert Freed Bales
Notable studentsErin York Cornwell, Robert A. Gordon

Fred Louis Strodtbeck (June 10, 1919 - August 7, 2005) was an American sociologist. He is best known in science for his work on how small groups (like juries) choose their leaders. This led to his prominent role as the founder of the science of jury selection. He wrote extensively on value orientation, group dynamics, and gangs. He is also remembered for his role in the Chicago jury bugging scandal of 1955.[1]

Biography[edit]

Strodtbeck was born to Fred and Maxine Strodtbeck in Middletown, Ohio, in 1919.[2] He earned his B.A. at Miami University in 1940 and then his M.A. in sociology from Indiana University in 1942. His academic studies were interrupted by World War II, during which he served as an Army researcher.[3][4]

Scholarly career[edit]

After World War II, Strodtbeck earned his Ph.D. in sociology at Harvard and was hired as a professor of sociology at Yale University and later at the University of Chicago, where he spent the rest of his career. He pioneered the study of small-group dynamics, including how leaders are selected, and similar hierarchical social interactions within gangs.[5] Some of this work was used to understand family household dynamics, especially between husbands and wives.[6][7]

His work had its biggest impact on the study of jury deliberations,[8] particularly with respect to how jury forepersons are chosen.[9] This work has since shaped the study of jury selection, and the Voir dire process.

Throughout his career, Strodtbeck was a frequent collaborator of numerous influential social scientists, including Robert F. Bales, Urie Bronfenbrenner, Dorwin Cartwright, Clyde Kluckhohn, Florence Kluckhohn, and James Short, among others. His work continues to be cited heavily.[10]

Toward the end of the McCarthy era, Strodtbeck helped to plan and execute a secret study of jury deliberations in Wichita, Kansas in 1954. This was part of the larger Chicago Law School Jury Project, which had been sanctioned by the then dean of the University of Chicago's law school, Edward H. Levi and approved by several judges. The team's goal was to understand more about how small group social dynamics shape such important legal decisions that are made by a jury of one's peers. They wanted to understand how people's legal decisions might be affected by group dynamics - such as differences in social status or gender among jurors (e.g., people deferring to the opinions of higher-status jurors).[11]

Strodtbeck helped place recording devices in six jury rooms. Several secret recordings were made, and preliminary results and synopses of the team's findings were presented at an annual judicial conference in 1955. A Los Angeles Times article on the buggings led to a large number of additional news articles soon thereafter, which in turn led to a public outcry against prying into private jury deliberations. Ultimately, Strodtbeck had to testify before a U.S. Senate subcommittee about the nature of the recordings, and the project was shut down.[12][13][11] This project is one of the earliest examples of an attempt to develop real-time data on decision making within small groups, particularly within the legal system.

Selected scholarly works[edit]

  • Strodtbeck, Fred L., Rita M. James, and Charles Hawkins. 1957. "Social Status in Jury Deliberations." American Sociological Review 22(6):713-719.
  • Strodtbeck, Fred L., and Richard D. Mann. 1956. "Sex Role Differentiation in Jury Deliberations." Sociometry 19(1):3-11.
  • Strodtbeck, Fred L., and L. Harmon Hook. 1961. "The Social Dimensions of a Twelve-Man Jury Table." Sociometry 24(4):397-415.
  • Strodtbeck, Fred L. 1951. "Husband-Wife Interaction over Revealed Differences." American Sociological Review 16(4):468-473.
  • Strodtbeck, Fred L. 1954. "The Family as a Three-Person Group." American Sociological Review 19(1):23-29.
  • Bales, Robert F., Fred L. Strodtbeck, Theodore M. Mills, and Mary E. Roseborough. 1951. "Channels of Communication in Small Groups." American Sociological Review 16(4):461-468.
  • Bales, Robert F., and Fred L. Strodtbeck. 1951. "Phases in Group Problem-Solving." The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 46(4):485.
  • Kluckhohn, Florence R., and Fred L. Strodtbeck. 1961. Variations in Value Orientations. Row, Peterson.
  • Short, James F., and Fred L. Strodtbeck. 1965. Group Process and Gang Delinquency. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cornwell, Erin York. 2010. "Opening and Closing the Jury Room Door: A Sociohistorical Consideration of the 1955 Chicago Jury Project Scandal." Justice System Journal 31(1):49-73.
  2. ^ "FRED STRODTBECK OBITUARY". legacy.com. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Strodtbeck, Fred L. 1919–2005". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  4. ^ "Fred L. Strodtbeck 1919 - 2005". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  5. ^ Short, James F., and Fred L. Strodtbeck. 1965. Group Process and Gang Delinquency. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  6. ^ Strodtbeck, Fred L. 1951. "Husband-Wife Interaction over Revealed Differences." American Sociological Review 16(4):468-473.
  7. ^ Strodtbeck, Fred L. 1954. "The Family as a Three-Person Group." American Sociological Review 19(1):23-29.
  8. ^ Strodtbeck, Fred L., and Richard D. Mann. 1956. "Sex Role Differentiation in Jury Deliberations." Sociometry 19(1):3-11.
  9. ^ Strodtbeck, Fred L., and L. Harmon Hook. 1961. "The Social Dimensions of a Twelve-Man Jury Table." Sociometry 24(4):397-415.
  10. ^ [1] Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Cornwell, Cornwell, Erin York. 2010. "Opening and Closing the Jury Room Door: A Sociohistorical Consideration of the 1955 Chicago Jury Project Scandal." Justice System Journal 31(1):49-73.
  12. ^ United States Senate. 1956. "Recording of jury Deliberations: Report of the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws to the Committee on the Judiciary." March 20, 1956. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  13. ^ United States Senate. 1955. "Recording of Jury Deliberations: Transcripts of Hearings by the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws.' October 12 and 13, 1955. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

External links[edit]

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