James Bayton, PhD, was a foundational Black psychologist. He was born on April 5, 1912 and died August 1990 at the age of 78. He received his BA and MA in psychology from Howard University, and his PhD in psychology from University of Pennsylvania. He conducted a series of research projects spanning 30 years that focused on the self concept of Black people. He is also known for his work in consumer psychology, marketing research and agriculture. He taught at Southern University in Louisiana and at Morgan State University before returning to Howard University to teach, and eventually become the chair of the psychology department there.
Some other appointments he held included: vice president of Universal Marketing Research Inc., and a senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He served the Social Security Administration and the Department of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Agricultural Science. He was also chairman of the committee appointed to study equal employment opportunity policies in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Important awards of Bayton include: Superior Service Award from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); the Kappa Psi Alpha Award for Best Paper contributing to marketing research; the Outstanding Contribution Award from the District of Columbia Chapter of the American Psychological Foundation and the Distinguished Teaching Award from the American Psychological Foundation. Some of his notable research works are: "Interrelations Between Levels of Aspiration, Performance, and Estimates of Past Performance" and "Intervening Variables in the Perception of Racial Personality Traits." He was involved in the advancement of civil rights for Blacks and other people of color by serving as an expert witness for the NAACP in cases regarding segregation in schools and discrimination in the workplace. He also conducted research on racism in military settings.