von Neumann, John - (b. 1903 Budapest, Hungary, d. Washington, D.C., 1957. Ph.D. mathematics, University of Budapest, 1926). One of the foremost mathematicians of this century, von Neumann made many significant contributions to pure mathematics, the quantum theory, the theory of electronic computing devices, and the development of the first electronic computers (MANIAC, NORC). The standard computer architecture of today bears his name. See computational models.
Von Neumann worked at the following institutions: University of Berlin (1927-1929); University of Hamburg (1929-1930); Princeton (1930-1933); Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (1933-1955). One of the foremost mathematicians of this century, von Neumann made many significant contributions to pure mathematics, the quantum theory, the theory of electronic computing devices, and the development of the first electronic computers (MANIAC, NORC). His fourth main contribution, the development of the theory of games, is of importance to the social and behavioral sciences. Von Neumann published the first paper about game theory in 1928. After coming to the US, he began a collaboration with Oskar Morgenstern, a professor of economics at Princeton. The result was Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, published jointly by them in 1944. It initiated the modern period in the study of risky decision making. The aim of this work is to demonstrate that ‘the typical problems of economic behavior become strictly identical with the mathematical notions of suitable games of strategy.’ It was one of the first applications of an elaborate mathematical treatment to the social sciences exclusively. In social psychology, game theory has been applied to behaviors such as voting, bargaining, and experimental games, such as the prisoner’s dilemma games, which, if played repeatedly, becomes a problem in learning.
Zusne, Leonard (1984). Biographical dictionary of psychology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. [bookstore]
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