Professor Emeritus of Psychology
About
Melvin Manis, professor of psychology, retired from active faculty status on December 31, 1997.
Professor Manis received his A.B. degree from Franklin and Marshall College in 1951 and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois in 1954. From 1954-58, he served first as a Public Health Service commissioned officer in Washington, D.C., and then as an instructor in the psychology department of the University of Pittsburgh. He came to Ann Arbor in 1958 as chief of the Psychology Research Section of the VA Medical Center, a position he held until 1989, and as a lecturer in the University of Michigan Department of Psychology. He was promoted to associate professor in 1961, received tenure in 1963, and was promoted to professor in 1966. He has also held visiting appointments at universities around the globe.
Professor Manis is one of the leading scholars in the area of attitudes and social judgment. He has made outstanding contributions to our understanding of human judgmental processes in 2 books, numerous chapters, and more than 60 peer-reviewed research articles. His work covers a wide range of judgmental phenomena, including the operation of standards, the emergence of assimilation and contrast effects, the role of stereotypes and prejudice in person perception, and the cognitive processes involved in assessing psychopathology. Several of his papers have become classic citations in cognitive social psychology. His outstanding reputation in the field is also reflected in his appointment as editor of the Attitudes and Social Cognition Section of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1979-84), the most prestigious journal in personality and social psychology. Professor Manis has served on numerous committees for national professional and governmental organizations. Within the University, he has served on the Senate Assembly, as associate chair and chair of graduate training of the psychology department, and as area chair of the social psychology program, the personality program, and the joint program in social psychology of the departments of psychology and sociology.
The Regents now salute this distinguished faculty member by naming Melvin Manis professor emeritus of psychology.
