One of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, Julian B. Rotter, died at the age of 97 on January 6, 2014, at his home in Mansfield, Connecticut. Jules was born on October 22, 1916, in Brooklyn, New York, the third son of Jewish immigrant parents. As noted in the citation for his American Psychological Association (APA) Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions, "his pioneering social learning framework...transformed behavioral approaches to personality and clinical psychology. He integrated the concepts of expectancy and reinforcement and built an enduring early bridge between the psychology of learning and its diverse social, clinical, and personality applications. His seminal studies of the variable of internal versus external locus of control provided the foundation for years of prolific research on choice and perceived control in several disciplines...Julian Rotter, by his writing, teaching, and personal example,...profoundly changed theory and practice in the field" (American Psychologist, 1989, p. 625). He was devoted to his family and shared his insights, his empathy, his compassion, and his admirable social conscience with them, as he did with his myriad friends and students.
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