The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do

Judith Rich Harris (1938-2018) was an American researcher and author from New Jersey. Harris began her post-secondary education at the University of Arizona, and then completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Brandeis University. She continued her studies at Harvard, though she was dismissed from their psychology PhD program and instead graduated with a master’s degree. She is best-known for her 1998 book The Nurture Assumption, which ignited controversy amongst experts and non-experts about the role of parenting in children’s development. In researching studies by behavioral geneticists and socialization researchers and writing psychology textbooks, Harris grew to doubt accepted models of child development and created her “group socialization theory” as an alternative model. While some were offended by The Nurture Assumption, it was well-received by others and short-listed for a Pulitzer Prize.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian neurologist who founded the practice of psychoanalysis. Freud is best known for his theories on personality, which he believed comprise an ego, superego, and id. He also theorized on the relationship between sexuality and psyche, repressed emotions, and dreams as a window into the subconscious. Harris blames him for the false assumption that parents are the most significant influence on their children’s socialization.