Fritz Heider earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Graz. During his time in Europe, Heider worked with many renowned psychologists such as Wolfgang Köhler, Max Wertheimer,
and Kurt Lewin. Heider, like Festinger, recognized Lewin as a substantial impact on his life: I want to pay tribute to [Lewin's] stimulating influence, which has affected much of
my thinking and which is still strong even in this book, although it does not derive directly from his work
(Heider, 1958, p. vii). In 1929, Heider moved to the United States to work at
Smith College and later the University of Kansas where he worked for the remainder of his life (Ash, 2000).
Heider’s 1958 publication, The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, signified a major breakthrough in the study of interpersonal communication (Heath & Bryant, 2000). At this point, social psychologists like Heider expanded their research to focus on interpersonal relations as an important field of study. Though many social psychologists focused on behavior in interpersonal relations, their research served as a gateway for research examining communication in interpersonal relationships. Heider’s text provided one of the first forums for discussing relational phenomena.
Heider’s work reflected Lewin’s cognitive approach to behavior. Heider (1958) focused on theories in cognitive consistency, emphasizing that individuals prefer when their cognitions are in
agreement with each other. Heider examined how individuals perceive and evaluate the actions and behaviors of others, a focus reexamined in Berger and Calabrese’s development of URT. Heider
stated: persons actively seek to predict and explain the actions of others
(Berger & Bradac, 1982, p. 29). Heider’s theory of “naïve psychology” suggested that individuals
act as observers and analyzers of human behavior in everyday life. Individuals gather information that helps them to predict and explain human behavior. The naïve factor analysis
of action permits man to give meaning to action, to influence the actions of others as well as of himself, and to predict future actions
(Heider, 1958, p. 123).
When examining motivations in interpersonal relations, Heider (1958) found that affective significance is greatly determined by causal attribution. Heider states: Thus, our
reactions will be different according to whether we think a person failed primarily because he lacked adequate ability or primarily because he did not want to carry out the actions
(1958,
p. 123). The condition of motivation becomes the focus and is relied on for making judgments and also interpreting the action.
Heider was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association, and was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His influence continues to grow after his death in 1988.
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