Eleanor Maccoby

Eleanor Emmons Maccoby (May 15, 1917 – December 11, 2018) was an American psychologist who was most recognized for her research and scholarly contributions to the fields of gender studies and developmental psychology. Throughout her career she studied sex differences, gender development, parent-child relations, child development, and social development from the child perspective.

Maccoby earned her M.A and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan where she worked under B. F. Skinner. She also did her dissertation research in Skinner's Harvard laboratory. Maccoby continued her psychology career at Stanford University, where she served as a professor, member and chair of the department of psychology and conducted various research. This resulted in multiple publications with her most recognized publication being her book, The Development of Sex Differences (1966). Maccoby has received numerous awards for her work; however, in 2000 Maccoby was named the first-ever recipient of an award named in her honor, The Maccoby Award. The American Psychological Association listed Maccoby as 70 out of 100 for the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century.

Biography Eleanor Emmons was born on May 15, 1917. She was the second oldest of four daughters born to Eugene and Viva Emmons. Maccoby's mother was a singer/musician and her father owned a small business in Tacoma, Washington.

Her family's beliefs and way of life were unusual for that time period. They were vegetarians, interested in eastern thought and religious doctrines which included reincarnation, astrology, and occult phenomena.

In 1934 she moved to Portland, Oregon, where she attended Reed College

Eleanor and Nathan adopted three children. Their first child, Janice Maccoby, was adopted in 1952. Four years later they adopted their second child, Sarah Maccoby, and soon after their third child, Mark Maccoby. Eleanor Macoby assumed most of the unpaid work of the family, working in her paid employment part-time, postponing publishing anything for five to six years during this time

In 1958, Eleanor and Nathan were offered jobs at Stanford University. They were married for 54 years and had five grandchildren. She turned 100 in May 2017 and died at the age of 101 on December 11, 2018.

Educational and vocational history After completing her secondary education, Maccoby attended Reed College for two years, where she was exposed to behaviorist psychology. Maccoby then transferred to the University of Washington where she received her B.A. (1939).

Maccoby was given the opportunity to work with B.F. Skinner. Maccoby had completed all the requirements for her PhD except the dissertation. B.F. Skinner offered to let Maccoby use his automated data recording equipment in his laboratory at Harvard University.

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Maccoby had taken on a position at Harvard University in Massachusetts. Although unknown to most people, both Eleanor and her husband, Nathan were offered positions in the psychology department at Stanford University. In order to obey by the anti-nepotism rules that had come into consideration, Nathan had taken a job in the Communications Department at Stanford while Eleanor took the position within the Psychology Department. While Eleanor was at Stanford, she was asked if she would be able to fill a teaching position in child psychology. Eleanor Maccoby was excited about her offer and had the chance to be able to split her time between teaching and balancing the three new children that she and her husband had adopted.

In 1958, Maccoby and her husband were offered faculty positions at Stanford University. Her research has taken multiple different approaches throughout her career at Stanford University. In 1974, Maccoby and her colleague Jacklin published their research on sex differences in Maccoby's most well known book, The Psychology of Sex Differences. In 1980, Maccoby began a large-scale longitudinal study evaluating parent-child relationships before, during, and after parental divorce; since 1980, Maccoby has published her book, The Two Sexes, in 1998 and has continued working towards increasing the knowledge and understanding of child development and sex differences. and president of the Society for Research in Child Development from 1981 to 1983. From 1973 to 1976, she served as chair of the Psychology Department at Stanford, the first woman to do so.

She received the G. Stanley Hall Award for Distinguished Contributions to Developmental Psychology in 1982 from Division 7 of the APA and the American Psychological Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. Division 7 of the APA, presents an award in her name known as the Maccoby Award.

On December 11, 2018 at the age of 101, Maccoby died of pneumonia.