Theodore R. Sarbin
Encyclopedia
Theodore Roy Sarbin known as "Ted Sarbin", was an American psychologist
and professor emeritus of psychology and criminology at the University of California, Santa Cruz
. He was known as "Mr. Role Theory
" because of his contributions to the social psychology
of role-taking.
as an undergraduate and later obtained a master's degree from Case Western Reserve University
. He received a Ph.D. in psychology from The Ohio State University
in 1941.
Sarbin began his professional career as a research-oriented clinical psychologist, practicing first in Illinois and later in Los Angeles. His academic career was established at the University of California, Berkeley
, where he served on the faculty from 1949 to 1969 and at the University of California, Santa Cruz
where he was a Professor of Psychology and of Criminology from 1969 to 1975. In addition, he served for varying periods on the faculty at the Naval Postgraduate School
in Monterey. In 1987, he became a research psychologist for the Defense Personnel Security Research and Education Center (PERSEREC), a program of the U.S. Navy, where he continued to work until just before his death.
In the course of his academic career, Sarbin received scores of honors, including both Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships. He was a research scholar at Nuffield College of Oxford University in 1963. He was a Fellow on the faculty at the Center for Advanced Studies of Wesleyan University
for the academic year 1968-1969 and returned there for another period in 1975. He received the Morton Prince Award from the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis and the Henry Murray Award from the American Psychological Association. He was recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Western Psychological Association in 2001.
Just prior to his death, the American Psychological Association
created a new award named after him, to be presented annually by one of its divisions, the Society for Theoretical Philosophical Psychology, and Sarbin was able to hand it to the first recipient.
, relating to role-taking. Roles are socially constructed and can be used to explain a range of human behaviours including acting, shamanic possession, criminality, psychopathology, and hypnosis. Sarbin emphasised the difference between role-playing and role-taking, the latter being characterised by a greater degree of subjective involvement or identification with the role and belief in it.
to examine the relative accuracy of statistical versus clinical prediction for the academic achievement of undergraduates. As a young man Sarbin temporarily rode the rails as a hobo, and he felt this experience helped him to understand people excluded from the mainstream of society.
and argued that "mental illness" could be understood in terms of social constructs such as moral disapproval of the behavior in question.
depth. In 1938, Friedlander and Sarbin introduced a composite scale based on a variety of responses to suggestion, and employing a standardised, scripted routine. Their work built upon earlier attempts by Davis & Husband (1931), Barry, MacKinnon & Murray (1931), and Clark L. Hull
(1933). Instead of merely attempting to attribute hypnosis on the basis of certain “spontaneous” signs, these scales deliver scripted suggestions and rate the subject’s response to each item on the scale, e.g., a score was given based on how long it took before a subject’s eyes closed in response to suggestions of lid heaviness, etc. The "Friedlander-Sarbin Scale" could be easily replicated based upon the script provided, and so norms were collated from different samples. The tests employed were, eye-closure, eyelid catalepsy, arm immobilisation, arm rigidity, finger lock, verbal inhibition (unable to say own name), post-hypnotic hallucination of a voice, and post-hypnotic amnesia.
The Friedlander-Sarbin scale already contained a great many of the elements which were to become central to the influential Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales (SHSS) in the 1960s.
, which interprets hypnotic responses as the result of a unique altered (abnormal) state of consciousness. In a seminal article on hypnotism, the personality psychologist Robert White, had argued that hypnotic subjects were actively trying to enact a socially-constructed role.
Following White's radical interpretation of hypnosis, Sarbin used concepts from his own role theory
, empirical research data, and analogies with other socially-constructed roles, to argue in a much more rigoruous manner that hypnotic subjects were not in a special state of consciousness but could be better understood as identifying with an unusual social role.
Sarbin's views on hypnosis were detailed in a number of journal articles before being reviewed in more depth in his book Hypnosis: A Social Psychological Analysis of Influence Communication (1971), co-authored with William C. Coe. Coe had received his doctorate, with a dissertation on hypnosis, under Sarbin while Sarbin was at the University of California at Berkeley. (Sarbin and Coe became collaborators on the role theory model of hypnosis throughout Coe's life.) Sarbin's role theory model of hypnotism became an important influence on subsequent nonstate and cognitive-behavioral theories of hypnosis.
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
and professor emeritus of psychology and criminology at the University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
. He was known as "Mr. Role Theory
Role theory
Role theory is a perspective in sociology and in social psychology that considers most of everyday activity to be the acting out of socially defined categories . Each social role is a set of rights, duties, expectations, norms and behaviour a person has to face and to fulfill...
" because of his contributions to the social psychology
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
of role-taking.
Biography
Sarbin was born on May 8, 1911, in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Ohio State UniversityOhio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
as an undergraduate and later obtained a master's degree from Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
. He received a Ph.D. in psychology from The Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in 1941.
Sarbin began his professional career as a research-oriented clinical psychologist, practicing first in Illinois and later in Los Angeles. His academic career was established at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where he served on the faculty from 1949 to 1969 and at the University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
where he was a Professor of Psychology and of Criminology from 1969 to 1975. In addition, he served for varying periods on the faculty at the Naval Postgraduate School
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School is an accredited research university operated by the United States Navy. Located in Monterey, California, it grants master's degrees, Engineer's degrees and doctoral degrees...
in Monterey. In 1987, he became a research psychologist for the Defense Personnel Security Research and Education Center (PERSEREC), a program of the U.S. Navy, where he continued to work until just before his death.
