[citation needed] His thinking was influenced by pragmatists Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey.
Then in 1978 he moved to teaching at University of Haifa in Israel, where he also served as dean of the faculty of social sciences.
His co-authored book with Harold Lasswell Power and Society: a framework for political inquiry was published in 1950.
Kaplan was named one of the top ten teachers in the United States in 1966 by Time magazine.
On November 17, 1939, Abraham Kaplan married Iona Judith Wax, a child psychologist.