The Berlin School of Experimental Psychology was founded by Carl Stumpf, a pupil of Franz Brentano and Hermann Lotze and a professor at the University of Berlin, in 1893. It adhered to the method of experimental phenomenology, which understood it as the science of phenomena. It is also noted as the originator of Gestalt psychology. Noted members include Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler.
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. It was a refinement of Brentano's neo-Aristotelian theory or the study of phenomena's qualitative properties. This marked the expansion of the Berlin school after it was forced to reduce its operations during the war. such as Wertheimer, Koffka, Köhler, and Kurt Lewin, and these contributed to the school's development. Lewin, for instance, developed a set of models and ideas linked to change management theory and practice. These psychologists further refined Stumpf's work, which facilitated experimental investigation that culminated in the development of Gestalt psychology.
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
- Fredrik Sundqvist, "The Gestalt Phenomena and Archetypical Rationalism: The Crossroads Between Empiricism and Rationalism: Part I", Gestalt Theory 29(1), 2007.