Max Wertheimer | |
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| Born | April 15, 1880 |
| Died | October 12, 1943 (aged 63) |
| Nationality | Austria-Hungary |
| Alma mater | University of Prague |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychology |
| Doctoral advisor | Oswald Külpe |
| Doctoral students | Rudolf Arnheim, Erika Fromm, Kurt Lewin |
Max Wertheimer (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.[1] Wertheimer then went on to obtain his PhD in 1904 under Oswald Külpe, at the University of Würzburg[1] and then began his intellectual career teaching at the Institute for Social Research at Frankfurt University. For a short time, 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.