2009 Gestalt Anniversaries

150 years ago (1859)

  • Christian von EHRENFELS (1859-1932) is born in Vienna.

 

120 years ago (1890)

  • Christian von EHRENFELS finalizes his paper 'Über Gestaltqualitäten' (published in 1890).
  • 19.11. Friedrich SANDER (1889-1971) is born in Greiz/Thüringen.

 

110 years ago (1899)

  • 22.7. Wolfgang METZGER (1899-1979) is born in Heidelberg.
  • 12.10. Wera MAHLER (1899-1991) is born.

 

100 years ago (1909)

  • Kai von FIEANDT (1909-2000) is born.
  • Sara FORER is born in Jerusalem.
  • Jerome D. FRANK is born.
  • Kurt KOFFKA: 'Experimental-Untersuchungen zur Lehre vom Rhythmus', Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 52, pp 1-109.

 

90 years ago (1919)

  • Leon FESTINGER is born
  • Kurt KOFFKA: 'Probleme der experimentellen Psychologie II: Über den Einfluß der Erfahrung auf die Wahrnehmung', Die Naturwissenschaften, 7, pp 597-605.

80 years ago (1929)

  • Max WERTHEIMER appointed professor at Frankfurt University
  • Adhémar GELB named codirector of the Frankfurt Psychological Institute with Wertheimer
  • Wolfgang KÖHLER: 'Gestalt Psychology'. New York: Liveright
  • Wolfgang KÖHLER: 'Ein altes Scheinproblem', Die Naturwissenschaften, 17, pp 395-401
  • Kurt LEWIN: 'Gestalttheorie und Kinderpsychologie', Werdendes Zeitalter, 12, pp 544-50.
  • Kurt LEWIN: 'Die Entwicklung der experimentellen Willenspsychologie und die Psychotherapie', Darmstadt.
  • Adhémar GELB: 'Die 'Farbenkonstanz' der Dinge', Handbuch der normalen und pathologischen Physiologie (A. Bethe ed.), Berlin: Springer, pp 594-677.
  • Karl DUNCKER: 'Über induzierte Bewegung', Psychologische Forschung, 12, pp 180-259.
  • Kurt GOTTSCHALDT: 'Über den Einfluß der Erfahrung auf die Wahrnehmung von Figuren, II', Psychologische Forschung, 12, pp 1-87.

 

70 years ago (1939)

  • Kurt GRELLING: 'A Logical Theory of Dependence', preprinted for the members of the 5th International Congress for the Unity of Science, Cambridge, Mass. [published in B. Smith, ed., Foundations of Gestalt Theory, München-Wien: Philosophia, 1988]
  • Kurt GRELLING and Paul OPPENHEIM: 'Logical Analysis of 'Gestalt' as 'functional whole'', preprinted for the members of the 5th International Congress for the Unity of Science, Cambridge, Mass. [published in B. Smith, ed., Foundations of Gestalt Theory, München-Wien: Philosophia, 1988; re-published with an overview and introduction by A.S. LUCHINS and E.H. LUCHINS in Gestalt Theory, 21 (1/99)]
  • Karl DUNCKER: 'The Influence of Past Experience upon Perceptual Properties', American Journal of Psychology, 52, pp 255-65.
  • Karl DUNCKER: 'Ethical Relativity? An Enquiry into the Psychology of Ethics', Mind, 48, pp 39-57.
  • Karl DUNCKER and J. KRECHEVSKY: 'On Solution Achievement', Psychological Review, 46, pp 176-85.

60 years ago (1949)

  • Wolfgang METZGER: 'Schöpferische Freiheit', Frankfurt: Waldemar Kramer.
  • Rudolf ARNHEIM: 'The Gestalt Theory of Expression', Psychological Review, 54, pp 66-82.

 

50 years ago (1959)

  • Edward C. TOLMAN (1886-1959) dies.
  • Wolfgang KÖHLER: 'Gestalt Psychology Today', American Psychologist, 14, pp. 727-34.
  • Abraham S. LUCHINS and Edith H. LUCHINS: 'Rigidity of Behavior', Eugene: University of Orgeon Press.

 

40 years ago (1969)

  • Wolfgang KÖHLER (posthumously published): 'The Task of Gestalt Psychology', Princeton University Press.
  • Wolfgang METZGER: Lecture 'The Phenomenal-Perceptual Field as a Central Steering Mechanism' at the 2nd Banff Conference of Theoretical Psychology (published 1972).
  • Rudolf ARNHEIM: 'Visual Thinking', University of California Press.
  • Lewis W. BRANDT and Wolfgang METZGER: ''Reality' - What does it mean?', Psychological Reports, 25, 127-35.
  • H. HELSON: 'Why did their precursers fail and the gestalt psychologists succeed?', American Psychologist, 24, 1006-11.
  • Kurt LEWIN: 'Grundzüge der topologischen Psychologie', Bern: Lang.
  • Alfred J. MARROW: 'The Practical Theorist. The Life and Work of Kurt Lewin.' New York: Basic Books.

 

30 years ago (1979)

  • GESTALT THEORY - An International Multidisciplinary Journal, Official Journal of the Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA), is founded.
  • 20.12. Wolfgang METZGER (1899-1979) dies in Bebenhausen bei Tübingen
  • Gaetano KANIZSA: 'Organization in Vision - Essays on Gestalt Perception', New York: Praeger.
  • Mary HENLE: 'Einer kuschte nicht - Wolfgang Köhlers Kampf gegen die Nazis', Psychologie Heute, März 1979, 80-86.
  • Mary HENLE: 'Phenomenology in Gestalt Psychology', Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 10, 1-17.
  • Abraham S. LUCHINS and Edith H. LUCHINS: 'Wertheimer's Seminars Revisited: Impressions and Conceptions of Personality', and: 'Wertheimer's Seminars Revisited: Problems of Psychology of Character and Personality'. Both: Albany: Psychology Department Reports, State University of New York.
  • Friedrich HOETH: 'Variablität und Konstanz als phänomenologische Kategorien', Gestalt Theory, 1, 19-25.
  • Hans-Jürgen WALTER: 'Die Klinische Psychologie muß Gestalt annehmen', Psychologie heute, 6, pp 43-53.
  • Kurt GUSS (Hrsg.): 'Gestalttheorie und Sozialarbeit', Darmstadt: Steinkopff.

 

20 years ago (1989)

  • Richard MEILI (born 28.2.1900 in Schaffhausen/Switzerland) dies.
  • 5th Scientific Convention of the Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA) in Dortmund, Germany.
  • Gunnar JOHANSSON receives the Wolfgang-Metzger-Award.
  • International Workshop in Firenze/Italy: Gestalt Psychology - Its Origins, Foundations and Influence. (Lectures were published some years later with this title by POGGI, Stefano.)
  • Leon FESTINGER (1919-1989) dies.
  • Max WERTHEIMER: 'Eine Geschichte dreier Tage'. First published in German, translated by Marianne Kerres and Hans-Jürgen Walter, Gestalt Theory, 11, pp 68-78.
  • Edwin RAUSCH: 'Gesetz und Zufall als Grundlagen gestalttheoretischer Phänomenologie', Gestalt Theory, 11, pp 3-51,
  • Ernst PLAUM: 'Psychodiagnostik in der Tradition der Lewin-Schule', Gestalt Theory, 11, pp 122-155.