Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, author and speaker, who appeared frequently in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s.
Ruth Fulton Benedict was an American anthropologist and folklorist.
Rhoda Bubendy Métraux was a prominent anthropologist in the area of cross-cultural studies. She collaborated with Alfred Métraux on mutual studies of Haitian voodoo. She also studied the Iatmul people of the middle Sepik River in Papua New Guinea and made three fieldwork trips to Tambunum village of 6-7 months each in 1967-1968, 1971, and 1972-1973 that focused on music. During one of her studies, Métraux administered the Lowenfeld Mosaic Test in Tambunum, developed by a Margaret Lowenfeld. Additionally, Métraux did fieldwork in Mexico, Argentina, and Montserrat in the West Indies and enrolled at Yale University to study for her doctorate under the tutelage of Bronisław Malinowski. During World War II, Métraux headed the section on German morale for the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
Tales of the Cochiti Indians is a 1931 work by Ruth Benedict. It collects the folk tales of the Cochiti Puebloan peoples in New Mexico. The book is considered an important work in the discipline of feminist anthropology. Following development of the "culture and personality" school of anthropology by her colleague Edward Sapir and influenced by Margaret Mead, Benedict sought psychological patterns in the stories she collected.
Linda Waimarie Nikora is a New Zealand psychology academic. She is Māori, of Te Aitanga a Hauiti and Ngāi Tūhoe descent. She is currently professor of Indigenous Studies and co-director of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga at the University of Auckland, having moved in 2017 from the University of Waikato where she had been a professor of psychology and the founding Director of the Maori & Psychology Research Unit in the School of Psychology.
Susan Gay Stevens Jordan is a New Zealand dancer, choreographer and dance instructor.
Makarena Diana Dudley, also known as Margaret Dudley, is a New Zealand clinical psychologist, neuropsychologist and academic, specialising in neuropsychology, dementia and Māori health psychology research. She is currently one of the co-directors of the clinical psychology programme at the University of Auckland. In 2016, Dudley became the first permanent Māori clinical psychology lecturer employed at the University of Auckland. Dudley's iwi include Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Kahu. In 2025 Dudley was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to people with dementia, particularly Māori.
Lois Jennifer Cox is a New Zealand writer. She writes under her own name and is also one half of a writing partnership with Hilary Lapsley which publishes under the pen-name Jennifer Palgrave.
Lynette Joy Tippett is a New Zealand professor of psychology at the University of Auckland, specialising in neurodegenerative diseases.
Sandra Maria Kailahi is a New Zealand journalist, author, playwright and film producer.
Fiona May Cram is a New Zealand social psychologist and researcher, of Ngāti Pāhauwera descent. In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, Cram was appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand, for services to Māori health and education.
Patricia Elizabeth Florence Bradbury is a New Zealand academic, who retired as a full professor at Massey University, specialising in sport management, in December 2023. In 2024, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to sport and education.
Frances Anne Hughes is a New Zealand nursing academic and leader, and has held senior roles across several nursing organisations. In 2005 Hughes was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the mental health profession. In 2020 she was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to nursing and mental health.
Ruth Bonita, also known as Ruth Bonita Beaglehole, is an Australian–New Zealand academic, and is an emeritus professor at the University of Auckland, specialising in stroke. In 2006 she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to medicine. She is also an Honorary Doctor of Medicine at Umea University.
Miriam Edna Saphiranée Gibson is a New Zealand lesbian activist, poet, artist and psychologist. Saphira founded New Zealand's only museum of lesbian culture, the Charlotte Museum. Saphira was awarded a New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal, and in 2022 was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Margaret Rosemary Nelson Agee is a New Zealand mental health counsellor and academic. In 2014 Agee was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to mental health education.
Judith Catherine Trotter is a New Zealand diplomat. In 1996, Trotter was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to diplomacy. She has also been awarded a New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal, and France's National Order of Merit.
Robin Helen Briant is a New Zealand doctor and clinical pharmacologist. In 1994 she was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to the medical profession. She was awarded a New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal and a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.
Suzanne Joy Yerex Blackwell is a New Zealand clinical psychologist, and holds an honorary position at the University of Auckland. In 2024 Blackwell was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to clinical and forensic psychology and the law.
Sylvia Mary Ellen Fausett was a New Zealand community worker. She was awarded a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal, and in 1999 was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the community.
