Berlin School of experimental psychology

The Berlin School of Experimental Psychology is founded by Carl Stumpf, a pupil of Franz Brentano and Hermann Lotze and a professor at the University of Berlin. It adhered to the method of experimental phenomenology, which understood it as the science of phenomena.^[1] It is also noted as the originator of Gestalt psychology.^[2] Noted members include Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler.^[3]

History

Stumpf founded the Berlin Laboratory of Experimental Psychology in 1893. The institute, which is also known as the school of Gestalt psychology, was part of the University of Berlin.^[4] It was a refinement of Brentano's neo-Aristotelian theory or the study of phenomena's qualitative properties.^[1] After the German revolution, the Berlin laboratory relocated to a wing of the former Imperial Palace.^[5] This marked the expansion of the Berlin school after it was forced to reduce its operations during the war.^[5] The new facility, which was also supported by the Society for Experimental Psychology, focused on applied work and incorporated its own laboratory so that it became an expanded university institute.^[5] Stumpf was the chair of the institute for 26 years. He was succeeded by Wolfgang Köhler.^[4]

Stumpf influenced his pupils^[6] such as Wertheimer, Koffka, Köhler, and Kurt Lewin, and these contributed to the school's development.^[7] Lewin, for instance, developed a set of models and ideas linked to change management theory and practice.^[8] These psychologists further refined Stumpf's work, which facilitated experimental investigation that culminated in the development of Gestalt psychology.^[1] These psychologists stressed the primacy of objects as units of experience, instead of sensations.^[9]

Only after Köhler took over the direction of the psychology institute in 1922 did the Berlin School effectively become a school for Gestalt psychology.

See also

• The Graz School founded by Alexius Meinong
• The School of Brentano

References

1. Hipólito, Inês; Gonçalves, Jorge; Pereira, João G. (2018). Schizophrenia and Common Sense: Explaining the Relation Between Madness and Social Values. Cham: Springer. p. 61. ISBN 978-3-319-73992-2.
2. Piaget, Jean; Fraisse, Paul; Reuchlin, Maurice (2014). Experimental Psychology Its Scope and Method: Volume I (Psychology Revivals): History and Method. New York: Psychology Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-317-63058-6.
3. Nannicelli, Ted; Pérez, Héctor J. (2021). Cognition, Emotion, and Aesthetics in Contemporary Serial Television. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-47881-5.
4. Henley, Tracy (2018). Hergenhahn's An Introduction to the History of Psychology. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-337-56415-1.
5. Ash, Mitchell G. (1998). Gestalt Psychology in German Culture, 1890-1967: Holism and the Quest for Objectivity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 205. ISBN 0-521-47540-6.
6. Bachmann, Talis (2000). Microgenetic Approach to the Conscious Mind. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 978-90-272-5145-9.
7. Blunden, Andy (2012). Concepts: A Critical Approach. Leiden: BRILL. p. 203. ISBN 978-90-04-22848-1.
8. Stokes, Peter (2011). Critical Concepts in Management and Organization Studies: Key Terms and Concepts. Macmillan International Higher Education. ISBN 978-0-230-34431-0.
9. Stevens' Handbook of Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Sensation, Perception, and Attention. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. 2018. ISBN 978-1-119-17407-3.

• Fredrik Sundqvist, "The Gestalt Phenomena and Archetypical Rationalism: The Crossroads Between Empiricism and Rationalism: Part I", Gestalt Theory 29(1), 2007.