Abraham S. Luchins

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abraham S. Luchins (born March 8, 1914 in Brooklyn , New York City , † December 27, 2005 in Albany , New York ) was one of the most important American gestalt psychologists and a pioneer of group therapy .

biography

AS Luchins was a student and collaborator of Max Wertheimer , the founder of Gestalt theory and Gestalt psychology . After Max Wertheimer came to the New School for Social Research after emigrating to the USA and taught there until his death, AS Luchins was a research assistant at the New School Wertheimer and one of his closest collaborators from 1936–1942 . AS Luchins and his wife, Edith H. Luchins (a mathematician and gestalt theorist), also published a series of detailed transcripts and reports on the Wertheimer seminars in New York, published in loose succession from 1970 to 1980.

In the German-speaking countries, AS Luchins' work is mainly known for his investigations into the attitude effect (based on special transfer tasks ). The question is under what conditions a solution strategy once found for a problem can become an obstacle when the problem is changed, and how one can counteract such an obstructive definition. On the basis of his many years of work in the clinical sector (especially in psychiatric hospitals for war veterans), AS Luchins has also done pioneering work in the development of clinical-psychological work, group therapy and research methodology and is therefore considered to be a key figure in Gestalt theory psychotherapy .

Abraham S. Luchins taught at Yeshiva University (New York), McGill University (Montreal), the University of Oregon and the University of Miami and was last professor of psychology at the University at Albany, The State University, from 1962 of New York (Professor Emeritus from 1984). In addition to numerous other honors, he was made an honorary member of the International Society for Gestalt Theory and Its Applications (GTA) in 1993 .

Works (selection)

  • 1942: Mechanization in problem solving. In: Psychological Monographs 34. APA: Washington. (German partial translation: Luchins 1965, mechanization in problem solving. See below)
  • 1959: A Functional Approach To Training In Clinical Psychology. Thomas: Springfield.
  • 1959 (with Edith H. Luchins): Rigidity of Behavior - A Variational Approach to the Effect of Setting. University of Oregon Books: Eugene, Oregon. Reprint 2003 Textbook Publishers, ISBN 0758128959
  • 1964: Group Therapy - A Guide. Random House: New York (Portuguese edition 1970, Spanish edition 1984).
  • 1965 (with Edith H. Luchins): Logical Foundations of Mathematics for Behavioral Scientists. Holt, Rinehart: New York.
  • 1965: Mechanization in problem solving. In: CF Graumann (ed.): Thinking. 171-190, Cologne Berlin: Kiepenheuer & Witsch, ISBN 9783462008654 .
  • 1969 (with Edith H. Luchins): The Search for Factors that Extremize the Autokinetic Effect. Faculty-Student Association: State University of New York at Albany.

literature

  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1970): Wertheimer's Seminars Revisited: Problem Solving And Thinking, Vols. I, II and III, SUNY, Albany.
  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1979): Introduction to the Einstein-Wertheimer Correspondence, Methodology and Science. Special Einstein Issue, 12, 165-202.
  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1982): An Introduction to the Origins of Wertheimer's Gestalt Psychology, Gestalt Theory, 4 (3-4), 145-171.
  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1985): Max Wertheimer: His life and work during 1912-1919. Gestalt Theory, 7. 3-28.
  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1986a): Max Wertheimer: 1919–1929. Gestalt Theory, 8. 4-30.
  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1986b): Wertheimer in Frankfurt: 1929–1933. Gestalt Theory, 8.205-224.
  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1987): Max Wertheimer in America: 1933-1943 . Gestalt Theory, 9. 70-101.
  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1988): The Einstein-Wertheimer Correspondence on Geometric Proofs, The Mathematical Intelligencer, 12 (2), pp. 35-43.
  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1991-1993): Max Wertheimer's Life and Background: Source Materials, Volumes I and II. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY.
  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1996): Attitude Effects: The Influence of EDP-Supported Versus Written Task Presentation on Classic Water Pitcher Problems . Gestalt Theory, 18 (2), 143-148.
  • Abraham S. Luchins & Edith H. Luchins (1997): A Sampling of Gestalt Psychologists' Remarks on Psychoanalysis . Gestalt Theory, 19 (2), 128-139.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ G. Stemberger (2007): Abraham S. Luchins (1914-2005). In: American Psychologist. Vol 62 (2), Feb-Mar 2007, 143.
personal data
SURNAME Luchins, Abraham S.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American gestalt psychologist
DATE OF BIRTH March 8, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York, USA
DATE OF DEATH December 27, 2005
Place of death Albany (New York) , USA