Marian Radke-Yarrow
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Marian Radke-Yarrow (March 2, 1918 – May 19, 2007) was an American developmental psychologist known for studying topics such as prejudice, altruism, and depression in children. She worked in academia in the early years after completing graduate school, and then she became a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) researcher who observed child behavior and parent-child interactions.
Born in Horicon, Wisconsin, Radke-Yarrow had one sister, nine years older than herself. Her father worked in middle management for the company that became John Deere. Radke-Yarrow later recalled that she attended a year of preschool before beginning kindergarten. She said that although this was unusual for the era, it was the norm in her community.[1]
Her father, Louis "Curly" Radke, was known for his involvement in the Izaak Walton League and in protecting the Horicon Marsh.[2][3]
Radke-Yarrow completed undergraduate work in 1939 at University of Wisconsin–Madison, where her professors included Harry Harlow. A faculty member named Hulsey Cason encouraged her to go to graduate school and helped her to identify child development as a specialization.[1] She then earned a doctorate in psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1944. She taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Queens College and the University of Denver early in her career.[4] The University of Minnesota later awarded her an "Outstanding Achievement Award" in 1982.[5]
