Reva Potashin

Reva Potashin (September 13, 1921 – September 15, 2013) was a Canadian psychologist known for her contributions to the field of sociometry (the measurement of social groups). She was a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Biography The youngest of five children, Potashin was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. Her parents were Jewish immigrant parents from Eastern Europe. She graduated from Harbord Street Collegiate Institute (now Harbord Collegiate Institute). Her results demonstrated that children with close friendships tended to be generally accepted by their classmates, whereas those without friends experienced less acceptance. In the sociometric measure, children without friends tended to identify popular members of their class as their friends (who did not reciprocate their nomination).

Publications

Frankel, E.B., & Potashin, R. (1944). A survey of sociometric and pre-sociometric literature on friendship and social acceptance. Sociometry, 7(4), 48-70. Potashin, R. (1944). A study of the social relationships of grade-school children: friends and nonfriends. Bulletin of the Canadian Psychological Association, 4, 57-58. Potashin, R. (1946). A sociometric study of children's friendships. Sociometry, 9(1), 48-70. doi:10.2307/2785510 Northway, M.L., and Potashin, R. (1946). Mental hygiene test. Sociometry, 9(1). Northway, M.L., Frankel, E.B., & Potashin, R. (1947). Personality and sociometric status. New York: Beacon House.