Mary Cover Jones

Mary Elizabeth Cover Jones (born September 1, 1896 in Johnstown , Pennsylvania , † July 22, 1987 in Santa Barbara , California ) was an American developmental psychologist . Because of her research, she was a pioneer in behavior therapy . Her study of the case of Peter (A laboratory study of fear: The case of Peter) - a child who was afraid of furry objects such as rabbits - is her best known and most cited work in the professional world.

Life

1896–1915 - childhood and youth

Mary Cover Jones was born the second of three children. Her father, Charles Blair Cover, encouraged her and her siblings to pursue further education as he regretted not having attended university. The summer vacation with the family at the Chautauqua Institute in Ohio also provided an incentive for Jones to go to college because of the educational opportunities there. During her high school days, however, she still wanted to become a nurse. She was the editor of the school newspaper, attended college prep class, and graduated with honors in 1915. She chose Vassar College in Poughkeepsie , New York .

1915-1919 - Vassar College

Mary Cover Jones had trouble with college . In her first year, she had to repeat a Latin course that she had previously failed. She attended all the psychology courses on offer, but due to insufficient performance in a previous laboratory course, the responsible professor Margaret Floy Washburn refused her permission to major in psychology . As a result, Jones chose economics , a subject that also interested her and suited her extracurricular activities.

She was president of the Socialist Club and was responsible for preparing and leading an annual conference where professionally successful women spoke to the students about their post-college opportunities. In addition, she belonged to a group of women supporters of women's suffrage and was the first to speak out against the US entering the First World War , contrary to the majority at the college .

In the summer after her sophomore year in Vassar, she worked as a counselor in a camp for underprivileged children and, organized by the college, the following summer in a charity in Boston with children from the local lower classes. At that point, she wanted to become a doctor.

She graduated in 1919 and attended a lecture by John B. Watson in New York, who was lecturing on his Little Albert experiment . Then she decided that her professional future should lie in psychology: “ […] and decided I would rather be a child psychologist than a pediatrician. ”(German:“ […] and decided that I wanted to become a child psychologist rather than a pediatrician ”) Jones was enthusiastic about Watson's theories, but she did not share his opinion on raising children.

1919-1926 - Columbia University

After an interview with Professor Robert S. Woodworth, who teaches there, she chose Columbia University in New York City for further studies in psychology . Studying here was much easier than at Vassar College.

In the first year Mary Cover Jones met her future husband, Harold Ellis Jones , who, like her, studied psychology there. They both attended the same courses, studied together, and completed their Masters a year later . In the summer she worked under Harold Jones' direction with people with intellectual disabilities, which started a long-term partnership. In the same year, on Mary Cover Jones' birthday, they married, married to the American socialist Norman Thomas , and then continued their doctoral studies .

During this time she became pregnant, but continued to study and work, first at a public school in Manhattan with learning disabled children, then as a lecturer on the subject of adolescent psychology and as a counseling psychologist. Their daughter Barbara was born in 1922. Shortly thereafter, early the following year, Jones returned to work because she was allowed to take her daughter to work.

In the summer she resumed her studies. She became a research assistant at the Institute of Educational Research at the University's Teachers' College and was able to accommodate her daughter in the associated Child Study Center. She received further support from domestic help. By now Harold Jones had graduated and received his doctorate . Up to now his interest had been in experimental psychology, but he was inspired by his wife for developmental psychology.

During the time at the research institute, they lived in the house of the Heckscher Foundation , in a home for children who were temporarily separated from their parents. While Harold Jones was teaching at Columbia, Mary Cover Jones worked with the children there by studying their behavior. Some of these observations, which preceded her PhD research and which she did not publish, were mentioned by John B. Watson in his book on behaviorism of the same name .

Jones had met Watson through her friend and former fellow student at Vassar College, Rosalie Rayner, who was Watson's assistant and wife and who worked with him on the Little Albert Experiment.

