Robert Zajonc, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Robert Zajonc

American psychologist

Date of Birth: 23-Nov-1923

Place of Birth: Łódź, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland

Date of Death: 03-Dec-2008

Profession: psychologist, university teacher

Nationality: United States, Poland

Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

Robert Boleslaw Zajonc (/'za?.?nts/ ZY-?nts; Polish: ['zaj?nt?s]; November 23, 1923 – December 3, 2008) was a Polish-born American social psychologist who is known for his decades of work on a wide range of social and cognitive processes.
One of his most important contributions to social psychology is the mere exposure effect.
Zajonc also conducted research in the areas of social facilitation, and theories of emotion, such as the affective neuroscience hypothesis.
He also made contributions to comparative psychology.
He argued that studying the social behavior of humans alongside the behavior of other species, is essential to our understanding of the general laws of social behavior.
An example of his viewpoint is his work with cockroaches that demonstrated social facilitation, evidence that this phenomenon is displayed regardless of species.
A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Zajonc as the 35th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.
He died of pancreatic cancer on December 3, 2008 in Palo Alto, California.
Zajonc is survived by his wife Hazel Rose Markus and his four children.