Judith Rich Harris
Judith Rich Harris (February 10, 1938 – December 29, 2018) was an American psychology researcher and the author of The Nurture Assumption, a book criticizing the belief that parents are the most important factor in child development, and presenting evidence which contradicts that belief.[1] Harris was a resident of Middletown Township, New Jersey.[2]
Judith Rich Harris
Early life and education[edit]
Born in Brooklyn in 1938,[3] Harris spent her early childhood moving around the United States until her parents eventually settled in Tucson, Arizona. The dry climate suited her father, who had ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune disease.[4]
Harris graduated from Tucson High School and attended the University of Arizona, and then Brandeis University where she graduated magna cum laude in 1959.[4] Harris was dismissed from the Ph.D. program in psychology at Harvard University in 1960, because the 'originality and independence' of her work were not to Harvard's standards.[5][6] She was granted a master's degree in her field, before departing.
No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality, was published in February 2006. Harris attempts to explain why people are so different in personality, even identical twins who grow up in the same home.[3][13]
She proposes that three distinct systems shape personality:
No Two Alike expands on some of the ideas from The Nurture Assumption and attempts to answer some of the criticisms leveled at the former book. For example, Harris denies that the message of 'The Nurture Assumption' is that "Parents are not important." Instead, she emphasizes that their importance lies, not in shaping or determining the people their children will become, but in determining to a large extent the quality of their children's first important relationships (i.e., with their parents) and the quality of life within the home. Harris claims that a happy home life in itself is a positive good—not because it necessarily will determine a happy adulthood.
Personal life[edit]
She married Charles S. Harris in 1961; they had two daughters (one adopted) and four grandchildren. Since 1977 Harris had suffered from a chronic autoimmune disorder, diagnosed as a combination of lupus and systemic sclerosis.[4] Her friend and colleague, cognitive scientist Steven Pinker, reported her Dec. 29 death[3] via Twitter on December 30, 2018.[14]