Hugo Munsterberg's Attack on the Application of Scientific Psychology

Hugo Munsterberg's Attack on the Application of Scientific Psychology

Introduction

The article that the researcher has chosen to analyze for this research is the attack of Hugo Munsterberg on the application of scientific psychology. Researchers have been focusing on applied psychology; however, the most significant contribution in this field has been made by Munsterberg (Benjamin, 2006). The article explores the motives of the reactions of Munsterberg within psychology and education. He has been the pioneer in the field of psychology. Munsterberg has been arguably the best known psychologist in America (Benjamin, 2006).

Discussion

Problem Statement

Many researchers have been involved in conducting studies to understand the behavior of students and their minds. At the beginning of the year 1890 the most prominent application of the new psychology in America was the child study movement, the initiator of this movement was G. Stanley Hall who carried out the research to understand the perception and beliefs of teachers towards gaining an understanding of child's mind (Scripture, 1894a).

He believed through this teacher training would be improved; it will also be beneficial for developing individualized curricula for students. Furthermore, it will also assist parents to have better information related to child rearing (Munsterberg, 1898a). Moreover with the beginning of this movement many researchers criticized it of which Munsterberg represented his views most publicly. He believed that no matter how vast the research has been conducted on children pedagogy, no research can be carried out that could be translated directly into a pedagogical prescription (Munsterberg, 1898a). Literature Review

The article provides significant review of the available literature that presents the perspective of Munsterberg towards the psychology of education and its application. As mentioned by Munsterberg (1898a) it would be an illusion to quantify the mental state of an individual. He critically ...