Professor Emeritus of Psychology
About
David G. Winter, Ph.D., professor of psychology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, retired from active faculty status on May 31, 2015.
Professor Winter received his A.B. (1960) degree from Harvard University, his B.A. (1962) and M.A. (1967) degrees from the University of Oxford, and his Ph.D. (1967) degree from Harvard University. He joined the University of Michigan faculty as a professor in 1988.
Professor Winter published many articles and books focused on human social motivation and political psychology. His work established the correlates of power motivation, including pursuit of prestige and impact, but not necessarily political office, among students and adults. Professor Winter also studied the impact of power, affiliation and achievement motivation in world leaders, including U.S. presidents, demonstrating that the expression of motives in speeches and other documents predicted important outcomes, including waging war and peace. In studies of diplomatic records in paired conflicts within and between nation-states, he demonstrated that war develops when there is inflation of power motivation expression and perception, and de-escalation develops when there is reduction. Professor Winter also made substantial contributions to research on authoritarianism. He authored and co-authored a number of influential books including Motivating Economic Achievement (1969), The Power Motive (1973), A New Case for the Liberal Arts: Assessing Institutional Goals and Student Development ( 1981 ), and Personality: Analysis and Interpretation of Lives (1996). Professor Winter was an active member in the International Society for Political Psychology where he held numerous key roles including president, vice-president, and councilor. In recognition of his many achievements he received a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology's Henry A Murray Award, and the International Society of Political Psychology's Harold Lasswell Award.
Publications:
Roots of War: Wanting Power, Seeing Threat, Justifying Force, was published in 2018 by Oxford University Press
