Mary Louise Northway

Mary Louise Northway ( – ) was a Canadian psychologist, recognized for her work in the area of sociometry (the measurement of social relationships). She was a faculty member at the University of Toronto.

Biography Northway was born in Toronto on May 28, 1909; she was the only child of Lucy Northway (née MacKellar) and Arthur Garfield Northway. In 1935–1936, she travelled to Cambridge, England, to study under psychologist Frederic Bartlett.

Northway was a faculty member in the psychology department at the University of Toronto from 1933 to 1963.

In 1969, Northway co-founded the Brora Centre, a non-profit organization that conducted child development research that was no longer supported by the university.

Northway died in Toronto on February 27, 1987, of pancreatic cancer.

Research Northway was a pioneering researcher in the field of sociometry, examining children's social groups. Northway examined the forms and functions of children's social groups, and how these factors were related to individual behaviour. She also published on sociometric methodology, including methods for visually depicting social relationships.

During her career, Northway also published on a range of developmental psychology topics, including adolescent development, parent-child relationships, and She was also interested in summer camp as a context for the healthy development of children, and edited a guide for camp counsellors.

Selected works