Köhler, Wolfgang (1887–1967)

Abstract

Wolfgang Kohler, a German–US psychologist, was one of the founders of the Gestalt school of psychology in the beginning of the twentieth century. The scope of his scientific contributions was extremely broad, ranging from sensory psychophysics to theoretical physics, and the logic of discovery, and from perceptual psychology to animal cognition, and human values. Kohler's experiments with chimpanzees made him internationally famous; together with Max Wertheimer (1880–1943) and Kurt Koffka (1886–1941) he became an influential scholar first in Germany and then, after his emigration (1935), also in the USA. Early in his career, Kohler demonstrated the ape's so-called ‘transposition’ of perceived stimulus relationships; however, his speculative neurophysiology of perception was refuted on both experimental and theoretical grounds. Today his work in general is seen as a major breakthrough in animal problem solving as well as in human perception and cognition. After World War II, Kohler received numerous honors; and he was president of the American Psychological Association for the 1958–59 term.