Personal Life
Rensis Likert was born to George Herbert Likert and Cornelia Adrianne (Cora) (née Zonne) Likert in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where his father was an engineer with the Union Pacific Railroad. After training to be an engineer, the younger Likert was working as an intern with Union Pacific Railroad during the watershed 1922 strike. The lack of communication between the two parties made a profound impression on him and caused him to study organizations and their behavior for the rest of his life.
Likert received his B.A. in economics from the University of Michigan in 1926. The social sciences of the 1920s were highly experimental and incorporated many aspects of modern psychology. In 1932 Likert received a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University. In his thesis, he devised a survey scale Likert Scale for measuring attitudes and showed that it captured more information than competing methods. The 5-point Likert Scale would eventually become Likert's best-known work.
Likert died, 3 September 1981 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the age of 78; leaving behind his wife of 53 years, Jane Gibson (3 June 1902 - 29 November 1997). Both are interred in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor.
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