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Discover›Philosophy & belief
Contents
Wolfgang Köhler
Psychologist

Wolfgang Köhler

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Developing Gestalt psychology and studying insight in apes.

The Mentality of Apes · Organised perception

Born
21 January 1887
Birthplace
Tallinn
Died
11 June 1967

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Wolfgang Köhler

Wolfgang Köhler was a German psychologist who investigated perception and problem-solving. He helped establish Gestalt psychology with Max Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka.

Early life

University study

Studied at Tübingen, Bonn and Berlin, completing a doctorate with Carl Stumpf in 1909.

Career

  1. 1910–1913

    Frankfurt research

    Worked with Wertheimer and Koffka on perception.

  2. 1913

    Tenerife station

    Became director of an anthropoid research station.

  3. 1935

    Move to the United States

    Joined Swarthmore College after leaving Nazi Germany.

Selected work

The Mentality of Apes

Reported chimpanzee problem-solving experiments.

Organised perception

Argued that relations among parts matter to how a whole is perceived.

Beyond work

Public opposition

Protested Nazi policies that dismissed Jewish university professors.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Historical Library, Swartmore College /The National Academies Press. CC BY-SA 2.5 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.