Psychologische Forschung

journal founded by Wertheimer

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July 13, 2026

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Psychologische Forschung was a journal founded in 1921 by Max Wertheimer and others, serving as the central publication for the Gestalt psychology movement. Gestalt psychology, which Wertheimer co-founded with Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler, focuses on understanding psychological phenomena as unified wholes rather than breaking them down into components. This approach emphasizes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.12

Wertheimer's early work, including his discovery of the phi phenomenon (the perception of movement in stationary objects), laid the groundwork for Gestalt principles. The journal Psychologische Forschung was instrumental in disseminating these ideas, which extended beyond perception to areas like problem-solving, learning, and thinking.12

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Max Wertheimer
…1921, with others, he founded Psychologische Forschung (“Psychological Research”), the journal that was to be the central organ of the Gestalt movement. Wertheimer returned to Frankfurt as professor of psychology (1929), directing research in social and experimental psychology. Wertheimer criticized the current educational emphasis on traditional logic and association, arguing…
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…1921, with others, he founded Psychologische Forschung (“Psychological Research”), the journal that was to be the central organ of the Gestalt movement. Wertheimer returned to Frankfurt as professor of psychology (1929), directing research in social and experimental psychology. Wertheimer criticized the current educational emphasis on traditional logic and association, arguing…
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