Honoring John M. Levine

Obituary

On the afternoon of February 25th, 2025, John M. Levine, loving husband, father, grandfather, and brother, died peacefully at age 82 after a brief illness. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa on November 28, 1942, where he spent his childhood.

John graduated from Northwestern University in 1965 with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology and from the University of Wisconsin in 1969 with an M.S. and Ph.D. in Psychology. At Northwestern, he was a member of Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity and met Jan, the love of his life of 56 years, on a blind date.

As a psychology professor at the University of Pittsburgh for 50 years, John was a cherished colleague, mentor, and friend to his many students and collaborators, all of whom will miss his kindness and generosity. An expert on small group behavior, John was an influential and highly respected leader in his field, as evidenced by his enormous contributions to the field and the many tributes he received throughout his career. Even in retirement, he remained active and engaged in a range of research initiatives.

He was intellectually curious, skeptical but fair, and he had a wonderful sense of humor. He was a World War II buff, and he loved hiking, British mystery shows, Winston Churchill, and every moment he spent with his family. It is difficult to imagine that anyone has spent more time reading than John. But above all, his life will be remembered most for the love he shared with his beloved wife, Jan. He was also an amazing father who led by his example, imparting wisdom while letting his sons make their own decisions. In his later years, he enjoyed his time with his grandchildren immensely, never missing an opportunity to share how proud he was of them.

He is survived by his sons, Jeff (Carmina) and Andy (Liz);his sister, Carolyn Levine;and his grandchildren, Bennett and Isabel. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Jan Levine, and his parents, Ben and Bessie Levine.

A Memorial Service to celebrate John’s life will be held at 2:00pm EDT on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Register below. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts in John’s memory to the Family Hospice Foundation, in recognition of the compassionate care that was provided to both John and Jan during their final illnesses.

John Levine, Pitt researcher and educator, dies at 82

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Janice Crompton
March 30, 2025

John Levine, an influential researcher, educator and author whose contributions shaped the psychology program at the University of Pittsburgh, has died at 82 after a brief illness.

Mr. Levine was a recognized expert on small group behavior and social dynamics and taught at Pitt for 50 years. He grew up in Des Moines and in 1965 earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northwestern University.

He received graduate degrees at the University of Wisconsin and joined the faculty at Pitt in 1969 as an assistant professor.

Mr. Levine was part of a small group that developed a unique training program in social psychology, according to a memorial from Pitt, which characterized him as “a brilliant researcher and academic leader who made a long-lasting impact in helping to build a social psychology Ph.D. program.”

Mr. Levine joined the Learning Research and Development Center in 1977 and by 1985, he was named chair of the social psychology program, where he served for 11 years. In later years, Mr. Levine returned briefly to reinvigorate the program after a slate of retirements. He also served as director of graduate studies in the Department of Psychology in 1998 and 1999.

Along with writing and contributing to a multitude of publications focusing on research and studies, he was singled out with several accolades, including the Joseph E. McGrath Lifetime Achievement Award in the Study of Groups, awarded to Mr. Levine and a colleague in 2011 by a research collaborative.

Mr. Levine also served as editor of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and as chair of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. After his retirement, Mr. Levine was recognized as a professor emeritus. Even in recent years, he continued to pursue research projects.

A history buff and something of an Anglophile, Mr. Levine had various other interests, such as British mystery shows, World War II history, and Winston Churchill.

He is survived by his sons, Jeff and Andy; his sister, Carolyn Levine; and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jan Levine, who died in 2021.

A Memorial Service to celebrate John’s life will be held at 2:00pm EDT on Sunday, May 18, 2025. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts in John’s memory to the Family Hospice Foundation.

IN MEMORIAM
John M. Levine
Nov. 28, 1942 – Feb. 25, 2025

After World War II, during the early years of social psychology’s emergence as a scientific discipline, the study of small groups and group processes was an important focus of research activity in this developing enterprise.  Although the centrality of small group research faded in subsequent decades, as the focus shifted to the individual level and person-based processes became the greater focus of attention, the study of groups (and particularly of intergroup processes) continued. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a social psychology that fails to recognize the importance of group-based processes. One of social psychology’s central leaders in maintaining and further developing that tradition, John M. Levine, died on February 25, 2025. On that day, social psychology lost one of its genuine leaders. 

