Wertheimer, Max
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[[Category:Psychologists]] | [[Category:Psychologists]] | ||
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| − | '''Max Wertheimer''' (April 15, 1880 | + | '''Max Wertheimer''' (April 15, 1880 – October 12, 1943) was one of the founders of [[Gestalt psychology]], along with [[Kurt Koffka]] and [[Wolfgang Köhler]]. Wertheimer, who was [[Jew]]ish, studied law for more than two years, but decided then to change to philosophy. He got his doctoral degree ([[summa cum laude]]) from the [[University of Würzburg]] in 1904. |
==Life== | ==Life== | ||
'''Max Wertheimer''' was born on April 15, 1880, in [[Prague]]. | '''Max Wertheimer''' was born on April 15, 1880, in [[Prague]]. | ||
| + | Wertheimer was born in [[Prague]], [[Czechoslovakia]], where his father was the founder of a highly successful and innovative business school called Handelsschule Wertheimer. His mother was well-educated in culture, literature and the arts, and was also an accomplished violinist. | ||
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| + | At age 18, having passed his comprehensive exams at the Prague Gymnasium, Wertheimer entered the [[University of Prague]], with the intent of going into law. However, he was drawn to other subjects as well, including history, music, art, physiology and ethnology. In 1901, he formally switched his curricular plan from law to philosophy (of which psychology was a branch). Continuing his studies at the [[University of Berlin]], then at the [[University of Wurzburg]], he was granted a Ph.D ''(summa cum laude)'' from Wurzburg in 1904, for a dissertation that pertained to certain psychological aspects of law. | ||
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| + | While at the University of Prague, Wertheimer became interested in the lectures of [[Christian von Ehrenfels]], an Austrian philosopher who, in 1890, published what is often said to be the first paper on holistic form qualities or (as Ehrenfels called them) '''Gestalt qualities'''. By more than twenty years, this paper anticipated some of the findings of Wertheimer, Koffka and Kohler, in what is now commonly known as [[Gestalt psychology]] (or [[Gestalt theory]], to imply that it also pertains to disciplines outside of psychology). | ||
In 1910 he worked at the Psychological Institute of [[Frankfurt]] University. There he became interested in [[perception]]. Together with two younger assistants, [[Wolfgang Köhler]] and [[Kurt Koffka]], he studied the effect of moving pictures a [[tachistoscope]] generates. In 1912 he published his seminal paper on "Experimental Studies of the Perception of Movement," and was offered a lectureship. | In 1910 he worked at the Psychological Institute of [[Frankfurt]] University. There he became interested in [[perception]]. Together with two younger assistants, [[Wolfgang Köhler]] and [[Kurt Koffka]], he studied the effect of moving pictures a [[tachistoscope]] generates. In 1912 he published his seminal paper on "Experimental Studies of the Perception of Movement," and was offered a lectureship. | ||
| − | From 1916 to 1925 he was in Berlin (as assistant professor from 1922 onwards). In 1925 he | + | From 1916 to 1925 he was in Berlin (as assistant professor from 1922 onwards). In 1925 he returned to Frankfurt as professor. |
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| + | In 1923, while teaching in [[Berlin]], Wertheimer married Anna (called Anni) Caro, a physician’s daughter, with whom he had four children: Rudolf (who died in infancy), Valentin, Michael and Lise. They divorced in 1942. | ||
In 1933 he escaped Germany to the United States, where he taught at the [[New School for Social Research]] in [[New York City]]. There he wrote his book ''Productive Thinking.'' In productive thinking Wertheimer voiced his support for top down or [[holistic]] learning. | In 1933 he escaped Germany to the United States, where he taught at the [[New School for Social Research]] in [[New York City]]. There he wrote his book ''Productive Thinking.'' In productive thinking Wertheimer voiced his support for top down or [[holistic]] learning. | ||
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| + | From 1929 to 1933, Wertheimer was a professor at the University of Frankfurt. When [[Adolf Hitler]] became Chancellor of the [[Third Reich]] in 1933, it became apparent to Wertheimer (and to countless other “non-Aryan” intellectuals) that he must leave Germany. In the end, he accepted an offer to teach at the [[New School for Social Research]] in [[New York]]. The Wertheimers’ emigration was arranged through the U.S. consulate in Prague, and he and his wife and their children arrived in New York harbor on September 13, 1933. | ||
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| + | For the remaining decade of his life, Wertheimer continued to teach at the New School, while remaining in touch with his European colleagues, many of whom had also emigrated to the U.S. Koffka was teaching at [[Smith College]], Kohler at [[Swarthmore College]], and Lewin at [[Cornell University]] and the [[University of Iowa]]. Although in declining health, he continued to work on his research of [[problem-solving]], or what he preferred to call “productive thinking.” He completed his book (his only book) on the subject (with that phrase as its title) in late September 1943, and died just three weeks later of a heart attack. Wertheimer was buried in Beechwood Cemetery in [[New Rochelle, New York]]. | ||
==Work== | ==Work== | ||
Wertheimer is seen as one of the founding fathers of modern psychology. | Wertheimer is seen as one of the founding fathers of modern psychology. | ||
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| + | ===Gestalt Theory=== | ||
