Thomas Marshall Ostrom (March 1, 1936 – May 16, 1994) was a psychologist who helped further the study of social psychology. Prior to Ostrom, the field explored and identified the cognitive foundations of social activity. Ostrom pushed the field to studying the social foundations of cognitive activity.Hardin, C.D., & Conley, T.D. (2001). "A relational approach to cognition: Shared experience and relationship affirmation." In G.B. Moskowitz (Ed.), Cognitive Social Psychology: the Princeton Symposium on the Legacy and Future of Social Cognition. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum
Career Ostrom was born in Mishawaka, Indiana. He received a bachelor's degree from Wabash College in 1958 and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in 1964. He joined the faculty of the Ohio State University that same year, and remained there the rest of his life.
Ostrom was noted for his work advancing attitude theory and methodology. His work helped further the "ABC" tripartite model of attitudes (affect, behavior, cognition). He also furthered the field of attitude measurement with more valid and reliable rating scales. His research program on impression formation demonstrated the role of memory in social judgment.Obituary by Mahzarin Banaji, David Hamilton, & Steven J. Sherman
In addition to his own work in the field, Ostrom was a talented administrator. In his thirty years at Ohio State, Ostrom helped develop the program into one of the premier graduate training programs in social psychology. He was the organizer of "social cognition week" at the Nags Head Conference Center and founder of the Person Memory Interest Group, developing both events into among of the key conferences in the field of social psychology. From 1980 to 1987 he served as editor of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, developing it into one of the most innovative journals in the field.
Thomas M. Ostrom Award The Person Memory Interest Group honored Ostrom following his death by giving their highest annual award in his honor.
Ostrom Award winners Source:Ostrom award: Previous winners 1998 - Robert S. Wyer 1999 - E. Tory Higgins 2000 - David L. Hamilton 2001 - Anthony Greenwald 2002 - Steven J. Sherman 2003 - Susan Fiske & Shelley Taylor 2004 - Eliot R. Smith 2005 - Norbert Schwarz & Fritz Strack 2006 - Russell Fazio 2007 - Marilynn Brewer 2008 - Mick Rothbart 2009 - Donal E. Carlston 2010 - Charles (Chick) Judd & Bernadette Park 2011 - John Bargh 2012 - Reid Hastie 2013 - Jim Uleman 2014 - Patricia Devine 2015 - Yaacov Trope
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