Jones' collaboration with Watson began with a grant from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Fund to study child development, a new area in psychology. Under Watson's supervision, Jones carried out her now famous study of Little Peter (see Section 2.1 The Peter Case ) in which she used counter-conditioning to free him from his fear of fur animals . In 1924 she published this study, which, however, was not approved for her dissertation due to too few case studies (namely only one). She finally wrote her doctoral thesis on the development of early behavioral patterns in children ( The development of early behavior patterns in young children ) , for which they investigated more than 300 toddlers, supported by a grant from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Fund .

In 1925, in the midst of her dissertation, their second daughter, Lesley, was born, and the following year she graduated with a PhD.

1927-1960 - Berkeley

Institute of Child Welfare, Berkeley

When her husband Harold Jones was offered the position of director of research at the newly established Institute of Child Welfare (now the Institute of Human Development ) at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), the family moved to the west coast of the United States in 1927. Mary Cover Jones was supposed to get a job there too, but it was a year before she was hired as a research assistant under Herbert R. Stolz . Her task was to examine the children housed there at the also newly founded nursery school (see Kindergarten ), today's Harold E. Jones Child Study Center , named after her husband . In the meantime, she bridged the gap by teaching parents, who in turn were to lead parent groups, and by presenting the work of the nursery school to the public.

As a research assistant, she was soon involved in three long-term studies , mainly the Oakland Growth Study (OGS). While babies were observed in the other two studies, the Guidance Study and the Berkeley Growth Study , the OGS saw more than 200 fifth and sixth graders during puberty. Ultimately, the participants were followed in several subsequent studies, combined into the Intergenerational Studies of Development and Aging , into middle and older adulthood. Mary Cover Jones was largely responsible for this and for the low fluctuation rate . Before the studies began, she had visited the children in their schools and explained the studies to them. The participants 'excitement continued, not only because of Jones' diligence, but also because she developed a personal relationship with them as the studies progressed. Even after her retirement, she stayed in contact with them, called them on their birthdays and even made occasional visits to the sick.

Working on this study influenced her further career. She published more than 100 studies using the data from the OGS, even after her retirement, on, among other things, long-term effects on psyche and behavior of earlier and later physical maturity during adolescence. She also examined the causes of development of problem drinking in adults. Her research, which began with development in children, now encompassed all stages of human life. In all of her studies, it was important to her to view the people examined as individuals and as a whole in connection with their different living conditions.

Jones was not only active at the University of California, but was also a member of numerous committees: during the Second World War on the Committee on Children in War Time of the Berkeley Civilian Defense Program , then, among other things, on the Citizens' Advisory Committee on Youth Activities in connection with a survey of young people that she had done in 1952. She lectured and gave seminars in much of the United States and was a lecturer in the psychology department at Berkeley from 1946 until her retirement.

In 1952, she and her husband produced the first and very successful TV course in child psychology, which, in addition to discussions with specialists, also included interviews with parents and children. In the same year, she was assistant professor ( assistant professor ) for education in Berkeley, three years later, then Associate Professor ( Associate Professor ) . The prohibition of nepotism at the University prevented her husband due to the local position to an ordinary professorship ( full professor ) got.

In 1959, a year before her retirement, she was finally appointed professor.

However, until 1952, when her children lived with her, she had never worked full-time. Her family was her priority, not her career.

1960–1987 - retired professor

After they both retired, Mary Cover Jones and her husband visited Europe for the first time in their lives. They flew to Paris, where Harold Jones suffered a fatal heart attack just days after arriving.

During this difficult time, she had the opportunity to continue working, supported by Nevitt Sanford , who offered her a position at his new Institute for the Study of Human Problems at Stanford University , where she worked for five years studying Stanford students especially those who had alcohol problems. In 1963 she was also a visiting professor at Mills College .

From 1969 she worked again at the Institute of Human Development as a consultant for Intergenerational Studies and in 1975 for the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry . She continued to publish studies and gave lectures, including in Toronto and Vienna .

