William W. Biddle

William Wishart Biddle (June 19, 1900 – February 1973) was an American social scientist and a major contributor to the study of community development. Although details of his personal life are rare in written records, he made contributions to the field of psychology by developing frameworks in propaganda, education, and community development. Biddle outlined in his writings that propaganda was a form of persuasion for coercing people, illustrating examples from times of war. He established that education systems should develop each individual's intelligence and focus on critical thinking to avoid autistic thinking. Biddle defined and established various community development programs with a focus on environment, descriptive studies, politics, religion, and educational process.

There are several noted achievements in his lifetime. His 1931 article "A Psychological Definition of Propaganda" was one of the early psychological works on the subject of propaganda. He was one of the earliest practitioners of community development in the United States. His book The Community Development Process, written in collaboration with his wife Loureide J. Biddle, was translated into several languages.

His written work was consistent with the traditional American values of self help, fair play, and cooperation within the community. For several years, he directed a program at Earlham College known as Community Dynamics. An example of a type of population served includes one's own nation focusing on lowest to middle-class backgrounds. The method of work done among rural versus urban communities can also differ causing an impact on how we define and perceive community development.

Defining and re-defining Community Development

Biddle argues that the approach, population served, and other factors are important characteristics of community development and how it is defined. It can be seen as something that is solely for improving rural areas or developing urban areas distinctively. Community is difficult to define, therefore developing one cannot be simply understood according to Biddle. In times of success, the developers’ joy should not overshadow the evaluation of the development in terms of the people's progress. The developer must remain objective and keep the progress going. He described the education systems as only teaching students what is right and wrong and failed to teach them critical thinking, which makes the students think "autistically" and prone to more propaganda.

Autistic thinking arises from two deficiencies in education: the lack of sufficient information taught in social fields and the inability to understand different points of view. He was survived by his son, Bruce, who was the chairmen of the Department of Social Psychology at the University of Missouri.

After Biddle's death, a memorial fund was made in his honor at the University of Missouri where he presented his personal books and paper to the library. Biddle continued to be a spokesmen for community development throughout his writings.

In recognition of his books and writing in the field of community development, The Community Development Process has been translated into quite a few languages for universities around the world to access.