Hans Biäsch

Hans Biäsch (born October 4, 1901 in Davos ; † July 5, 1975 in Zurich ) was a Swiss psychologist and professor of applied and practical psychology at the ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich and a pioneer of applied psychology in Switzerland.

Life

Hans Biäsch was born on October 4, 1901 in Davos as the second child of Sidonia Biäsch-Hauswirth and Hans Biäsch. His father was a foreman and the first ice cream maker in Davos. Hans Biäsch grew up with his three sisters in very simple and patriarchal circumstances. His mother published poems under the stage name Rhätica. During his school days in Davos, he worked as a hay hand and shepherd for farmers and as an unskilled worker in forest work and avalanche barriers. After graduating from the canton school in Chur , he studied forest sciences at the ETH in Zurich up to the intermediate diploma , then natural sciences , among others with Paul Scherrer and Auguste Piccard , and received his doctorate in 1927 with the geoscientist and crystallographer Paul Niggli with a thesis on the mineral hematite (red iron ore ). Then he turned to psychology and philosophy. "To grasp, understand, and change the mystery of 'human beings' had become a fascination for him, which from then on would determine his life." (Kälin, 2011, p. 138)

In 1923 Jules Suter founded the Zurich Psychotechnical Institute in Zurich . The initiative goes back to the Swiss shoe manufacturer Iwan Bally , who was interested in the basics of psychotechnology published by Hugo Münsterberg in 1914 . The aim was the practical application of psychology in the service of health, economy, education, art and science. Suter successfully carried out work psychology experiments in Bally companies.

In 1928 Hans Biäsch joined the institute as a staff member, but in 1929, disappointed with the scientific level of the institute's work, decided to undertake a second degree in philosophy and psychology at the University of Zurich. As an assistant at the Psychological Institute, he began in 1934 with the work test series for the examination of Swiss children, an adaptation of the Binet-Simon test.

At the same time, he continued to work at the Psychotechnical Institute, particularly in the areas of personnel selection, career advice and psychological advice on life problems. In 1935 the institute was named "Institute for Applied Psychology Zurich". In 1937 Biäsch founded the "Psychological Seminar for Applied Psychology" within the institute, which is considered a milestone in the history of applied psychology in Switzerland. which offered an initial one to two year training of practical psychologists for professional educational and characterological advice.

In the course of his work as a seminar leader and later as director of the Institute for Applied Psychology, Biäsch was able to engage competent lecturers, including a. Jolande Jacobi (long-time employee of CG Jung ), Leopold Szondi , Max Pulver and Hans Zulliger .

From 1950 to 1952, Biäsch took on teaching positions in applied psychology, social psychology and work psychology at the ETH . In 1952 he was appointed associate professor for applied psychology at the ETH. In the same year he founded the Swiss Professional Association for Applied Psychology (SBAP), which he presided over until 1962. In 1958 he was elected associate professor ad personam for practical psychology with special emphasis on industrial, industrial and social psychology at the Philosophical Faculty I of the University of Zurich. From 1956 to 1965, Biäsch was also a lecturer in industrial and industrial psychology at the University of Bern. In 1966 he was finally appointed full professor at the ETH Zurich. In 1971, due to old age, he submitted his resignation requests to the ETH and the University of Zurich. After suffering from serious cancer, Hans Biäsch died on July 5, 1975 in Zurich. He is buried in the forest cemetery in Davos.

Thinking and working

Applied psychology in Switzerland is largely shaped by the person, the ideas and the innovations of Hans Biäsch. He built numerous bridges between the practical field of psychology and the basic sciences of social psychology , depth psychology , psychodiagnostics , learning psychology , personality research, talent research and traffic psychology . He also became a co-founder and lecturer of various institutionalized advanced training courses for people with leading positions in business and administration.

A central concern for him was the imparting of practically usable psychological knowledge to non-psychologists, which led to the establishment of the psychological seminar for applied psychology in 1937. For a long time it was the only non-university training facility for psychologists in Switzerland and was controversial on the part of university psychology until the end of the 20th century, although this form of training anticipated the idea of ​​the “technical college” even then. Today's Department of Applied Psychology at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences emerged from the seminar founded by Hans Biäsch in 1958.

He was particularly interested in industrial and industrial psychology, which in 1960 led to the creation of the research center for industrial psychology at the ETH, which he headed until 1971. An important legacy that will benefit future generations in particular was the establishment of the Suzanne and Hans Biäsch Foundation for the Promotion of Applied Psychology, today the most important private funding institution for applied psychological research in Switzerland. Kälin wrote in 2011: "With the establishment of the foundation ... this life has been rounded off in a completely consistent and coherent way".