| + | No one is certain how Gestalt psychology came about. The same story is always told, but it may be apocryphal. It is said that Wertheimer was traveling by train on vacation in 1910 when he saw the blinking lights at a railroad crossing, like the lights that appear on a theatre sign. Sensing the significance of this ubiquitous phenomenon, he got off the train at [[Frankfort]] am Main and bought a motion picture toy (called a [[zoetrope]]) with which to experiment. He ended up staying in Frankfort until 1915, teaching philosophy and psychology at the Psychological Institute from 1912-14, while continuing his research of '''apparent movement''' (or the [[phi phenomenon]]). | ||
| + | |||
| + | In his research, rather than using a zoetrope, Wertheimer relied on a scientific instrument called a [[tachistoscope]], by which he was able to flash shapes onto a screen, successively, for exact lengths of time. The people who served as his experimental subjects in this were two younger colleagues at Frankfort, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler. In 1912, Wertheimer published a seminal paper on ''Experimentelle studien über das Sehen von Bewegung'' (Experimental Studies in the Perception of Movement), which his students referred to informally as his ''Punkerbeit'' or “dot paper” because its illustrations were abstract patterns made of dots. The three psychologists began to collaborate, to publish papers, and, in time, they became world-famous as the originators of Gestalt theory. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The collaborative work of the three Gestalt psychologists was interrupted by [[World War I]]. Both Wertheimer and Koffka were assigned to war-related research, while Kohler was appointed the director of an anthropoid research station on [[Teneriffe]], in the [[Canary Islands]]. The three men reunited after the war ended and continued further research on the experiments. | ||
| + | |||
| + | After the war, Koffka returned to Frankfort, while Kohler became the director of the Psychological Institute at the University of Berlin, where Wertheimer was already on the faculty. Using the abandoned rooms of the Imperial Palace, they established a now-famous graduate school, in tandem with a journal called ''Psychologische Forschung'' (Psychological Research: Journal of Psychology and its Neighboring Fields), in which their students’ and their own research was initially published. | ||
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
| + | The success of Wertheimer and his colleagues' efforts is evidenced by the familiarity of the names of their students in the literature of psychology, among them [[Kurt Lewin]], [[Rudolf Arnheim]], [[Wolfgang Metzger]], [[Bluma Zeigarnik]], Karl Duncker, Herta Kopfermann, and Kurt Gottschaldt. | ||
==Major Works== | ==Major Works== | ||
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*Wertheimer, Michael and D. King. 2004. ''Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Theory''. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0765802589 | *Wertheimer, Michael and D. King. 2004. ''Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Theory''. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0765802589 | ||
| − | ==External | + | ==External Links== |
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| + | * [http://gestalttheory.net/ International Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications - GTA] | ||
| + | * [http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/8646/ Max Wertheimer Page] | ||
| + | * [http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/gestalt.html Short biographical articles on Wertheimer, et al.] | ||
| + | * [http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/isast/articles/behrens.html Art, Design and Gestalt Theory] | ||
| + | * [http://www.bobolinkbooks.com/Gestalt/GestaltAndCamouflage.html On Max Wertheimer and Pablo Picasso] | ||
| + | * [http://www.gestalttheory.net/archive/LuchinsStudent.html On Being Wertheimer's Student] | ||
| − | {{Credits|Max_Wertheimer| | + | {{Credits|Max_Wertheimer|170232710|}} |
Revision as of 21:43, 14 November 2007
Max Wertheimer (April 15, 1880 – October 12, 1943) was one of the founders of Gestalt psychology, along with Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler. Wertheimer, who was Jewish, studied law for more than two years, but decided then to change to philosophy. He got his doctoral degree (summa cum laude) from the University of Würzburg in 1904.
Life
Max Wertheimer was born on April 15, 1880, in Prague. Wertheimer was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, where his father was the founder of a highly successful and innovative business school called Handelsschule Wertheimer. His mother was well-educated in culture, literature and the arts, and was also an accomplished violinist.
At age 18, having passed his comprehensive exams at the Prague Gymnasium, Wertheimer entered the University of Prague, with the intent of going into law. However, he was drawn to other subjects as well, including history, music, art, physiology and ethnology. In 1901, he formally switched his curricular plan from law to philosophy (of which psychology was a branch). Continuing his studies at the University of Berlin, then at the University of Wurzburg, he was granted a Ph.D (summa cum laude) from Wurzburg in 1904, for a dissertation that pertained to certain psychological aspects of law.
While at the University of Prague, Wertheimer became interested in the lectures of Christian von Ehrenfels, an Austrian philosopher who, in 1890, published what is often said to be the first paper on holistic form qualities or (as Ehrenfels called them) Gestalt qualities. By more than twenty years, this paper anticipated some of the findings of Wertheimer, Koffka and Kohler, in what is now commonly known as Gestalt psychology (or Gestalt theory, to imply that it also pertains to disciplines outside of psychology).