In the course of his academic career, Sarbin received scores of honors, including both Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships. He was a research scholar at Nuffield College of Oxford University in 1963. He was a Fellow on the faculty at the Center for Advanced Studies of Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
for the academic year 1968-1969 and returned there for another period in 1975. He received the Morton Prince Award from the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis and the Henry Murray Award from the American Psychological Association. He was recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Western Psychological Association in 2001.
Just prior to his death, the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
created a new award named after him, to be presented annually by one of its divisions, the Society for Theoretical Philosophical Psychology, and Sarbin was able to hand it to the first recipient.
Role Theory
Sarbin became known as "Mr. Role Theory" because of his seminal contributions and publications in the field of social psychologySocial psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
, relating to role-taking. Roles are socially constructed and can be used to explain a range of human behaviours including acting, shamanic possession, criminality, psychopathology, and hypnosis. Sarbin emphasised the difference between role-playing and role-taking, the latter being characterised by a greater degree of subjective involvement or identification with the role and belief in it.
Criminology
Sarbin's doctoral research used data gathered at the University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
to examine the relative accuracy of statistical versus clinical prediction for the academic achievement of undergraduates. As a young man Sarbin temporarily rode the rails as a hobo, and he felt this experience helped him to understand people excluded from the mainstream of society.
Psychopathology
Sarbin was particularly interested in the social psychology of psychopathologyPsychopathology
Psychopathology is the study of mental illness, mental distress, and abnormal/maladaptive behavior. The term is most commonly used within psychiatry where pathology refers to disease processes...
and argued that "mental illness" could be understood in terms of social constructs such as moral disapproval of the behavior in question.
Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales
In the 1930s, Sarbin collaborated on research on the measurement of hypnoticHypnotic
Hypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
depth. In 1938, Friedlander and Sarbin introduced a composite scale based on a variety of responses to suggestion, and employing a standardised, scripted routine. Their work built upon earlier attempts by Davis & Husband (1931), Barry, MacKinnon & Murray (1931), and Clark L. Hull
Clark L. Hull
Clark Leonard Hull was an influential American psychologist who sought to explain learning and motivation by scientific laws of behavior. Born in Akron, New York, Hull obtained bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Michigan, and in 1918 a PhD from the University of...
(1933). Instead of merely attempting to attribute hypnosis on the basis of certain “spontaneous” signs, these scales deliver scripted suggestions and rate the subject’s response to each item on the scale, e.g., a score was given based on how long it took before a subject’s eyes closed in response to suggestions of lid heaviness, etc. The "Friedlander-Sarbin Scale" could be easily replicated based upon the script provided, and so norms were collated from different samples. The tests employed were, eye-closure, eyelid catalepsy, arm immobilisation, arm rigidity, finger lock, verbal inhibition (unable to say own name), post-hypnotic hallucination of a voice, and post-hypnotic amnesia.
The Friedlander-Sarbin scale already contained a great many of the elements which were to become central to the influential Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales (SHSS) in the 1960s.
Social Role Theory of Hypnosis
Sarbin subsequently became an early and influential critic of the "special state" theory of hypnosisHypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
, which interprets hypnotic responses as the result of a unique altered (abnormal) state of consciousness. In a seminal article on hypnotism, the personality psychologist Robert White, had argued that hypnotic subjects were actively trying to enact a socially-constructed role.
Hypnotic behaviour is meaningful, goal-directed striving, its most general goal being to behave like a hypnotised person as this is continuously defined by the operator and understood by the client.
Following White's radical interpretation of hypnosis, Sarbin used concepts from his own role theory
Role theory
Role theory is a perspective in sociology and in social psychology that considers most of everyday activity to be the acting out of socially defined categories . Each social role is a set of rights, duties, expectations, norms and behaviour a person has to face and to fulfill...
, empirical research data, and analogies with other socially-constructed roles, to argue in a much more rigoruous manner that hypnotic subjects were not in a special state of consciousness but could be better understood as identifying with an unusual social role.
Sarbin's views on hypnosis were detailed in a number of journal articles before being reviewed in more depth in his book Hypnosis: A Social Psychological Analysis of Influence Communication (1971), co-authored with William C. Coe. Coe had received his doctorate, with a dissertation on hypnosis, under Sarbin while Sarbin was at the University of California at Berkeley. (Sarbin and Coe became collaborators on the role theory model of hypnosis throughout Coe's life.) Sarbin's role theory model of hypnotism became an important influence on subsequent nonstate and cognitive-behavioral theories of hypnosis.
Narrative Psychology
From around 1985 onward, Sarbin became focused on the subject of narrative psychology, a field in which he is recognised as a pioneer. He adopted a method based upon the primacy of stories as a way of understanding human behavior in preference to the constraints of traditional psychological research paradigms.Report on Homosexuality
Sarbin became known for his 1988 report critical of U.S. military policies regarding homosexuals. “Gays in Uniform,” found no proof for the assumption that homosexuals posed greater security risks than heterosexuals nor the idea that homosexual soldiers would disrupt military life.Publications
Sarbin was the author of more than 250 professional publications, including six books, and six edited volumes.- Sarbin, T.R. & Coe, W.C. (1972). Hypnosis: A Social Psychological Analysis of Influence Communication.
- Sarbin, T.R. & Coe, W.C. (1984). Mastering psychology: study habits, examination skills, locating resources, preparing term papers.
- Sarbin, T.R. & Mancuso, J.C. (1980). Schizophrenia, medical diagnosis or moral verdict?
- de Rivera, J. and Sarbin, T.R. (ed.) (1998). Believed-in imaginings: the narrative construction of reality.
- Sarbin, T.R. (ed.) (1986). Narrative psychology: the storied nature of human conduct.