Mary Cover Jones worked until a few months before her death. She died on July 22, 1987 after a brief illness at the age of 90. A memorial service for her was held at the university on September 16, 1987, which was attended by 150 participants in the Oakland Growth Study . At a meeting in 1985 they had given her a plaque with the following inscription:

Our heartfelt appreciation of the combination of professionalism and distinctive personal empathy, for the sincere help and advice from young teens to mature life. This eclipsing over 53 years of service and still ongoing, to a lady who gave of herself to help any and all of the Study Group . 1933-1985 UC Oakland Growth Study.

“Our deepest gratitude for the combination of professionalism and deep personal compassion, for the sincere help and advice as we progress from teenager to adult. This humility in more than 53 years of service, and beyond, for a lady who dedicated herself to helping each and every one of the study group. "

Significant work

The Peter Case (1924)

After Mary Cover Jones had found out in a previous study of emotions in children which of the methods used were most effective in overcoming fears, she tried it with Peter, who was almost three years old. He suffered from a phobia of furry objects, especially rabbits. He was chosen for this study because he was an extremely anxious child and his case was reminiscent of the Little Albert experiment . Jones used the methods of social imitation and direct conditioning: Peter was introduced to children who were not afraid of rabbits. While Peter was playing with these children, there was a white rabbit in the same room at times. Peter's fear of the animal gradually subsided. But in between there was a relapse, so Jones tried a different method. The rabbit was presented to Peter at the same time with a pleasant charm, his favorite food, also this time in the presence of the children, who were not afraid of it. This process was repeated, carefully bringing the rabbit closer and closer to the boy. At some point Peter tolerated the animal's presence and was even able to touch it and let it sit on its lap.

A laboratory study of fear: The case of Peter is their most famous and most cited study. With this research, Mary Cover Jones laid the foundation for many methods of behavior therapy, such as operant conditioning by BF Skinner , systematic desensitization by Joseph Wolpe, and learning on the model of Albert Bandura .

PhD thesis (1926)

At John B. Watson's suggestion, Jones examined 365 babies at what age they develop which functions. Among other things, she tested when she could raise her head, sit upright and follow objects with her eyes. She compared her results with baby biographies that had examined, among others, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and Charles Darwin .

Her study The development of early behavior patterns in young children was a precursor to today's intelligence and motor skills tests for babies.

Long-term studies (from 1928)

In 1928 the first of her studies, the Guidance Study , began under the direction of Jean Walker Macfarlane, and shortly afterwards the Berkeley Growth Study , directed by Nancy Bayley , which had developed the Bayley Scales of Infant Development . These two studies looked at the development of young children. Since these participants would only be able to research their development during adolescence in a few years, the Oakland Growth Study (OGS) was initiated in 1931 by Mary and Harold Jones and Herbert Stolz. Here the development of 212 fifth and sixth graders at the age of around ten years during puberty was examined. Among other things, trips were organized with them to see them in other, less controlled situations, with Mary Cover Jones as a regular observer.

She used the data obtained from the three long-term studies, especially the Oakland Growth Study (OGS), for many studies, including on the following topics:

• the effects of early and late development in boys and girls on self-image, interpersonal behavior and motivations;
• social development: the relationship between physical maturity of boys and their behavior and status in school;
• the comparison of the behavior and interests of young people over 20 years of age: the first case group was studied in 1935, the second in 1953, i.e. before and after the Second World War.

For her study of the causes of problem drinking, Jones used data from the OGS as well as from her studies at Stanford University . She compared drinking behavior during school and in adulthood, recognized certain patterns and concluded that:

• the affected persons showed inconsistency, unpredictability and impulsiveness during their youth,
• male problem drinkers in their youth exaggerated their male role and began drinking out of defiance to authorities and
• it is easier to predict problem drinking in men than it is in women, based on personality data from adolescence.

Even if the selected participants represent only a small part of the American population, the OGS found its way into books on adolescent and developmental psychology. Jones' research into problem drinking was an important step in understanding the relationship between personality and excessive drinking.

recognition

Mary Cover Jones was a member of the Western Psychological Association , California State Psychological Association , Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), American Psychological Association (APA), and Gerontological Society of America (GSA).

