Stein Leif Bråten (3 November 1934 – 27 March 2024) was a Norwegian sociologist and

social psychologist Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field of ...

specializing in communication. He used the Simula programming language in one of the earliest uses of computers in modelling interpersonal communication (cfr his "A Simulation Study of Personal and Mass Communication", IAG Quarterly Journal of the Administrative Data Processing Group of IFIP, 1968, vol.1, no.2:.7-28). In 1989 he was awarded a PhD. in psychology at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

for work on preverbal communication with infants connected to his theory of the virtual other. He was recognized for his work on mother-child interaction and in 1998 edited Intersubjective Communication and Emotion in Early Ontogeny, published by Cambridge University Press (). He was

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

and was member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establish ...

. His 1973 article "Model Monopoly and Communication: Systems Theoretical Notes on Democratization" was selected for the

Norwegian Sociology Canon The Norwegian Sociology Canon () is an award presented from 2009 to 2011 to 25 nonfiction texts, that are considered to have had the greatest influence on sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, h ...

by ''Sosiologinytt'' in 2011 (issued by the Norwegian Sociological Organization). A main theme in this article is that the so-called 'model strength' of the participants in a conversation (in such as a boardroom) affects the outcome of prolonged conversation as regards influence and power (put simply, this is in contrast to the view that communication in general leads to democratic spread of power).

References

1934 births 2024 deaths Norwegian sociologists Social psychologists Communication theorists Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters {{Norway-sociologist-stub