Publications (selection)

• Morphological investigation on hematite with special consideration of the occurrence of Piz Cavradi (Tavetsch), dissertation. Academic Publishing House, Leipzig 1929.
• Limits of psychotechnics. In: Hanns Spreng: Psychotechnik. Niehans, Zurich 1935.
• Test series for the examination of Swiss children from 3 to 15 Year of age. Huber, Frauenfeld 1939.
• Work training and retraining in the service of reconstruction. In: Psychotechnical learning methods. Oesch, Thalwil-Zurich 1945.
• The mental development of the young person. The structure of the human character. Character studies and typology. In: A. Carrard, Practical Introduction to Problems in Work Psychology. Rascher, Zurich 1949.
• Theory and experience. In: Negotiations of the Swiss Natural Research Society, Davos 1950.
• The training and retraining of unskilled workers in industry. Huber, Bern 1953.
• Industrial psychology, comments on the question of method. Polygraphischer Verlag, Zurich 1954.
• The influence of technology on the career choice tendencies of young people. In: Berufsberatung und Berufsbildung, issue 5/6, Zurich 1955.
• Homo faber - Homo divinans. Technology as fate and opportunity. In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung, Volume 73, No. 1, Zurich 1955.
• The importance of personality for running a company. In: Industrial Organization, No. 3, 1956.
• The workers' commission as an institution of industrial peace, an example from industrial psychological practice. In: P. Atteslander: Conflict and cooperation in industrial operations, problems of corporate social research. West German publishing house, Cologne-Opladen 1959.
• On the methodology of industrial psychology, help for self-help. In: Applied Psychology in Switzerland. Huber, Bern 1959.
• The education and training of managers. In: Handbuch der Psychologie, Vol. 9: Betriebspsychologie. 1st edition, Hogrefe, Göttingen 1961.
• Zen in the art of archery. In: Kairos. Journal for Religious Studies and Theology, Volume 3/4, Salzburg 1962.
• For talent registration in the university. In: Talent registration and promotion of young talent. Special issue of the newsletter of the Swiss Association for the Promotion of Young Professionals and Academics, Zurich 1963.
• From teaching to programmed learning. In: Schweizer Lehrerzeitung, vol. 109, issue 24, 1964.
• Contributions to talent research (with J. Vontobel). A study about the students at ETH. Huber, Bern 1966.
• On the psychology of creative work. In: Transcendence as experience - contribution and echo. Otto-Wilhelm-Barth, Weilheim i.OB 1966 (Festschrift Graf Dürckheim).
• Development trends in applied psychology in Switzerland. In: Information publication of the Swiss Foundation for Applied Psychology, March 1967.
• Test series for the examination of Swiss children from 4th to 15th Year of age. 2nd, completely revised edition (with H. Fischer). Huber, Bern 1969.
• Methodological considerations on the theory of the application of psychology. In: Swiss Journal for Psychology and its Applications, Vol. XXIX, Issue T / 2, Bern 1970 (fixed edition Prof. MEILI).
• The development of the company's executives (with Ch. Lattmann). In: Handbuch der Psychologie, Vol. 9: Betriebspsychologie. 2nd edition, Hogrefe, Göttingen 1970.
• Reflections on the topic of «theory and practice» in the field of psychology. In: Bulletin of the Psychological Institute of the University of Zurich, No. 5, Sept. 1970.
• In search of new models. In: Bulletin of the Psychological Institute of the University of Zurich, No. 10, March 1972.
• Applied Psychology Perspectives. In: Swiss Employer Newspaper, vol. 69, No. 8 and 10, February and March 1974.

(Detailed bibliography in Karl Kälin (see below), pp. 180–183)

literature

• Ludwig J. Pongratz, Werner Traxel, Ernst G. Wehner (Eds.): Psychology in Self- Representations , Volume 2. Huber, Bern 1979 (therein: Hans Biäsch 1901–1975, pp. 9–58).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ History of the ZHAW at zhaw.ch
2. ↑ Suzanne and Hans Biäsch Foundation for the Promotion of Applied Psychology Univ. Zurich
3. ↑ K. Kälin: Hans Biäsch (1901–1975) - a pioneer of applied psychology: Zurich: Chronos 2011, p. 7