He served as John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in memory of William James and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University.
[7] Sidanius, who was of African American heritage, grew up in New York City.
He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from City College of New York in 1968.
[2] His dissertation, passed in 1977, was titled: "Cognitive functioning and Socio-political Ideology: Studies in political psychology.
"[2] He changed his last name from Brown to Sidanius upon moving to Sweden (where he also obtained citizenship), but returned to the United States in the 1980s as a permanent resident.