Wolfgang Kohler

Wolfgang Köhler

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Wolfgang Köhler,  (born January 1887, Revel,Estonia, Russian Empire [now Tallinn, Estonia]—died June 11, 1967, Enfield, New Hampshire, U.S.), German psychologist and a key figure in the development of Gestalt psychology, which seeks to understand learning, perception, and other components of mental life as structured wholes.

Köhler’s doctoral thesis with Carl Stumpf at the University of Berlin (1909) was an investigation of hearing. As assistant and lecturer at the University of Frankfurt (1911), he continued his auditory research. In 1912 he and Kurt Koffka were subjects for experiments on perception conducted by Max Wertheimer, whose report on the experiments launched the Gestalt movement. Thereafter Köhler was associated with Wertheimer and Koffka as the three endeavoured to gain acceptance for the new theory.

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As director of the anthropoid research station of the Prussian Academy of Sciences at Tenerife, Canary Islands (1913–20), Köhler conducted experiments on problem-solving by chimpanzees, revealing their ability to devise and use simple tools and build simple structures. His findings appeared in the classicIntelligenzprüfungen an Menschenaffen (1917; The Mentality of Apes), a work that emphasized insight and led to a radical revision of learning theory. Another major work, Die physischen Gestalten in Ruhe und im stationären Zustand (1920; “Physical Gestalt in Rest and Stationary States”), was based on an attempt to determine the relation of physical processes in nervous tissue to perception.

In 1921 Köhler became head of the psychological institute and professor of philosophy at the University of Berlin, directing a series of investigations that explored many aspects of Gestalt theory and publishing Gestalt Psychology (1929). Outspoken in his criticism of Adolf Hitler’s government, Köhler went to the United States in 1935 and was professor of psychology at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania until 1955.

Multiple Choice

When was Wolfgang Köhler born?

• June 1967

• January 1887

• June 1887

• January 1967

Multiple Choice

How did Wolfgang Köhler's work on problem-solving in chimpanzees contribute to a revision of learning theory?

• It emphasized the role of trial and error in learning.

• It revealed that chimpanzees could use insight to devise tools and solve problems, challenging the idea that animals learn solely through conditioning.

• It demonstrated that animals can only learn by imitating others.

• It confirmed that animals learn in the same way as humans.

Multiple Choice

What was the name of the theory that Wolfgang Köhler was instrumental in developing?

• behaviorism

• struturalism

• Gestalt psychology

• psychoanalysis

Köhler's Major Contributions

During the time period, Edward Thorndike had the prevailing view of animal learning. He concluded through his studies of monkeys, dogs, and especially cats that learning is a trial-and-error process which is dependent on rewards and punishments. Köhler questioned Thorndike's conclusion that his animals learned mechanically through the selection of action of rewards and punishments (Hothersall , 1995). Köhler attempted to prove that animals arrive at a solution through insight rather than trial and error. His first experiments with dogs and cats involved food being placed on the other side of a barrier. The dogs and cats went right towards the food instead of moving away from the goal to circumvent the barrier like chimps who were presented with this situation (URL 2).

Köhler's experiments consisted of placing chimps in an enclosed area and presenting them with a reward that was out of reach, such as bananas. Köhler used four chimps in his experiments, Chica, Grande, Konsul, and Sultan. In one experiment, Köhler placed bananas outside Sultan's cage and two bamboo sticks inside his cage. Neither stick was long enough to reach the bananas so the only way to reach the bananas was to put the sticks together. Köhler demonstrated to Sultan the solution by putting his fingers into the end of one of the sticks (Hothersall, 1995). However, this did not help Sultan solve the problem. After some contemplation, Sultan put the two sticks together and created a stick long enough to reach the bananas outside his cage (URL 3).

Another study involved bananas suspended from the roof. The chimps first tried to knock them down by using a stick. Then, the chimps learned to stack boxes on top of one another to climb up to the bananas (URL 3). Kohler described three properties of insight learning. First, insight-learning is based on the animal perceiving the solution to the problem. Second, insight-leaning is not dependent on rewards. Third, once a problem has been solved, it is easier to solve a similar problem (Hothersall, 1995).

Multiple Choice

How did Wolfgang Köhler's view of animal learning differ from Edward Thorndike’s?

• Köhler believed that animals learned through mechanical trial and error, while Thorndike emphasized insight.

• Köhler argued that animals learned through insight, not just trial and error, and that learning was not dependent on rewards.

• Köhler believed animals could only learn through rewards and punishments, like Thorndike.

• Köhler concluded that animals could not solve problems, whereas Thorndike believed they could.

Multiple Choice

Köhler attempted to prove that animals arrive at a solution through ____.

• trial and error

• conditioning

• insight

• imitation

Multiple Choice

What are the 3 properties of insight learning, according to Köhler?

• It is dependent on rewards, it involves trial and error, and it requires complex tools.

• It is based on perceiving the solution, it is not dependent on rewards, and similar problems become easier to solve.

• It is based on instinct, it requires continuous reinforcement, and it is random in nature.

• It is dependent on imitation, it requires external rewards, and it is always immediate.