Hazel Gaudet-Erskine

Hazel Gaudet-Erskine (October 15, 1908 — July 10, 1975) was an American social and communications scientist and a member of the Princeton Radio Project.

Life Hazel Gaudet was born on October 15, 1908. She studied psychology at George Washington University and was a pioneer in audience and opinion research. She was part of the Princeton Radio Project at the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. In 1940 she got married and moved to Reno, Nevada, turning her back on research to devote herself to political and social work. Between 1961 and 1975 she wrote the column The Polls, which appeared regularly in the Public Opinion Quarterly. On July 10, 1975, Gaudet-Erskine died as a result of a serious illness.

Scientific career Hazel Gaudet was an early member of the Princeton Radio Project at Princeton University, before moving to Columbia University to work at the Bureau of Applied Social Research. There, the social and communication scientist was mainly responsible for administration and data analysis. She also recruited and trained young interviewers and conducted some interviews herself.

In addition, she worked in the research department of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and assisted Charles Wright Mills in his studies on the role of union leaders, which was published in 1948 under the name The New Man of Power.

The study interviewed 135 people. Subsequently, 100 respondents who had reacted in panic were selected. The aim of the study was to explain the reasons for the partly panic reactions to The War of the Worlds radio play. In analyzing the results, the listeners could be classified into 4 different types: Listeners who tested the inner evidence of the radio play. Listeners who checked the program with other information and learned that it was a radio play. Listeners who tried to check the program with other information, but for various reasons still believed that the program was an authentic newscast. Listeners who made no attempt to check the broadcast or the events.

For one, a lot of those who panicked believed what they heard without questioning it. On the other hand, the authors saw the reason for the panic in the fact that some switched on too late, thereby ignoring the announcement that it was a Halloween joke. Furthermore, the three scientists analyzed which characteristics of the reception situation and which personal characteristics of the listener led to increased anxiety potential. They found that the lack of ability to think critically and question the information was critical to their response. However, according to the study, critical thinking could be overridden by a high degree of suggestibility and emotional insecurity.

Journalistic work Gaudet-Erskine's experience with public opinion benefited her in 1961, when she was given the task of restoring 'The Polls' as a regular column in Public Opinion Quarterly. Before she took over the column, 'The Polls' consisted mainly of a list of survey results on a variety of topics without further analysis, interpretations or historical context.

Publications Hadley Cantril, Hazel Gaudet: Familiarity as a factor in determining the selection and enjoyment of radio programs. In: Journal of Applied Psychology. 23, Nr. 1, 1939, S. 85–94. Hazel Gaudet: The favorite radio program. In: Journal of Applied Psychology. 23, Nr. 1, 1939, S. 115–126. Hadley Cantril, Hazel Gaudet, Herta Herzog: The Invasion from Mars. Princeton University Press, Princeton 1940. Hazel Gaudet: High School Students Judge Radio Programs. In: Education. 60, 1940, S. 639–646. Hazel Gaudet, Elmo C. Wilson: Who escapes the personal investigator. In: Journal of Applied Psychology. 24, Nr. 6, 1939, S. 85–94. Paul F. Lazarsfeld, Hazel Gaudet: Who gets a job? In: Sociometry. 41, Nr. 1, 1941, S. 64–77. Paul F. Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, Hazel Gaudet: The People's Choice: How the Voter makes up his mind in a presidential campaign. Duell und Sloan, New York 1948. Hazel Erskine-Gaudet: A Revival: Reports from the Polls. In: Public Opinion Quarterly. 25, Nr. 1, 1961, S. 128–139

Between 1961 and 1975 Hazel Erskine Gaudet wrote 'The Polls', a regular column in the Public Opinion Quarterly.