John’s interest in psychology was kindled in his undergraduate courses at Northwestern University and flourished during his graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin, where his mentor, Vernon Allen, inspired John to pursue research on small groups. He completed his PhD in 1969 and then joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, where he remained throughout his career. He was Professor in the Psychology Department there as well as Senior Scientist in the University’s Learning Research and Development Center.

John quickly became a central figure in experimental social psychology, both because of his seminal published work and his leadership in the field. Throughout his career, he was actively engaged in the governance of professional societies through his roles in numerous committees, editorial boards, and task forces. His eclectic research meaningfully contributed to our understanding of numerous aspects of the formation, functioning, and changes in group processes. His work explored conformity to group norms, the psychological consequences of deviance from norms, manifestations of socially shared cognition in group contexts, and the dynamics and parameters of majority and minority influence. His long-lasting collaboration with his colleague Richard Moreland produced an influential model of the processes underlying group socialization, shedding light on the processes that lead people to join and to leave groups. The model highlighted three important phases: evaluation, in which both the individual and the group assess the potential costs and benefits of group membership; commitment, in which membership is established; and role transitions, in which the individual’s role in group functioning emerges and changes over time, leading to further commitment or, alternatively, leaving the group. Understanding these processes thereby also increases our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying group stability and change over time. 

In all of these areas, John’s work built upon and broadened the scope of our understanding of those topics. Indeed, his own contributions crossed some traditional boundaries in exploring associations between social and cognitive processes. Not surprisingly, John was recognized as the preeminent researcher of his time in the area of small groups. His work personified social psychology in a genuine sense. 

John was central to social psychology in many other ways as well. He was Chair of the Executive Committee of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP) in 2000. He served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (1990-1993) before moving to its helm as Editor (1994-1998). He assumed many important roles in the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, including serving as Chair of its Publication Committee from 2012 to 2015. He also facilitated the circulation of ideas and research across the Atlantic ocean in many ways, not least of which as a very active member of the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP), participating in several EASP General Meetings and countless small group meetings sponsored by EASP. His honors are numerous, including the Joseph E. McGrath Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Study of Groups (with his longtime colleague Richard Moreland). The international recognition of his work included honorary and visiting professorships at the Universities of Rome, Kent, and Lausanne, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.  

Beyond his many accomplishments, John was also an amazing teacher, with an immense culture and an astounding ability to communicate his passion for research. Many generations of students and researchers have been trained by John to do science with passion. And most of all, to us John was a true friend—a gentle and supportive person, devoted to his dear departed wife Jan, to his sons Jeff and Andy and their families, and to his many students and colleagues. We will sorely miss his friendship, his guidance, and his support. John’s warm smile and his dry and subtle wit always made interactions with him easy and enjoyable. He was a truly wonderful human being who gave so much to our discipline and to us all.

by Charles Judd, David Hamilton, & Fabrizio Butera
To be published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Levine did groundbreaking work in small group learning

University of Pittsburgh – University Times
By Marty Levine
April 4, 2025

John M. Levine, a 50-year psychology professor and the department’s chair for 11 years — who helped to build its social psychology Ph.D. program and did award-winning work at the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) — died Feb. 26, 2025 at 82.

Retired LRDC senior scientist and former School of Education Dean Alan Lesgold, a long-time colleague of Levine’s, recalled that “he was one of a small group of colleagues who were both role models and sources of advice. Research, at its best, is a selfless activity that benefits greatly from wise people presenting their ideas willingly for critical review and debate. John was a model of the true scientist-scholar, daring to try new things and willing to face corrective ideas from others. I hope I absorbed at least some of that disposition.”

In 2011, Levine’s research with Pitt colleague Richard Moreland received the Joseph E. McGrath Lifetime Achievement Award in the Study of Groups from the Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research, which recognized that the pair had “pushed, bridged and redefined many of the boundaries in our field … made theoretical advances in virtually every area of small group research … consistently moved the field forward and have been at the forefront of each new advance.”

“Even in a center devoted to applied science in the service of education (LRDC),  John stood out as being concerned always with what his work meant to the school world, even as he was the most rigorous of researchers,” Lesgold said. “His work was important from the outset, since classes are small groups working on the shared task of learning. His work became even more important as tasks in our world, both in school and in everyday life, became more complex and often demanding of teamwork. I very much hope that people studying collective intelligence and teams with both human and AI participants will take the time to research John’s work and what it has stimulated others to discover.”

