William Stern (psychologist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Stern
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| Born |
Ludwig Wilhelm Stern
April 29, 1871 |
| Died | March 27, 1938 (aged 66) Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
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| Education | University of Berlin (PhD, 1893) |
| Occupation | Psychologist |
| Spouse(s) | Clara Stern |
| Children | 3, including Günther Anders |
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William Stern (born Ludwig Wilhelm Stern, April 29, 1871 – March 27, 1938) was an important German psychologist and philosopher. He is famous for creating personalistic psychology. This idea focuses on understanding each person as a unique individual. It looks at how different parts of a person's character work together.
Stern also created the term intelligence quotient (IQ). This is a way to measure intelligence. He also invented the tone variator, a special tool to study how people hear sounds. Stern studied psychology at the University of Berlin. He later became a professor at the University of Breslau and the University of Hamburg.
During his career, Stern wrote many books. He helped start new areas in psychology. These include differential psychology (how people differ), forensic psychology (psychology in law), and intelligence testing. Stern was also a leader in child psychology. He and his wife, Clara Joseephy Stern, kept detailed notes about their three children. They did this for 18 years. These notes helped him write books about how children grow and develop.
Contents
About William Stern
His Early Life
William Stern was born on April 29, 1871, in Berlin, Germany. His parents, Rosa and Joseph Stern, were Jewish. He was their only child. His first name was Ludwig Wilhelm, but he later used only William. His father owned a small design studio. When his father died in 1890, the family had little money. William was studying at university. He had to tutor students to support his mother.
Stern met his future wife, Clara Joseephy, while riding his bicycle. Clara's parents did not like that Stern had little money. But Clara still wanted to marry him. They got married in 1899. Their first daughter, Hilde, was born in 1900. This began their long project studying child development. They also had a son, Günther, in 1902, and another daughter, Eva, in 1904.
His Career and Later Years
Stern studied at the University of Berlin. He earned his PhD in 1893. He then taught at the University of Breslau for 19 years. From 1916 to 1933, he was a professor at the University of Hamburg.
Because of rising anti-Jewish feelings in Germany, Stern had to leave his home country. He spent a year in Holland. Then he moved to America. He became a professor at Duke University, even though he knew little English.
Stern died suddenly on March 27, 1938.
His Big Ideas and Discoveries
Understanding Child Development
Stern made a huge impact on how we understand child development. He worked closely with his wife, Clara. They studied their own three children: Hilde, Gunther, and Eva. They watched how their children learned language. They also observed many other parts of their development.
They wrote down notes from the day each child was born. They continued until the children were 12, 10, and 7 years old. They recorded things like reactions, babbling, and how children remembered events. They also noted when children lied or made moral judgments. They even had special sessions where a child would tell a story. One parent would listen, and the other would write everything down. Through their observations, Stern found something called "game theory." This idea says that children's play is very important for their personal growth.
The Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
During Stern's time, many psychologists were trying to measure how people differed. Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon created tests to find the mental age of children. This helped identify learning difficulties. But there was no standard way to compare these scores.
Stern suggested a new way to calculate intelligence. Before, it was the difference between mental age and real age. Stern proposed dividing a person's mental age by their chronological (real) age. This gave a single ratio. Later, Lewis Terman improved this. He multiplied the result by 100 to get a whole number. This is the IQ score we know today.
However, Stern warned against using this formula as the only way to define intelligence. He believed that differences between people, like intelligence, are very complex. He thought there was no simple way to compare everyone. He said that terms like "feeble-mindedness" could not be defined by just one test. This is because tests don't look at everything, like a person's will or emotions.
The Tone Variator
Stern invented the tone variator in 1897. This machine helped him study how sensitive people are to changes in sound. Before him, scientists only studied fixed sounds. Stern, however, studied how one sound smoothly changed into another.
Psychology in Law (Forensic Psychology)
Stern was a pioneer in the field now called forensic psychology. This area uses psychology in legal matters. He looked at how accurate eyewitness testimony is. He studied memory, like his teacher Hermann Ebbinghaus. Stern would show people photos and later ask them to remember details.
In 1901, he worked with a crime expert, Franz v. Liszt. They did a study where law students watched a fake classroom fight. One person even pulled out a toy gun. The students then wrote and spoke about what they saw. Stern and Franz found that when people were very stressed, their memory was poor. This showed that strong emotions can affect what an eyewitness remembers. Other studies looked at how questions affect memory. They also studied differences between child and adult witnesses.
Stern noted that memory can make mistakes. He wanted to find ways to tell if someone was lying on purpose or just misremembering. His findings helped improve the justice system. They showed how psychology could be used in real life. Stern also said that courtrooms could be hard on children. He suggested that a psychologist should be involved when children give testimony.
See also
In Spanish: William Stern para niños
