Max Wertheimer

Life and work

The story behind the role.

Austro-Hungarian psychologist (1880–1943).

Max Wertheimer (Austrian German: [maks ˈvɛrthaɪmɐ]; April 15, 1880 – October 12, 1943) was a psychologist who was one of the three founders of Gestalt psychology, along with Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler. He is known for his book Productive Thinking and for conceiving the phi phenomenon as part of his work in Gestalt psychology. Wertheimer became interested in psychology and studied under Carl Stumpf at the University of Berlin. Wertheimer then went on to obtain his PhD in 1904 under Oswald Külpe, at the University of Würzburg and then began his intellectual career teaching at the Institute for Social Research at Frankfurt University. For 13 years, he left Frankfurt to work at the Berlin Psychological Institute, but returned in 1929 as a full professor. Wertheimer eventually joined the faculty of The New School in New York, a position he held until his death. One of Wertheimer's postdoc researchers was the American psychologist Abraham Maslow who greatly admired Wertheimer.

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