Hugo Münsterberg

Hugo Münsterberg ( born June 1, 1863 in Danzig, † December 16, 1916 in Cambridge, Massachusetts ) was a German - American psychologist and philosopher. Together with William Stern, Walter Dill Scott and Jean -Maurice Lahy he was one of the founders of applied psychology and one of the earliest film theorists.

Life

Hugo Münsterberg was born as one of four sons in Gdansk. His father Moritz was a businessman; he imported wood from Russia and exported to England. His mother Anna was an artist and brought Hugo as a child for playing the cello and writing poems.

Hugo Münsterberg studied philosophy, psychology and medicine and graduated in 1885 with the founder of psychology as an independent science Wilhelm Wundt at Leipzig University, Dr. phil. (Topic: " The doctrine of natural adaptation in their development, application and importance "). In 1887 he was MD at the University of Heidelberg and completed his habilitation at the University of Freiburg. In this work, the act of the will, Münsterberg employed with the organic processes that implement a decision of the will into action. He lamented the " multiplicity of theories " in this area - a sign of ignorance of the naturalist. About the will of one does not know something very basics, namely how he " of finite mass infinite energy " creates. Münsterberg believed in the spirit of the zeitgeist, the "mechanics of atoms " will one day explain a lot. At the core of his habilitation was a sober assessment of the current state of knowledge about the " finer relationship between motoric nerve and muscle on the one hand, the central organ [ brain ] the other. "

Münsterberg employed in the work also with Darwinism and looked at it the wildlife. Irrelevant for his research were the

From 1888 to 1892 he taught in Freiburg as a lecturer and established a psychological laboratory on. Münsterberg's versatile empirical interests and his teaching attracted a growing number of students, including many from the U.S..

Freiburg

Münsterberg was only a few years in Freiburg and there unfolded a very creative and effective action. Even before him, Wilhelm and Alois Riehl diaper band had lectured on psychology and psychophysics. But only Münsterberg's habilitation made ​​the transition to empirical psychology. Now offered the Institute "Experimental Psychological work " for beginners and advanced students, lectures on " General Psychology ", " Psychology with inclusion of social psychology " and " hypnotism ". In his apartment, Münsterberg ran a "Psycho Physical Laboratory ", from 1889 with grant of 200 marks a year by the Ministry. Looking at this budget similar attention as a criterion of institutionalization, then Münsterberg's Laboratory in Germany was the fourth laboratory was founded in gradually emerging field of psychology. In addition to his laboratory experiments on perception and motor skills Münsterberg Freiburg students began to investigate and measure differences elemental ability differences. Ahead of his time was his appeal in 1891 authored tasks and methods of psychology:

As an advocate of measurable technical equipment psychological effects Münsterberg was an opponent of psychoanalysis of his a few years older counterparts Sigmund Freud. For him, the subconscious part nor in the psychological science as the engine. The engine life he subsumed under " instinct ":

In this standard work published 1900 Münsterberg also introduced the coming of the physics of energy conservation for psychology, but thought it doubtful whether this also to inorganic processes (such as in the brain) is applicable. Perhaps, Münsterberg, APPLYING the forces equations of physics for physical- physical interactions, but not for physical-mental or psycho- emotional.

Harvard

Through the mediation of William James Münsterberg, since 1892 Associate Professor ( adjunct professor ) in philosophy in Freiburg, was invited to a visiting professorship at Harvard University in Boston from 1892 to 1894. After an interlude of 1895-1897 in Freiburg, where you did not want to abide by the offer of an Ordinariate him or could, Münsterberg finally followed the call to Harvard to the desire James ' corresponding to construct the experimental psychology.

Münsterberg established a large and fully equipped laboratory for experimental psychology modeled after Wundt. During this time, a discovery that is associated with his name falls: The so-called Münsterberg illusion is a special optical illusion that occurs when viewing a given grid pattern. With the establishment of the laboratory he had fulfilled the wish of William James, who turned to other psychological and philosophical areas. After this start-up phase, however, also walked Münsterberg's interests. Instead of using the experimental basic research, it dealt increasingly with the applications of psychology that hardly played a role in Wundt's Leipzig Institute. He took over for the coined by William Stern term psycho-technique. While star but primarily thought of educational and therapeutic effects, Münsterberg means a generic term for the entire Applied Psychology:

He published his book Psychology and economic life (1912 ) work psychology and organizational psychology. This publication deals with professional learning, staff selection and career guidance. He developed his first career aptitude tests around for tram drivers and telephone operators and reached into his work psychological research also Ranschburg phenomenon in order to examine the effects of monotony at the workplace. Also other applied fields such as advertising psychology and educational psychology interested him. In psychotherapy, he dealt with the suggestion and hypnosis. In the field of forensic psychology, he developed criteria for the credibility of witnesses and encouraged the development of the so-called lie detector, among other things, based on the measured physiological effects on pulse, respiration, blood pressure, should help to distinguish true from false statements. His studies on the psychology of the film (The Photoplay (1916 ) ) contain the first theory of this new medium.

The devices from the Freiburg laboratory equipment got to the part to James Sully at University College London, some of them were used in Freiburg on, but not survived the First World War. Since 1897 Münsterberg professor of psychology was in Boston and since 1905 director of the Psychological Laboratory. As early as 1898 he was elected president of the American Psychological Association. He held again in Germany 1910-1911 on, as an exchange professor at the University of Berlin. Münsterberg sought to strengthen German -American relations and was a co-founder and first director of the American Institute in Berlin (1910 /11). As a patriot, he suffered greatly from the progressive deterioration in relations between the United States and Germany during the First World War. In 1916, he died in the middle of a lecture. Hugo Münsterberg's colleague, the founder of parapsychology Max Dessoir, the turmoil of the last days described as:

Münsterberg was married since 1887 with the Strasbourg painter Selma Oppler ( born June 1, 1867); from the marriage were born two daughters, Margaret and Ella. In the U.S., the family lived in last 7 Ware Street, Cambridge.42.37235 - 71.113431

Hugo Münsterberg is now regarded as the great pioneer of applied psychology. Since 1981, the Professional Association of German Psychologists gives the Hugo Münsterberg Medal for outstanding contribution to applied psychology.

Writings

Reprints

• Early writings on psychology (Reprint edition, edited by Helmut Hildebrandt, Eckhart Scheerer ). Springer, Berlin, 1999. ISBN 0-387-52178- X
• Philosophy of the values. Outlines of a philosophy of life ( ed. by Esther of Krosigk ). Reprint. VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, Saarbrücken, 2007. ISBN 978-3-8364-1128-8