Leonard Berkowitz

Leonard Berkowitz was born on August 11, 1926. He earned his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan in 1951.

After graduating, he went to the U.S. Air Force Human Resources Center in San Antonio, Texas, where he was involved in applying social psychology to real-life situations. However, after several years, Berkowitz decided he really wanted an academic career, and in 1955 he accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin. He continued there until his retirement in 1993.

Berkowitz is well known for his studies of human aggression. He also studied the other side of human nature, helping behavior. He served as editor for a series of books called Advances in Experimental Social Psychology from 1962 until 1987.