Levine’s collaborator on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University, Linda Argote, noted that “John Levine’s research and intellectual leadership have had a major impact — both locally and on a global scale. As a local example, John co-founded the Groups and Organizations seminar, which brought together researchers from different departments across the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. John’s global leadership included serving as editor of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, guest editor of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and as president of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. All of us who had the pleasure of knowing him valued his friendship and collegiality. We are fortunate that John spent his career with us.”

Another close colleague, Charles Perfetti (distinguished university professor of psychology and senior scientist at LRDC), remembered Levine as “a brilliant researcher and academic leader who made a long-lasting impact in helping to build a social psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Pittsburgh.

“Over time, the social psychology program suffered from faculty retirements and other problems. I think it is fair to say that the program was on the brink of disappearing as a stand-alone Ph.D. program. But John was determined to save the program. He resumed its leadership, re-invigorating the program and bringing in new faculty so that it remains today as a solid Ph.D. program within the Department of Psychology.”

Perfetti added: “John is internationally renowned for his research on the processes that shape social interactions within small groups. For example, what processes lead a person to conform with group norms? What are the psychological consequences of deviance from these norms? How do members who are in the minority manage to influence members of the group majority? John’s research was basic social science, but he was keenly interested in its applications to real-life groups, so he later refocused his research on the study of the social processes in work groups.

“John mentored countless students and had many collaborations around the world. He was awarded an honorary doctorate, from the University of Lausanne. He showed a deep dedication to traditional academic values, something I could see in the many faculty discussions where principled positions on competing values were tested.”

Karina Schumann and Mandy Forest, associate professors of psychology, wrote a remembrance together, after having known him during the last decade of his career at Pitt:

“John was a devoted mentor to us during our years as junior faculty, as well as a valued collaborator and dear friend. John was always there when we needed him. He would stop by regularly to check in and was always the first person to offer to provide feedback on a new research idea or grant. On one occasion, Mandy sought John’s advice on a grant proposal. John listened eagerly, asked thoughtful questions, and offered both encouragement and constructive suggestions for strengthening the proposal. Mandy left that meeting feeling energized and immensely grateful, struck by John’s ability to provide feedback that was simultaneously validating and insightful.

“Graduate students also appreciated John’s clear and insightful feedback on their work, specifically requesting him to serve on their milestone committees because they knew his perspective would enhance their projects and training.

“We have also been fortunate to have collaborated with John on different projects. John brought wisdom and expertise as well as energy and excitement to research conversations. We loved the way his eyes would light up when he hit on a great new study idea, and how the energy in the room noticeably increased when John discussed a new finding.

“John was a social psychologist through and through — someone who genuinely loved the field and who had a deep intrinsic interest in the topics he studied (as evidenced by his continued involvement in research even after his retirement). One quality we greatly admired was John’s knack for generating interesting and important ideas and his keen ability to turn them into tractable research questions.

“On one occasion, Karina and a grad student began developing a research idea on political intragroup processes. They presented it to John, and in a single meeting, they generated half a dozen potential lines of research stemming from this concept. It was one of the most generative and inspiring meetings Karina had ever participated in. She came away from that meeting in awe of John’s ability to connect new ideas to longstanding theories in the field, enhancing the depth and richness of the research project through his deep knowledge and creativity. Despite his vast knowledge, John brought humility to every collaboration, consistently embracing others’ suggestions and approaches with openness and respect.

“We will always be grateful for the kindness, generosity and wisdom he brought to our lives.”

John M. Levine was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on Nov. 28, 1942. He graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology in 1965 and from the University of Wisconsin with master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology in 1969. 

He began his academic career at Pitt that year, and joined the LRDC in 1977. His stint as chair of psychology spanned 1985-1996. He was also director of graduate studies in his department (1998-1999).

He is survived by his sons, Jeff (Carmina) and Andy (Liz); his sister, Carolyn; and his grandchildren, Bennett and Isabel.

Memorial gifts are suggested to the Family Hospice Foundation, 700 Bower Hill Road, Suite 1405, Pittsburgh, PA 15243.