Charles Samuel Myers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles Samuel Myers
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Charles Samuel Myers c. 1920
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| Born | 13 March 1873 Kensington, London, England
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| Died | 12 October 1946 (aged 73) Winsford, Somerset, England
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| Occupation | Physician and psychologist |
| Spouse(s) | Edith Babette Seligman |
Charles Samuel Myers was an important English doctor and psychologist. He was born on March 13, 1873, and passed away on October 12, 1946. He helped start the British Psychological Society, a major group for psychologists.
Myers also played a big role in understanding and treating "shell shock" during World War I. This was a term for the mental health problems soldiers faced because of the war. Later, he helped create the National Institute of Industrial Psychology. This group focused on how psychology could be used in workplaces.
Contents
The Life of Charles Samuel Myers
His Early Life and Family
Charles Samuel Myers was born in Kensington, London, England. This happened on March 13, 1873. He was the oldest son of Wolf Myers, who was a merchant, and Esther Eugenie Moses. His family was Jewish.
In 1881, when he was eight years old, he lived with his parents and four brothers. They also had four servants helping them at home. By 1891, at age 18, he was still living with his family in London.
How He Studied and Learned
Myers went to the City of London School. There, he focused on science subjects. He later felt that his early science lessons were not the best. He even said his teacher had to read his textbook to stay ahead of him!
After school, he studied biology, chemistry, and physics. He then went to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University. He did very well there, earning top grades in science. He also studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London to become a doctor. At Cambridge, he joined a group called Freemasonry.
Exploring the World and Music
In 1898, Myers joined an important trip. He went with other scientists to the Torres Straits and Sarawak. On this trip, he studied "ethnic music," which means music from different cultures. He researched how rhythm works in Borneo.
Later, in 1906, he wrote about African music found in Jamaica. This showed his interest in how music connects to different cultures.
Starting His Career in Psychology
Between 1901 and 1902, Myers helped collect measurements of Egyptians. This was part of studying human body sizes, known as anthropometry.
After returning to England, he worked as a doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital. In 1902, he went back to Cambridge University. There, he helped teach about how our senses work, like sight and hearing.
In 1904, Myers got married to Edith Babette Seligman. They had five children together. He stayed at Cambridge, becoming a lecturer in experimental psychology. This is a field where scientists use experiments to study the mind. From 1906 to 1909, he also taught experimental psychology at London University.
In 1909, Myers became the first person at Cambridge whose main job was to teach experimental psychology. He earned £50 a year for this important role. He kept this job until 1930.
From 1911, he helped edit the British Journal of Psychology. He became the only editor in 1914 and continued until 1924. In 1912, Myers helped raise money to build the first special lab for experimental psychology in England. This lab was at Cambridge, and he became its first Director.
Helping Soldiers During World War I
In 1915, Myers joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. In 1916, he became a special psychologist for the British armies in France. He had a team of assistants helping him.
In 1915, Myers was one of the first to use the term "shell shock" in a medical paper. This term described the mental health issues soldiers faced due to the stress of war. He worked hard to help these soldiers. He even tried to prevent them from being punished or executed for their condition.
Myers was very upset that some military leaders did not agree with his ideas. They did not believe that shell shock was a real medical condition that could be treated. This made him so frustrated that he refused to talk to a special committee about shell shock later on.
Towards the end of the war, he created tests. These tests helped choose men who would be good at using hydrophones. Hydrophones are devices that listen for enemy submarines underwater.
His Work After the War
After World War I, Myers went back to Cambridge. But he still wanted to do more practical work with psychology. He felt that official groups and universities were not very interested in psychology.
So, from 1922, Myers focused on the National Institute of Industrial Psychology (NIIP). He had started this group in 1921 with Henry John Welch. The NIIP aimed to use psychology to improve work environments and help people in their jobs. He also worked with the Industrial Health Research Board.
Myers was also part of a committee that helped select people for jobs in the War Office. In 1933, he gave a special lecture about how psychology could help medical education.
He passed away at his home in Winsford, England, in 1946. The Charles Myers Library, named after him, is now part of the Wellcome Library.
Myers and the British Psychological Society
Myers was one of the ten people who started The Psychological Society in 1901. This group later became the British Psychological Society (BPS) in 1906. In 1904, Myers became the first Secretary of the Society.
In 1919, Myers suggested that more people interested in psychology should be able to join the BPS. After the group grew, he was chosen as its first President. He held this important role from 1920 to 1923.
Myers also helped the BPS with other projects. He represented them on the board of a new science journal called Discovery. He also helped create a fund to honor W. H. R. Rivers, a fellow scientist. This fund supported studies in anthropology and psychology.
What Charles Myers Wrote
Myers wrote many books and papers about psychology. Here are some of his important works:
- Text-Book of Experimental Psychology (1909)
- Introduction to Experimental Psychology (1911)
- Present-day applications of Psychology (1919)
- Mind and work, the psychological factors in industry and commerce (1920)
- Industrial Psychology in Great Britain (1926)
- Industrial Psychology (1929)
- A Psychologist's Point of View (1933)
- In the Realm of Mind (1937)
Awards and Honors
Charles Samuel Myers received many honors for his work.
- In 1915, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists.
- In 1919, he was given the CBE award.
- He received special degrees from several universities, including Manchester, Calcutta, and Pennsylvania.
- He was a fellow and later an honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
- He was president of the psychology section of the British Association twice (1922, 1931).
- He was also president of the International Congress of Psychology in 1923.
- He was the editor of the British Journal of Psychology for many years (1911–24).
Images for kids
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Charles Samuel Myers around 1920
