Hermann Ebbinghaus

Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909) was a German philosopher and psychologist who pioneered numerous experimental studies of memory, discovered the forgetting curve, and introduced fundamental scientific techniques to the field of psychology. Establishing multiple laboratories throughout Central Europe for purposes of psychological research and study, Ebbinghaus is often credited with the advancement and promotion of the psychological field in its earliest years.

Life

Hermann Ebbinghaus was born on January 24, 1850 to a family of Lutheran merchants in Barmen, West Germany. At the age of 17, Ebbinghaus entered the University of Bonn where he studied aspects of philosophy, history and psychology. In 1870 his studies were interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War in which he enlisted as a member of the Prussian army. Following the war Ebbinghaus would continue his formal education at the universities of Halle and Berlin, eventually earning a Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Bonn in 1873. After receiving his degree, Ebbinghaus studied independently throughout parts of Berlin, France and England, conducting his first set of memory experiments in 1878.

Ebbinghaus would return to Germany to serve as a lecturer at the University of Berlin, conducting his second set of memory experiments in 1883. Known for his candid humor and personal charm, Ebbinghaus became a popular professor, highly regarded by University faculty and dearly loved by students. In 1886, he established and opened an experimental psychology laboratory at the University of Berlin for purposes of psychological research and study. In the years following, Ebbinghaus co-founded the Zeitschrift fur Psychology und Physiologie der Sinnersorgane or the Journal of Psychology and Physiology of the Sense Organs, a literary establishment often credited with the international advancement of psychological study. From 1894 to 1905 Ebbinghaus served as a professor at the University of Breslau, (now Wrocław, Poland) where he founded a second psychology laboratory in 1894. From 1905 until 1908 he served as a professor for the University of Halle. In 1909 Ebbinghaus would succumb to pneumonia, dying in Breslau at the age of 59.

Work

In 1885 while at the University of Berlin, Ebbinghaus published his groundbreaking Über das Gedchtnis, or On Memory in which he described experiments he conducted on himself to describe the process of forgetting. This publication was later translated into the English language as Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology and is regarded as one of the most influential psychology texts in print.

Within this work, Ebbinghaus set out to counter the assertion made by German physiologist Wilhelm Wundt who claimed human memory to be incapable of experimental study. Influenced by the work of German psychophysicist Gustav Fechner, Ebbinghaus incorporated mathematical analysis into studies of sensation and perception to identify the presence of a forgetting curve within the human memory. Working as both experimenter and subject, Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve identified a distinct correlation between memory retention and time, illustrating a decline in the amount of information retained by the human memory over time.

Ebbinghaus’ On Memory also studied areas of immediate memory and analyzed comparative learning rates regarding significant and insignificant sets of information. Ebbinghaus found more significant material to be retained longer by the human memory and less insignificant data to be more easily disregarded. Coining the term nonsense syllable, Ebbinghaus’ findings proved to reinvent the psychological study of association and leaning.

In 1897, while at the University of Breslau, Ebbinghaus began studying the mental capabilities of children, eventually developing a sentence completion test aimed at measuring child intelligence levels. Upon its completion in 1909, Ebbinghaus’ test marked the first prominent test of mental ability ever created. Variations of this test are still used in certain psychological evaluations today.

In addition to co-founding the Journal of Psychology and Physiology of the Sense Organs in 1890, Ebbinghaus also authored two highly influential psychology textbooks, The Principles of Psychology published in 1902 and A Summary of Psychology published in 1908. Later editions of these texts remain in contemporary circulation.

Legacy

Hermann Ebbinghaus’ lasting contributions to the field of psychology are multiple. In addition to being the first psychologist to study areas of human memory, learning and intelligence, Ebbinghaus is also considered the founder of experimental psychology. Identifying both the nonsense syllable and the forgetting curve, Ebbinghaus revolutionized the study of psychology to incorporate mathematical evaluation and experimental research. His most famous work, On Memory, launched an international awareness of the psychology field as well as the widespread use of experimental psychology in both research and study. While pioneering precise experimental techniques used in memory and learning, Ebbinghaus also established two psychology laboratories in Germany, co-founded a highly influential psychology journal and promoted the international advance of psychological study in its earliest years.

Major Publications

• Ebbinghaus, H. (1885/1962). Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. New York: Dover, 1964.
• Ebbinghaus, H. (1902). Grundzüge der Psychologie. 1. Band, 2. Theil. Leipzig: Veit & Co, 1902.
• Ebbinghaus, H. (1908/1973). Psychology: An Elementary Textbook. New York: Arno Press, 1908.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Indiana University. Department of Human Intelligence: Historical Influences, Current Controversies, Teaching Resources. Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) German Experimental Psychologist Retrieved January 28, 2007.
• McGraw-Hill Companies © 2007. Biography: Hermann Ebbinghaus. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
• Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology. Ebbinghaus, Hermann (1850-1909). Second Edition. Gale Group, 2001. Retrieved January 28, 2007.

External Links

• Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology
• Introduction to Memory, by Robert H. Wozniak
• Hermann Ebbinghaus at the Human Intelligence website
• Hermann Ebbinghaus Portraits of Statisticians.

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