Professional Biography

Dr. Munsterberg spent a few years at a private grammer school. At the age of nine he entered the Gymnasium of Danzig. With his mother's death at the age of twelve, Munsterberg began his transformation into a thoughtful, serious youth. He engaged in intellectual persuits outside of the curriculum including compiling a dictionary of foreign words used in Germany. He also studied Arabic and Sanskrit while at the same time trying his hand at archaeolgy. Munsterberg spent his free time participating in outdoor sports and dancing with his lady friends.

 

In 1882, Munsterberg passed his final examination at the Gymnasium and enrolled at the University of Geneva for one semester where he studied the French language and literature. The following semester, he began his studies at the University of Leipzig. There he studied social psychology, but later switched to the study of medicine. After attending a lecture by Wundt in 1883, Munsterberg was taken with the study of psychology and entered the psychological labrortory at Leipzig. However, he still continued his study of medicine passing his preliminary examination in 1884. In July, 1885, Munsterberg wrote his dissertation on the doctrine of natural adaptation and earned his PhD degree in psychology. He then continued his medical studies at Heidelberg and recieved his medical degree in the summer of 1887. With this degree he was allowed to lecture as "privatdocent" at Freiburg.

 

During this period he lectured mainly in philosophy. Since there were not any psychological laboratories at the University he equipped rooms in his own house with apparatus which attracted students from Germany and foreign countries. In 1891, Munsterberg was promoted to an assistant professorship and attended the First International Congress of Psychology at Paris where he met William James. Over the next few years the two corresponded frequently, and James was so impressed that he asked Munsterberg to come to Harvard for three years to take charge of the psychological laboratory. Munsterberg accepted and due to his success as a teacher and administrator, he was offered a permanant professorship at Harvard. However, Munsterbeg decided to settle in America and returned to Freiburg for a few years. After many persuasive letters from James and President Eliot, Munsterberg retured to Harvard. He remained at Harvard until his death in 1916. In 1898 he was elected president of the APA and began giving public lectures in various cities across the country.

 

The philosophy department at Harvard was in need of a new building. In 1903, Munsterberg saw his dream of a laboratory for experimental psychology come true. During this year, he was a large part of the success of the Congress of Arts and Sciences at the Saint Louis Exposition. Munsterberg also gave many lectures across the country on psychological and cultural topics. In his spare time, he tested psychological methods in practical situations such as crime detection. Along with these works, Munsterberg built a foundation for the use of psychology in the areas of industry, medicine, arts and education. In 1910, he was made the exchange professor from Harvard to the University of Berlin and believed that harmony among nations could be found by fostering the cultural ties between nations.

 

After returning to Harvard and performing many tests in applied psychology, Munsterberg remained in America. Although needing a vacation, his inner drives kept him motivated as he worked on a book focusing on applied psychology. The last years of his life were full of stresses and sorrows. With World War I on the brink, Munsterberg was torn between his loyalty to America and his homeland. He wrote books and numerous magazine articles in defense of the actions taken by Germany. He was criticized and attacked due to his writings, which in turn resulted in the loss of several friendships. Although trying to remain strong, these criticisms wore him down. On December 16, 1916, Munsterberg died on the lecture platform while beginning a lecture at Radcliffe. He was not even able to finish his opening sentence.

 

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