Max Wertheimer (1880-1943) was a German psychologist who is widely considered to be one of the founders of Gestalt psychology. He is best known for his work on perception, which focused on the idea that the whole of an object or scene is more important than its individual parts. His research helped to shape the field of Gestalt psychology, which sought to explain how we perceive things in a holistic manner, rather than as separate parts.
Wertheimer was born in Prague, Austria-Hungary, in 1880, and received his doctorate from the University of Würzburg in 1904. He began his career as a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Berlin in 1909 and later held positions at the University of Frankfurt and the New School for Social Research in New York City.
Wertheimer’s contributions to psychology are many, but he is best known for his research on perception. He argued that we perceive things as a whole rather than as individual parts, and that we can recognize patterns and objects without having to identify each individual part. This idea had far-reaching implications for the study of psychology, as it suggested that the way we perceive the world is shaped by our prior experiences and expectations.
Wertheimer’s research also helped to shape the field of Gestalt psychology, which sought to explain how we perceive things in a holistic manner. According to Gestalt theory, we organize our perceptions into patterns and structures that make sense to us. This theory has since been applied to a variety of fields, from education to marketing.
In addition to his contributions to psychology, Wertheimer also wrote extensively on philosophy and aesthetics. He argued that aesthetic experiences are holistic, and can only be understood when taken as a whole. His ideas have had a lasting influence on the field of aesthetics, and have been applied to the study of art, music, and literature.
Max Wertheimer’s contributions to psychology have been far-reaching and long-lasting. His research helped to shape the field of Gestalt psychology, and his ideas about perception and aesthetics continue to be relevant today.
References
Koffka, K. (1935). Principles of Gestalt psychology. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company.
Neisser, U. (1967). Cognitive psychology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Rensink, R. A., O’Regan, J. K., & Clark, J. J. (1997). To see or not to see: The need for attention to perceive changes in scenes. Psychological Science, 8(5), 368–373. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00413.x
Rock, I. (1984). The logic of perception. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Wertheimer, M. (1923). Untersuchungen zur Lehre von der Gestalt, II. Psychologische Forschung, 4, 301–350.