Dobson, James Clayton (1936-…), is an American psychologist and media personality who became an influential figure in United States politics. Through books, radio, and other media, Dobson has spoken out on various cultural and religious issues. He has supported traditional family structures and social values.
Dobson holds strongly traditional views on family life and raising children. He has opposed abortion, as well as sexual relations outside of marriage. He has defended occasional spanking as an appropriate way to discipline young children. Dobson also has claimed that gay sexual attraction results from faulty parenting and that it can be changed, or “cured,” in adults. He strongly opposed efforts to grant same-sex couples the right to marry.
Dobson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on April 21, 1936. He received a Ph.D. degree in child development from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1967 and became a licensed psychologist and family counselor. In 1977, Dobson founded the conservative organization Focus on the Family. He served as the organization’s chairman from 1977 to 2009 and shared his views on its daily radio program. In 2010, Dobson founded the Christian nonprofit organization Family Talk, later rebranded as the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute (JDFI). The JDFI’s “Family Talk” radio program provides an outlet for Dobson’s traditional views on the family.
During his career, Dobson also worked as a professor at USC’s School of Medicine, and as a staff member at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Dobson has written or co-written many books, beginning with Dare to Discipline (1970).
