Mary McMahan True, Emeritus

Overview

Department: 
School of Science » Psychology
SMC Email Address: 
mtrue@stmarys-ca.edu
Contact Information: 

Email: mtrue@stmarys-ca.edu
Mail: PMB 5082, Moraga, CA  94575

Curriculum Vitae: 
File vita2017final.docx

Education

  • Ph.D. Developmental Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, 1994
    Dissertation Title: Mother-Infant Attachment and Communication Among the Dogon of Mali
  • M.A. Developmental Psychology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, 1986
  • M.T.S. Theological Studies, Franciscan School of Theology, Berkeley, California, 1978
  • B.A. History, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 1974
    Phi Beta Kappa

Professional Experience

Teaching Experience:

  • Professor - Department of Psychology, St. Mary's College of California, Moraga, California. (1996 - Present)
  • Supervisor of Research - Ph.D. Program in Psychology, Wright Institute, Berkeley, California (1994 - 1995)
  • Graduate Student Instructor - Department of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1987 - 1992)
  • Instructor - Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California (1986 - 1995)
    1994 to 1995; 1986 to 1989

Fellowship:

  • Predoctoral Fellowship - National Institute of Mental Health (1991)

Courses Taught

Recently Taught:

  • PSYCHOLOGY 140: Human Development
  • PSYCHOLOGY 195: Fieldwork in Psychology
  • PSYCHOLOGY 141: Infancy and Early Childhood
  • PRESCHOOL, POVERTY, AND PUBLIC POLICY (January Term course)

Service

Selected Service:

  • St. Mary's College Presidential Search Committee (2013)
  • Board Member, Seven Hills School (2008-2011)
  • Saint Mary's College Rank and Tenure Committee (2011-2014)
  • Faculty Advisor
    (2006 - Present)
    Jump Start Program 
  • Core Curriculum Task Force (2006-2009)
  • Educational Policies Board
    (2003 - 2007)
  • Ad hoc Senate Committee on School of Extended Education
    (2002 - 2003)
  • Grievance Committee
    (2001 - 2003)
  • Rank and Tenure subcommittee of the Faculty Senate
    (2001 - 2002)
  • WASC Accreditation Steering Committee and co-chair of Standard 4 Committee
    (2001 - 2003)
  • Faculty Senate
    (1998 - 2001)

Presentations

Selected Presentations

  • "Rhythmic motion and music decreases student's physiological stress during college final exams: An experimental study". Hutson, M, True, M (paper, poster) Annual conference of the Western Psychological Association. Long Beach, CA (2016).
  • "Maternal Delight, viewed by the infant, linked to attachment security: Findings from West Africa". True, Mary, Mariman, Jennifer, Oumar, Fadimata and Pisani, Lelia (paper, poster)
    The Fifteenth International Conference on Infant Studies: Kyoto, Japan
    (2006)
  • "Infant-mother attachment among the Dogon of Mali: Findings on the universal and culturally specific dimensions of infant attachment and the relationship between infant undernutrition and maternal underresponsiveness". True, Mary, Pisani, Lelia, Oumar, Fadimata and Padilla, Jennifer (paper)
    Congress of the Association of Infant and Child Psychiatrists; Berlin, Germany
    (2004)
  • "Another pathway to infant disorganization: Insights from an African dataset". True, Mary, Pisani, Lelia, Lyon, Susan and Oumar, Fadimata (paper)
    Biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development; Tampa, Florida
    (2003)
  • "Individual differences in infant-mother attachment among the Dogon of Mali: Observations in three contexts". True, Mary, Pisani, Lelia and Oumar, Fadimata (paper)
    Congress of the World Association of Infant Mental Health; Amsterdam, the Netherlands
    (2002)
  • "Maternal Behaviors related to disorganized infant attachment in West Africa". True, Mary, Pisani, Lelia, Oumar, Fadimata and Rowland-Smith, Ryan (paper)
    Annual Conference of the Western Psychological Association; Albuquerque, New Mexico
    (1998)
  • "Psychology and Religion: Friends or Foes". True, Mary (talk, speech or lecture)
    Advanced Workshop on Science and Religion, sponsored by the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences; Berkeley, California
    (1997)
  • "Infant undernutrition and maternal responsivity in West Africa". True, Mary, Pisani, Lelia, Diakite, C. and Oumar, Fadimata (paper)
    The Annual Conference of the Western Psychological Association, San Jose, California
    (1996)
  • "Maternal Holding and Security of Attachment in Western Africa". True, Mary, Lyon, S, Oumar, F and Pisani, L (talk, speech or lecture)
    Biennial Meeting, Society for Research in Child Development, Indianiapolis, Indiana
    (1995)
  • "Does Urbanization Change Mother-Infant Interaction in West Africa?". True, Mary, Pisani, L and Oumar, F (talk, speech or lecture)
    International Conference of Infant Behavioral Studies, Paris, France,
    (1994)
  • "Infant-Mother Attachment and Communication in Rural West Africa". True, Mary, Piasani, L and Oumar, F (talk, speech or lecture)
    Biennial Meeting, Society for Research in Child Development, New Orleans, Louisiania
    (1993)
  • "Quality of Mother-Infant Interaction and Infant Health: A Pilot Study from Niger, West Africa". True, Mary (talk, speech or lecture)
    Symposium on Infant Malnutrition, Institute for Research in Public Health, Mali and the Instituto de Psicologia del CNR, Rome, Italy,
    (1990)

Training Workshop

  • Attachment Theory Across Cultures. True, Mary (invited, primary presenter)
    Early Childhood Mental Health: The George Miller Lecture Series
    Half-day work shop for professionals in field of infant mental health
    (September 2013)
  • Adapting Evidence-based Models to Needs of Diverse Populations. True, Mary (invited, primary presenter)
    Harris Early Childhood Mental Health Training Program Conclave
    (April 2013)

Publications

  • Neto, Roque & True, Mary. (2011). The development and treatment of impulsivity. Psi co , Vol. 42, Iss. 1, 134-141.
  • Pisani, Lelia, True, Mary and OUmar, Fadimata. 2005. La relation entre la croissance de l'enfant l"attachement entre l'enfant et la mere, et le temps de reponse maternelle ausignal de le'enfant chez les Dogons du Mali, Devenir, vol. 17, issue 4, pg.287-302
  • True, Mary, Pisani,, Lelia and Oumar, Fadimata. 2001. Mother-infant attachment among the Dogon of Mali, Child Development, vol. 72, pg.1451-1466
  • True, Mary. ""Infant-Mother Attachment: Part I: Developing a Secure Mother-Infant Attachment"." Human Relations 19.5 (1993)
  • True, Mary. ""Infant-Mother Attachment: Part II: Promoting Secure Attachments"." Human Relations 19.6 (1993)

Active Research Projects

The effect of rhythmic interaction and music on the stress response in infants and caregivers

Honors, Awards & Grants

Awards: 
  • CILSA Engaged FAculty Award - Saint Mary's College of California (2015)
  • Alumni-Faculty Research Award - Saint Mary's College of California (2007)
  • Templeton Science-Religion Course Award - Templeton Fund (1997)
  • Research Award - Institute of Human Development, University of California at Berkeley (1990)

Interests

Scholarly Interests: 

Interests

  • Cross cultural psychology
  • Emotional development
  • Infant-Parent Attachment
  • Development in Infancy and Early Childhood