About SYMLOG

Robert Freed Bales, Ph.D. (1916-2004), Harvard University, is the author and inventor of the SYMLOG^® (a SYstem for the Multiple Level Observation of Groups) system. In his search for universal features, Bales redefined the fundamental boundaries of social interaction, and established criteria for the behavior and values of leaders and followers. Bales offered a new "field theory," an appreciation of the multiple contexts in which people live.

Widely published and one of the most often quoted social psychologists, Bales worked closely with SYMLOG Consulting Group until his death in 2004. His last book, Social interaction systems: Theory and measurement (1999), is the culmination of a half century of work in the field of social psychology. He was a pioneer at the Department of Social Relations at Harvard University and a seminal member of the Harvard Project.

Led by Talcott Parsons, Gordon W. Allport, Henry A. Murray, and Clyde M. Kluckhohn, the Harvard Project was intended to establish an integrative framework for social psychology. That framework would take into consideration the interaction, the context and content of communication, and the value-orientation of the participants.

Bales devoted his life’s work to developing this integrative framework, and saw this as a personal involvement that went far behavior the classical experimental approach to the study of groups. His work and findings allowed for an understanding of polarizations as they actually exist in interaction -- between conservative and liberal, individualistic and authoritarian, and libertarian and communitarian orientations.

Bales repeatedly emphasized that the mental processes of individuals and their social interactions take place in systematic contexts that can be measured. Hence, they permit explanation and prediction of behavior in a more exact way than in past traditions.

The significance of his work has been repeatedly recognized by scholars and practitioners alike. He received awards from the American Psychological Foundation (1983), the American Sociological Association Cooley-Meal Award (1983), and the California Psychological Association Award (1999) from the Division of Industrial and Organizational Psychology for his fifty years of work.

He maintained an active collaboration with the SYMLOG Consulting Group (SCG) until his death in 2004.

Robert J. Koenigs is Co-founder of the SYMLOG Consulting Group (SCG) and served as its President until his death in 2020. He designed and implemented planned change programs for individuals, teams, and organizations since the early 1970's in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia.

He worked closely with a broad range of organizations in the public, private, governmental, and religious sectors. Dr. Koenigs, a Board Certified and Licensed Psychologist, earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from St. Louis University in 1973 and continued his post-doctoral studies as a Research Fellow at Harvard. He subsequently directed international research with colleagues in over sixty countries in seventeen languages.

He was a member of the faculties of Harvard University, Boston College, and UCLA. He had extensive teaching experience in psychology, group dynamics, and organizational behavior.

Dr. Koenigs worked closely with Professor Bales as a faculty member at Harvard during the development of SYMLOG, and continued their collaboration until Bales’ death in 2004. Dr. Koenigs was among the first professionals to use SYMLOG in applied settings outside of the laboratory where it was developed, and SCG continues to develop and refine the system to this day.

Margaret Cowen is Co-founder and President of the SYMLOG Consulting Group (SCG). She has a B.A. in Sociology from Northwestern University, professional credentials in secondary education, an M.B.A. from Boston University, and received a Ph.D. in Psychology from United States International University in 1998.

Dr. Cowen began her organizational career managing marketing services of the supply division of a large hotel chain. She has been active in the formation of several volunteer organizations and has worked both as an internal and external consultant to firms in the public and private sectors.

Dr. Cowen has trained numerous management development programs on six continents and concentrates her consulting efforts on value-based intervention strategies. Her research work focuses on the relationship between an individual’s behavior and the values they are perceived to show in behavior. She is the senior author of the Interaction Effectiveness Assessment™ (iea).

Dr. Cowen has been an integral part of the transition from use of SYMLOG in the laboratory to practical applications and is responsible for many of the foundation pieces that make up the SYMLOG system today. In addition, during the last thirty years she has personally trained over 1,000 Certified SYMLOG Consultants worldwide.