In 1920, while completing her undergraduate work, Wellman worked as a secretary to Dr. Bird T. Baldwin at the Iowa Child Welfare Research Station (Institute of Child Behavior, n.d.). Wellman also worked as a research assistant at the Station. In 1925, Wellman worked as a research assistant at Columbia University in New York (Oklahoma State University, n.d.). Interestingly, Wellman was offered the position of chief psychologist at Columbia and at Yale. She refused to return to the Iowa Child Welfare Research Station, where she was named Assistant Professor. Wellman was later promoted to full professor in 1937 (Institute of Child Behavior, n.d.).

Wellman and Baldwin were to be married in 1925, but Baldwin developed pneumonia and died a week before their weeding was to take place. Wellman became guardian to Baldwin's children and her mother moved in to assist with the household (Institute of Child Behavior, n.d.).

Wellman is perhaps best known for her work on intelligence. In the 1930s she published articles, which made psychologists rethink what attributes to intelligence. Wellman argued that environment could have a great impact on intelligence. At this time it was thought to not play a role and that genetics were the only detriments.

Wellman studied children from a variety of economic backgrounds and saw that early education had a lifelong effect (Institute of Child Behavior, n.d.). Wellman's research impacted much of the nature vs. nurture debate among psychologist (Institute of Child Behavior, n.d.).

In 1940, Wellman had a mastectomy due to breast cancer. March 22, 1952 Wellman died in Clarion Iowa of her cancer (Institute of Child Behavior, n.d.).

Boyd McCandless, director of the Station said of Wellman at the time of her death,

"Her contributions to the literature on the development of intelligence, cultural and educational impacts upon intelligence, motor development, and the social psychology of childhood are known to all in psychology, have had profound impacts on practices in social work and education, as well as in psychology, and have stimulated much further research" (Institute of Child Behavior, n.d.).

References

• Institute of Child Behavior. (n.d.). Dr. Beth Wellman . Retrieved December 2002, from University of Iowa Health Care: http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/medmuseum/galleryexhibits/womeninhealth/institute/childbehavior.html

• Oklahoma State University (n.d.) Beth Lucy Wellman . Retrieved December 2002, from Women in Psychology: http://psychology.okstate.edu/museum/women/st-we.html