John Dollard (29 August 1900 – 8 October 1980) was an American psychologist and social scientist known for his studies on race relations in America and the frustration-aggression hypothesis he proposed with Neal E. Miller and others.
[3] Dollard's personal research was focused on the sociological issues of race relations and social class, as well as exploring biographical analyses, suggesting what should be included in biographical materials to permit sound psychological studies, researching various topics related to sociology and culture, and psychoanalysis.
Unlike most psychoanalysts at the time, Dollard recognized the importance of considering actual human social conditions rather than just abstract psychological principles constructed in a laboratory setting.
[4] These ideas and practices led him to write one of his most influential works, Caste and Class in a Southern Town, the now classic sociological study of race relations in the Deep South.
[5] However, Dollard is likely best known within the psychological community as a member of the distinguished group of young researchers (among whom was Neal E. Miller) at Yale University in the 1930s who, inspired initially by Clark L. Hull, sought to combine learning theory and psychoanalysis.