William E. Blatz
William E. Blatz | |
|---|---|
Dr. Blatz with a young child, 1961 | |
| Born | William Emet Blatz June 30, 1895 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | November 1, 1964 (aged 69) |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Security theory |
| Spouses | Margery Rowland
(m. 1922; div. 1943)Annie Louisa Barnard Harris
(m. 1946; died 1964) |
| Children | 1 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychology (developmental) |
| Thesis | A Psychological Study of the Emotion of Fear (1924) |
| Doctoral advisor | Harvey A. Carr |
| Doctoral students | Mary Ainsworth |
William Emet Blatz (/ˈblæts/; June 30, 1895 – November 1, 1964) was a German-Canadian developmental psychologist who was director of the University of Toronto's Institute of Child Study from 1925 until his retirement in 1960. He authored numerous books and was known for his creation of security theory, a precursor to attachment theory.
Blatz's theory posited that in infancy and early childhood, the child needs to create a secure base with its caregivers in order to gain the courage necessary to brave the insecurity implicit in exploring the world, and argued that a lack of psychological resilience and self-confidence in adulthood are born out of a failure to develop a secure base in childhood.