American social psychologists

Stuart Wellford Cook (April 15, 1913—March 25, 1993) was an American social psychologist known for his research on the societal effects of racism and religious intolerance. He is particularly known for a study he conducted with Isidor Chein and Kenneth Bancroft Clark on the psychological effects of racial segregation. This study was cited by the appellates in the 1954 landmark United States Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. His research also focused on many other psychological subjects, including clinical psychology, military psychology, and psychological research methods.

Thomas Marshall Ostrom (March 1, 1936 – May 16, 1994) was a psychologist who helped further the study of social psychology. Prior to Ostrom, the field explored and identified the cognitive foundations of social activity. Ostrom pushed the field to studying the social foundations of cognitive activity.

Carolyn Wood Sherif (1922–1982) was an American social psychologist who helped to develop social judgment theory and contributed pioneering research in the areas of the self-system, group conflict, cooperation, and gender identity. She also assumed a leading role in psychology both nationally as well as internationally. In addition to performing seminal social psychology research, Wood Sherif devoted herself to teaching her students and was recognized for her efforts with an American Psychological Association award named in her honor that is presented annually.