Solomon honored by American Psychological Association

Sheldon Solomon, Courtney and Steven Ross Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and professor of psychology at Skidmore, received a Presidential Citation at the opening session of the 115th annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Sharon Stephens Brehm, APA president, made the presentation Aug. 17 in San Francisco.

Solomon and his longtime collaborators Tom Pyszczynski (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs) and Jeff Greenberg (University of Arizona) were recognized for their "substantial theoretical and empirical contributions to the field of psychology" and their "creative and collaborative effort to understand the notion of self-esteem and similar concepts in the form of a theory of terror management." For more than two decades, the trio has focused on two basic issues: the human desire for self-esteem and why cultures have difficulty coexisting peacefully.

According to the citation, "Even after accepting faculty positions in different areas of the country, they continued their active collaboration, which resulted in the development of terror management theory. Although initially greeted with skepticism, their research program expanded and the theory not only survived, it flourished.

"Terror management theory focuses on the role of self-esteem and cultural belief systems in providing protection against the core human fear of death. Topics examined within this framework include aggression, altruism, anxiety, prejudice, terrorism, and unconscious processes.

"Moreover, the theory has stimulated the development of Experimental Existential Psychology, an emerging sub-discipline of social psychology that applies rigorous experimental methods to the study of confrontation with existential problems such as death, freedom, and isolation."

An experimental social psychologist who joined the Skidmore faculty in 1980, Solomon is co-author (with Pyszczynski and Greenberg) of In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror, which was selected in 2003 as an Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association.

The APA, one of the largest professional organizations in the world, has 150,000 members. Approximately 10,000 people attended this summer's annual meeting.