Edward Tronick is an American

developmental psychologist Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, ...

best known for his studies of infants,Effects of child abuse can last a lifetime: Watch the ‘still face’ experiment to see why
Washington Post, September 16, 2013 carried out in 1970s, showing that when the connection between an infant and caregiver is broken, the infant tries to engage the caregiver, and then, if there is no response, the infant pulls back – first physically and then emotionally.
Huffington Post, January 31, 2011 He is a Director of Child Development Unit and Distinguished Professor at the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus Un ...

. He is a research associate in Newborn Medicine, a lecturer at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

, an associate professor at both the Graduate School of Education and the School of Public Health at Harvard. He is a member of the

Boston Psychoanalytic Society The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (BPSI) is a psychoanalytic research, training, education facility that is affiliated with the American Psychoanalytic Association and the International Psychoanalytic Association. There were no psyc ...

and Institute, a past member of the Boston 'Process of Change' Group and a Founder and faculty member of the Touchpoints program. His research is funded by

NICHD The ''Eunice Kennedy Shriver'' National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It supports and conducts research aime ...

and

NSF NSF may stand for: Political organizations *National Socialist Front, a Swedish National Socialist party *NS-Frauenschaft, the women's wing of the former German Nazi party *National Students Federation, a leftist Pakistani students' political gr ...

. Dr. Tronick along with Dr. Kristie Brandt founded th
Infant-Parent Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate program
Fellows spent 12 interactive, intensive 3-day weekends meeting every other month at the University of Massachusetts' Boston Campus, to learn first hand from world luminaries and program faculty as well as each other. The program prepares professionals from multi-disciplinary backgrounds for certification in infant –family and early childhood mental health specialists.

Education

Tronick received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1964 and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

comparative psychology Comparative psychology refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals, especially as these relate to the phylogenetic history, adaptive significance, and development of behavior. Research in this area addr ...

and

perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...

in 1965 from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. He received a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

developmental psychology Developmental psychology is the science, scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult deve ...

and

neurophysiology Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience that studies nervous system function rather than nervous system architecture. This area aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Historically, it has been dominated b ...

from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in 1968.

Research

Examining newborns and infants up to two months old, together with T. Berry Brazelton, when the latter was working on his

Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale The Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS), also known as the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale (BNAS),Kaplan, R. M., & Sacuzzo, D. P.(2010). Psychological Testing: Principles, Applications, & Issues, Eighth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadswort ...

(NBAS), Tronick made several experiments, the most notable among which was "The Still Face Experiment". Recent studies have found that four-month-old infants, when re-exposed to the Still Face two weeks after the first time, show rapid physiological changes that were not present when they were exposed to it the first time.

In media

He has appeared on national radio and television programs.

Selected publications

He has published more than 200 scientific articles and 4 books. * 2007 'The Neurobehavioral and Social-emotional Development of Infants and Children', W. W. Norton & Company, 571 pp,

References

External links

Official homepage
University of Massachusetts Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American family and parenting writers 21st-century American psychologists University of Massachusetts faculty {{US-psychologist-stub