Background

Albert D. Biderman was born on July 10, 1923, in Paterson, New Jersey, United States. He was the son of Isaac and Celia (Silberstein) Biderman.

Education

After serving in the United States Army in Europe during World War II and in a government post in Germany immediately after the war, Biderman completed his undergraduate work in economics at New York University. This was followed by a master's degree in 1952 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1964 in sociology at the University of Chicago.

Career

Biderman's first job was as a sociology instructor at Illinois Institute of Technology from 1948 to 1952. For the next five years, he worked as a research social psychologist for the United States Air Force. Most of his work in social science research, however, was accomplished during his nearly thirty years - from 1957 to 1986 - at the Bureau of Social Science Research in Washington, District of Columbia.

After retiring from the Bureau of Social-Science Research, Biderman was a research professor of justice at the American University's School of Public Affairs. He also was a corporate, institutional and government consultant in the United States and abroad. He was an adviser to Congress and federal agencies on issues including military personnel policy, criminal justice, and communist indoctrination and interrogation.

His books included "March to Calumny: The Story of American POWs in the Korean War," which rebutted the misconception that United States prisoners collaborated with their communist captors.

Achievements

• Biderman is best known as a social science researcher who was particularly noted for his contributions to the analysis of social indicators. He was also one of the first researchers to use victim self-reporting in order to determine more accurate crime statistics. He did this work from 1958 to 1985 with the Bureau of Social Science Research, an independent survey research organization that was begun in Washington at the American University. At the bureau, he directed a research consortium that made the national survey a model for sociologists in other countries.
  
  In all, he produced more than 100 publications in criminology, psychology, sociology, political science, statistics, and graphical representation of social data. He wrote about crime in such books as An Inventory of Surveys of the Public on Crime, Justice, and Related Topics (1972) and Understanding Crime-Incidence Statistics: Why the UCR Diverge from the NCS (1991). He was also the author, co-author, or editor of several other books. His work on forceful interrogation led to changes in United States military policy and training.
  
  His honors included a Distinguished Career Achievement Award from the American Sociological Association and the Stuart A. Rice Award of the D.C. Sociological Society.

Works

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• book

  • Understanding Crime Incidence Statistics: Why the UCR Diverges from the NCS

    (The prominence achieved by the novel measure of "househol...)

    1991
  • Chinese 'Thought Reform' as a Source of Perspectives Toward Western Correctional Practice

    (Studies of Chinese Communist brainwashing practices proce...)

    1965
  • Historical Incidents of Extreme Overcrowding 1963
  • Problems of Families of Army Combat Casualties 1966
  • The Manipulation of Human Behavior 1961
  • An Annotated Bibliography on Prisoner Interrogation, Compliance and Resistance 1963
  • Captivity Lore and Behavior in Captivity 1964
  • Cultural Models of Captivity Relationships 1961
  • Communist Attempts to Elicit False Confessions from Air Force Prisoners of War 1957

Membership

Biderman was a fellow of the American Statistical Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of a number of professional organizations, including the American Political Science Association. He was chairman of the executive council of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.

Connections

On November 9, 1951, Biderman married Sumiko Fujii. They had three children, David Biderman, Joseph Biderman and Paula Biderman.

Father:

Isaac Biderman

Mother:

Celia (Silberstein) Biderman

Wife:

Sumiko Fujii

Son:

David Biderman

Son:

Joseph Biderman

Daughter:

Paula Biderman

References

• Contemporary Authors New Revision Series In response to the escalating need for up-to-date information on writers, Contemporary Authors New Revision Series (Volume 217) brings researchers the most recent data on the world's most popular authors.
  2011