In 1960 she was president of the Department of Developmental Psychology of the American Psychological Association and got in 1968 by her the G. Stanley Hall Award for significant participation in developmental psychology ( Distinguished Contributions to Psychology Developmental ) . A year later, on the 40th anniversary of the Institute of Human Development , she received an award for significant contributions to research into human development ( Distinguished Contributions to the Study of Human Development ) .

Works (selection)

• 1924: The elimination of childrens' fears. , Journal of Experimental Psychology, 7, pp. 382-390.
• 1924: A laboratory study of fear: The case of Peter. Pedagogical Seminary, 31, pp. 308-315.
• 1926: The development of early behavior patterns in young children. Pedagogical Seminary, 33, pp. 537-585.
• 1933: Emotional development in C. Murchison (Ed.) A handbook of child psychology. 2nd edition. Clark University Press, Worcester, Massachusetts, pp. 271-302.
• 1950: Adolescence. In: WS Monroe (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Educational Research. Macmillan, New York, pp. 18-22.
• 1957: The later careers of boys who were early- or late-maturing. In: Child Development. 28, pp. 113-128.
• 1957 (with Harold E. Jones): Growth and behavior in adolescence. Pacific Rotaprinting Company, Oakland, California.
• 1958 (with Paul Mussen): Self conceptions, motivations, and interpersonal attitudes of early- and late-maturing girls. In: Child Development. 29, pp. 491-501.
• 1965: Psychological correlates of somatic development. In: Child Development. 36, pp. 899-911.
• 1967: A report on three growth studies at the University of California. In: The Gerontologist. 7, pp. 49-54.
• 1968: Personality correlates and antecedents of drinking patterns in adult males. In: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 32, pp. 2-12.
• 1971: Personality antecedents and correlates of drinking patterns in women. In: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 36, pp. 61-69.
• 1971 (Ed. With Nancy Bayley, Jean W. Macfarlane and Marjorie P. Honzik): The course of human development. Xerox College Publishing, Waltham, Massachusetts.
• 1974: Albert, Peter and John B. Watson. In: American Psychologist. 29, pp. 581-583.
• 1975: A 1924 pioneer looks at behavior therapy. In: Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychology. 6, pp. 181-187.
• 1981/2: Harold E. Jones and Mary C. Jones, Partners in Longitudinal Studies. , an oral history conducted 1981–1982 by Suzanne B. Riess, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 1983, ISBN 1-152-53938-8 .

literature

• Leonard Krasner: In Memoriam - Mary Cover Jones 1896–1987. In: The Behavior Analyst. 11, 1988, pp. 91-92.
• Deana Dorman Logan: Mary Cover Jones: Feminine as Asset. In: Psychology of Women Quarterly. Volume 5 (1), 1980, pp. 103-115.
• Bettyjane Koenig Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Dissertation. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 166-427.
• Alexandra Rutherford: Jones, Mary Cover In: Susan Ware, Stacy Braukman (Eds.): Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary. Volume 5, Belknap of Harvard University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-674-01488-X , pp. 325-327.
• Alexandra Rutherford: Mary Cover Jones. In: A. Rutherford (Ed.): Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. 2010.

Web links

• Alexandra Rutherford's biography of Mary Cover Jones
• Short film about the life and work of Mary Cover Jones. Youtube video (English)
• LCCN  no91-012490

