A French description of German psychology laboratories in 1893 by Victor Henri, a collaborator of Binet.

Abstract

There is a rich tradition of writings about the foundation of psychology laboratories, particularly in the United States but also in France. Various documents exist concerning former German laboratories in American and French literature. But the most interesting French paper was certainly written by a young psychologist named Victor Henri (1872-1940) who was a close collaborator of Alfred Binet (1857-1911) in the 1890s. Visiting various psychology laboratories, he wrote, in 1893, a clear description of the laboratories of Wundt, G. E. Müller, Martius and Ebbinghaus. An English translation is given of Henri's paper and the historical importance of his contribution is here expounded by contrasting the German and French psychologies of the time.