Wundt

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With whom did Wundt study with and learn from? Was it Helmholtz?

-- Kirk Chapline (kced02@aol.com), October 07, 2002

Answers

Wilhelm Wundt (1832 - 1920) studied physiology under Johannes Muller (proponent of vitalism) and Emile du Bois-Reymond (discovered the electrochemical value of neurons) in Berlin and worked as Helmholtz's assistant at the Institute of Physiology in Heidelberg. Although he was influenced by Helmholtz's mechanistic principles in physiology, he was somewhat reclusive in his research endeavors and conducted independent studies on vision and perception of space, even though these interests were shared by helmholtz and his prior ground breaking experiments. In 1875 Wundt went on to create the first university program (i.e., in Leipzig) in experimental psychology and by 1879 influenced students such as Max Friedrich, Ernst Tischer, G. Stanley Hall - and even Emil Kraepelin, whom he talked out of becoming an experimental psychologist to pursue more favourable monetary prospects in the field psychiatry.

For a biographical account of Wundt and all those who influenced his experimental psychology you should read the following: Fancher, R. E. (1996) Pioneers of Psychology (3rd Ed.). New York: Norton.

-- Pete Economou (peteecon@yorku.ca), October 07, 2002.


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