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alexandra Rutherford (2004) in Susan Ware, Stacy Braukman (Ed.): Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary , Volume 5, p. 325.
2. ^ Leonard Krasner: In Memoriam - Mary Cover Jones 1896-1987. P. 91.
3. ↑ Alexandra Rutherford (2004) in Susan Ware, Stacy Braukman (Ed.): Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary , Volume 5, p. 326.
4. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 182-191.
5. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 191-207.
6. ^ Mary Cover Jones: Harold E. Jones and Mary C. Jones, Partners in Longitudinal Studies. an oral history conducted 1981–1982 by Suzanne B. Riess, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 1983, p. 17.
7. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, p. 203.
8. ↑ Alexandra Rutherford (2010), Profile of Mary Cover Jones, in A. Rutherford (Ed.): Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. (online at: feministvoices.com ) accessed December 17, 2012.
9. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, p. 204.
10. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, p. 290.
11. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 210, 219.
12. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 213-214, 220-221, 223.
13. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 226-227, 229.
14. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 229-249.
15. ^ Deana Dorman Logan, Mary Cover Jones: Feminine as Asset. P. 105.
16. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 228, 230-232.
17. ↑ Alexandra Rutherford (2010), Profile of Mary Cover Jones, in A. Rutherford (Ed.): Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. (online at: feministvoices.com ) accessed December 17, 2012.
18. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 228, 236-241.
19. ^ Deana Dorman Logan, Mary Cover Jones: Feminine as Asset. Pp. 105-106.
20. ^ Leonard Krasner: In Memoriam - Mary Cover Jones 1896-1987. Pp. 91-92.
21. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 228, 249.
22. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 259-268.
23. ↑ Alexandra Rutherford (2004) in Susan Ware, Stacy Braukman (Ed.): Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary , Volume 5, p. 326.
24. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 268-274.
25. ↑ Alexandra Rutherford (2004) in Susan Ware, Stacy Braukman (Ed.): Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary , Volume 5, p. 326.
26. ^ Mary Cover Jones: Harold E. Jones and Mary C. Jones, Partners in Longitudinal Studies. an oral history conducted 1981-1982 by Suzanne B. Riess, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 1983, pp. 113-114.
27. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, p. 320.
28. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 317-322.
29. ^ Deana Dorman Logan, Mary Cover Jones: Feminine as Asset. P. 111.
30. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, p. 324.
31. ^ Leonard Krasner: In Memoriam - Mary Cover Jones 1896-1987. P. 92.
32. ^ Mary Cover Jones: Harold E. Jones and Mary C. Jones, Partners in Longitudinal Studies. an oral history conducted 1981-1982 by Suzanne B. Riess, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 1983, pp. 113-115.
33. ^ Mary Cover Jones: Harold E. Jones and Mary C. Jones, Partners in Longitudinal Studies. an oral history conducted 1981–1982 by Suzanne B. Riess, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 1983, pp. 117–118.
34. ↑ Alexandra Rutherford (2004) in Susan Ware, Stacy Braukman (Ed.): Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary , Volume 5, p. 327.
35. ^ Leonard Krasner: In Memoriam - Mary Cover Jones 1896-1987. P. 92.
36. ↑ Alexandra Rutherford (2010), Profile of Mary Cover Jones in A. Rutherford (Ed.): Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. (online at: feministvoices.com ) accessed December 17, 2012.
37. ^ Mary Cover Jones (1924), A laboratory study of fear: The case of Peter , Pedagogical Seminary, 31, pp. 308-315.
38. ↑ Alexandra Rutherford (2010), Profile of Mary Cover Jones, in A. Rutherford (Ed.): Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. (online at: feministvoices.com ) accessed December 17, 2012.
39. ^ Leonard Krasner: In Memoriam - Mary Cover Jones 1896-1987. P. 91.
40. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 249-250.
41. ^ Leonard Krasner: In Memoriam - Mary Cover Jones 1896-1987. P. 92.
42. ^ BK Reiss: A Biography of Mary Cover Jones. Wright Institute, Los Angeles 1990, pp. 268-277.
43. ^ Deana Dorman Logan: Mary Cover Jones: Feminine as Asset. Pp. 109-110.
44. ^ Mary Cover Jones: Harold E. Jones and Mary C. Jones, Partners in Longitudinal Studies. an oral history conducted 1981–1982 by Suzanne B. Riess, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 1983, p. 116.
45. ↑ Alexandra Rutherford (2004) in Susan Ware, Stacy Braukman (Ed.): Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary , Volume 5, p. 326.
46. ^ Mary Cover Jones: Harold E. Jones and Mary C. Jones, Partners in Longitudinal Studies. an oral history conducted 1981–1982 by Suzanne B. Riess, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 1983, p. 115.

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on January 22, 2013 .