In 1910 he worked at the Psychological Institute of Frankfurt University. There he became interested in perception. Together with two younger assistants, Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka, he studied the effect of moving pictures a tachistoscope generates. In 1912 he published his seminal paper on "Experimental Studies of the Perception of Movement," and was offered a lectureship.
From 1916 to 1925 he was in Berlin (as assistant professor from 1922 onwards). In 1925 he returned to Frankfurt as professor.
In 1923, while teaching in Berlin, Wertheimer married Anna (called Anni) Caro, a physician’s daughter, with whom he had four children: Rudolf (who died in infancy), Valentin, Michael and Lise. They divorced in 1942.
In 1933 he escaped Germany to the United States, where he taught at the New School for Social Research in New York City. There he wrote his book Productive Thinking. In productive thinking Wertheimer voiced his support for top down or holistic learning.
From 1929 to 1933, Wertheimer was a professor at the University of Frankfurt. When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of the Third Reich in 1933, it became apparent to Wertheimer (and to countless other “non-Aryan” intellectuals) that he must leave Germany. In the end, he accepted an offer to teach at the New School for Social Research in New York. The Wertheimers’ emigration was arranged through the U.S. consulate in Prague, and he and his wife and their children arrived in New York harbor on September 13, 1933.
For the remaining decade of his life, Wertheimer continued to teach at the New School, while remaining in touch with his European colleagues, many of whom had also emigrated to the U.S. Koffka was teaching at Smith College, Kohler at Swarthmore College, and Lewin at Cornell University and the University of Iowa. Although in declining health, he continued to work on his research of problem-solving, or what he preferred to call “productive thinking.” He completed his book (his only book) on the subject (with that phrase as its title) in late September 1943, and died just three weeks later of a heart attack. Wertheimer was buried in Beechwood Cemetery in New Rochelle, New York.
Work
Wertheimer is seen as one of the founding fathers of modern psychology.
Gestalt Theory
No one is certain how Gestalt psychology came about. The same story is always told, but it may be apocryphal. It is said that Wertheimer was traveling by train on vacation in 1910 when he saw the blinking lights at a railroad crossing, like the lights that appear on a theatre sign. Sensing the significance of this ubiquitous phenomenon, he got off the train at Frankfort am Main and bought a motion picture toy (called a zoetrope) with which to experiment. He ended up staying in Frankfort until 1915, teaching philosophy and psychology at the Psychological Institute from 1912-14, while continuing his research of apparent movement (or the phi phenomenon).
In his research, rather than using a zoetrope, Wertheimer relied on a scientific instrument called a tachistoscope, by which he was able to flash shapes onto a screen, successively, for exact lengths of time. The people who served as his experimental subjects in this were two younger colleagues at Frankfort, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler. In 1912, Wertheimer published a seminal paper on Experimentelle studien über das Sehen von Bewegung (Experimental Studies in the Perception of Movement), which his students referred to informally as his Punkerbeit or “dot paper” because its illustrations were abstract patterns made of dots. The three psychologists began to collaborate, to publish papers, and, in time, they became world-famous as the originators of Gestalt theory.
The collaborative work of the three Gestalt psychologists was interrupted by World War I. Both Wertheimer and Koffka were assigned to war-related research, while Kohler was appointed the director of an anthropoid research station on Teneriffe, in the Canary Islands. The three men reunited after the war ended and continued further research on the experiments.
After the war, Koffka returned to Frankfort, while Kohler became the director of the Psychological Institute at the University of Berlin, where Wertheimer was already on the faculty. Using the abandoned rooms of the Imperial Palace, they established a now-famous graduate school, in tandem with a journal called Psychologische Forschung (Psychological Research: Journal of Psychology and its Neighboring Fields), in which their students’ and their own research was initially published.
Legacy
The success of Wertheimer and his colleagues' efforts is evidenced by the familiarity of the names of their students in the literature of psychology, among them Kurt Lewin, Rudolf Arnheim, Wolfgang Metzger, Bluma Zeigarnik, Karl Duncker, Herta Kopfermann, and Kurt Gottschaldt.
Major Works
- Wertheimer, Max. 1924. Gestalt Theory Retrieved May 7, 2007.
- Wertheimer, Max. 1923. "Untersuchungen zur Lehre von der Gestalt II," Psycologische Forschung, 4, 301-350. Translated and published as "Laws of Organization in Perceptual Forms" in Ellis, W. (Ed.) 1938. A Source Book of Gestalt Psychology(pp. 71-88). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Wertheimer, Michael. 1999. A Brief History of Psychology. Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0155079972
- Kimble, Gregory A., Michael Wertheimer, and Charlotte L. White (Editors). 1991. Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology. American Psychological Association and Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0805811362
- Wertheimer, Michael and D. King. 2004. Max Wertheimer and Gestalt Theory. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0765802589
External Links
- International Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications - GTA
- Max Wertheimer Page
- Short biographical articles on Wertheimer, et al.
- Art, Design and Gestalt Theory
- On Max Wertheimer and Pablo Picasso
- On Being Wertheimer's Student
Credits
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