Biography
Stuart (“Stu”) Palmer was born in New York City where he resided until his service in the Army Air Corps during World War II where he was the Wing navigator for a squadron of B-17 bombers that flew in the European theater (1942-1945). Following World War II, Lieutenant Palmer completed his undergraduate degree at Yale University but was called back into the service (U.S. Air Force) during the Korean Conflict where he served in the Strategic Air Command facilities in Iceland from 1951-1953. He was subsequently discharged as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force.
He continued his education at Yale earning his Ph.D. in Sociology in 1955. Stu spent his entire academic career at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in Durham. He retired as Emeritus Professor of Sociology in 1997.
Stu was one of the first forensic criminologists to blend sociology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, law and government into a comprehensive perspective for the analysis of both normative and deviant behaviors. He was a student of the works of John Dollard, Neal E. Miller, Leonard W. Doob, O.H. Mower and Robert Sears, the Yale team that conceptualized Sigmund Freud’s anxiety classification into the “frustration/aggression theorem.” Palmer provided the empirical research testing this theorem with the study of murders and a control group based on ethnicity and socio-economic status, resulting in a best selling book – *The Psychology of Murder* (1960).
He was a tenacious researcher who widely used the Human Relations Area File in his cross-cultural analysis of homicide and suicide. His 12 books reflect his theoretic contributions to the social psychological and forensic analysis of human behavior.
Dr. Palmer was predeceased by his wife, Ann, and their only child, Catherine.
[Excerpted from: https://www.asc41.com/obituaries/2008obits.html]
He continued his education at Yale earning his Ph.D. in Sociology in 1955. Stu spent his entire academic career at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in Durham. He retired as Emeritus Professor of Sociology in 1997.
Stu was one of the first forensic criminologists to blend sociology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, law and government into a comprehensive perspective for the analysis of both normative and deviant behaviors. He was a student of the works of John Dollard, Neal E. Miller, Leonard W. Doob, O.H. Mower and Robert Sears, the Yale team that conceptualized Sigmund Freud’s anxiety classification into the “frustration/aggression theorem.” Palmer provided the empirical research testing this theorem with the study of murders and a control group based on ethnicity and socio-economic status, resulting in a best selling book – *The Psychology of Murder* (1960).
He was a tenacious researcher who widely used the Human Relations Area File in his cross-cultural analysis of homicide and suicide. His 12 books reflect his theoretic contributions to the social psychological and forensic analysis of human behavior.
Dr. Palmer was predeceased by his wife, Ann, and their only child, Catherine.
[Excerpted from: https://www.asc41.com/obituaries/2008obits.html]
Books by Stuart Hunter Palmer
The universities today
The role of hostels in a changing world
Homicide and Suicide
Homicide and Suicide
Role stress
Role stress
Rebellion and retreat
Rebellion and retreat
The violent society
Deviance and conformity
Deviance and conformity
The psychology of murder
A study of murder
A study of murder