Robert Charles Bolles (April 24, 1928 – April 8, 1994) was an American psychologist and author who conducted work on experimental psychology. He developed the species-specific defense reaction theory which contends that many avoidance behaviors are actually elicited behaviors rather than operant behaviors.

He graduated from Wesleyan University and earned a PhD in experimental psychology from University of California, Berkeley.^[1]

Bouton, Mark. "Robert C. Bolles" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-12. Retrieved 2006-12-30.

Bouton, Mark E.; Fanselow, Michael S. (July 1996). "Robert C. Bolles". American Psychologist. 51 (7). The American Psychological Association: 733. doi:10.1037/0003-066x.51.7.733.