In Memoriam: Monroe P. Friedman
Monroe P. (“Monty”) Friedman passed away peacefully in the presence of his family on October 2, 2020. Monty was one of the most creative thinkers and prolific scholars to grace the field of consumer research, yet because his academic home was in a department with neither colleagues nor graduate students studying consumer topics, his passing went largely unnoticed within the ACCI community. Monty last attended an ACCI annual conference in 2016 and last published an article in the Journal of Consumer Affairs in 2005, so many younger readers of this journal may not be familiar with Monty or his work. There are several reasons, though, to read on.
First, Monty was a pillar of ACCI. He held the organization’s most important positions and received its most prestigious honors. Monty was a member of ACCI’s board of directors and ACCI president during 1989-90. Most notably, Monty was JCA’s editor from 1980 until 1984. I recall submitting an article to JCA during that period and, as an untenured assistant professor, was very happy when it was accepted for publication after some revisions. Before the article was sent for typesetting, Monty sent the manuscript to me covered in red markings. He had taken the time to edit my article in detail for grammar and grace of style, down to the last comma. I imagine he took similar care of other authors, probably because Monty wanted JCA to be perfect.
Monty loved contributing his own work to JCA, publishing at least a dozen articles in its pages over the course of four decades, pausing only due to professional probity during his years as JCA editor. Monty was also a fixture at ACCI annual conferences. I always looked forward to attending his sessions, knowing that I would hear innovative papers on cutting-edge topics. For his many contributions to ACCI, Monty was awarded the rank of Distinguished Fellow in 1991. (He was also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.)
Second, Monty was a model of intellectual daring. His career started conventionally enough. In 1959, at the tender age of 25, he earned a PhD in psychology from the University of Tennessee. Being interested in perception and learning, he conducted an experiment on “olfactory sensitivity.”
Note that policy-relevant consumer research and the modern consumer movement barely existed in 1959. That year, Ralph Nader was just finishing law school, and the publication of his book Unsafe at Any Speed was still six years in the future. U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s message to Congress on consumer rights was still three years away. In 1959, the only big consumer news was a recall by the Food and Drug Administration of a batch of cranberries three weeks before Thanksgiving.
During the 1960s, as the modern consumer movement and the problems it highlighted gained visibility, Monty took his first intellectual leap of faith. He became one of the few (perhaps only) applied psychologists specializing in consumer affairs. In 1966, Monty published an article in the Journal of Applied Psychology about how the absence of standardized unit price information on product packaging contributed to consumer confusion and lack of confidence in grocery store choices.
Although Monty continued to be interested in consumer decision making for the rest of his career, his intellectual curiosity eventually brought him far afield from consumer psychology. How else can one explain his path-breaking books on consumer boycotts (Consumer Boycotts: Effecting Change through the Marketplace and Media, 1999) and the influence of brand names on popular American literature (A “Brand” New Language, 1991)? Monty was at home among sociologists and cultural historians, and he brought consumer research to their attention by editing special issues, respectively, of the Journal of Social Issues and the Journal of American Culture.
Third, Monty was devoted not only to developing and communicating the field of consumer research. He was also committed to research that made a difference in the lives of consumers, especially by influencing federal consumer policy. In this respect, Monty was part of a cohort of early ACCI members who wanted their research and/or educational activities to address real-world consumer problems. This cohort included Richard L. D. Morse, E. Scott Maynes, Stewart Lee, and Marguerite Burk, among others.
The second half of the 1960s was the heyday of consumer legislation, and Monty was in the thick of it. In 1966, he was selected to be a member of the 1966-67 cohort in the American Political Science Association’s Congressional Fellowship Program. His research publications helped build the case for two landmark pieces of consumer legislation: Truth-in-Packaging (1966) and Truth-in-Lending (1968). Indeed, long-serving U.S. representative John Dingell (D-Michigan) recognized Monty’s importance by entering praise for him in the Congressional Record.
From this auspicious beginning, Monty went on to contribute his expertise to a range of organizations. In the governmental realm, he was a research consultant to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs and his research was cited in reports of the U.S. Congress and Federal Trade Commission. Monty also worked with public interest organizations such as Consumer Reports and AARP. Monty’s work for these two organizations found its way into the pages of JCA.
In sum, Monty led a rich professional life, spanning multiple professional organizations. Many of us who knew him will remember his deep contributions to ACCI, but more so, we will recall him as a mentor and friend.
Witten by Robert N. Mayer, Professor Emeritus, Family And Consumer Studies, University of Utah
