Robert Rosenthal

Psychologist

Birthday March 2, 1933

Birth Sign Pisces

Birthplace Giessen, Germany

Age 91 years old

#237803 Most Popular

About

German-born American psychologist known for his study of the Pygmalion effect and his research on the influence of non-verbal communication and self-fulfilling prophecies. He is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside.

Before Fame

In 1956, he earned a PhD from the UCLA. He started his career as a clinical psychologist before moving into social psychology. 

Trivia

He is known for discovering the influence of experimenter bias and self-fulfilling prophecy over the outcome of experiments. Known as the Rosenthal Effect, his ground-breaking discovery led to the development of double-blind studies. His research also helped shed new light on how body language, tone of voice, and expectations can influence the results of jury trials, student performance, patient outcomes, and employee performance.

Family Life

His children's names are Roberta, David, and Virginia. 

Associated With

His popular study "Pygmalion in the Classroom" was featured on the front page of The New York Times and he was interviewed on the Today show by Barbara Walters