Educated at the Danzig Gymnasium and the University of Leipzig, Munsterberg received a PhD in Psychology before going on to study medicine at the University of Heidelberg, where he received his degree in 1887. He began his career as a lecturer at Freiberg and became an assistant professor in 1891. He became friends with William James after the two met at the First International Congress of Psychology in 1891. The following year, James invited him to Harvard University to become the chair of the psychology lab. Munsterberg returned to Germany in 1895 and again taught at Freiberg. In 1897, he returned to Harvard and was elected president of the American Psychological Association. In 1899, he published Psychology and Life and in 1901 his American Traits From the Point of View of a German, appeared. He became popular on the lecture tour and was instrumental in applying psychology to the areas of industry and crime detection. During World War I Munsterberg was torn between his native Germany and his adopted America, but wrote numerous articles defending Germany's position which resulted in his alienation and severe criticism by his peers. Munsterberg died in 1916 while beginning a lecture at Radcliffe. His other works include The principles of Art Education (1905), On the Witness Stand (1908), The Eternal Values (1909), Psychology and the Teacher (1909), Psychology and Industrial Efficiency (1913), Psychology and Social Sanity (1914), Psychology, General and Applied (1914) and Tomorrow (1916). |
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