Who was Joseph Jastrow? Information on American psychologist Joseph Jastrow biography, life story, contributions to psychology and works.
Source : wikipedia.org
Joseph Jastrow
Joseph Jastrow (1863-1944) was an American psychologist and author who made significant contributions to the fields of psychology and cognitive science. He was born in Poland and immigrated to the United States with his family as a child. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and his PhD in psychology from Johns Hopkins University.
Jastrow was a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin and later at Bryn Mawr College. He was known for his research on perception, attention, and memory, and he made important contributions to the understanding of how the brain processes visual information. He was also interested in the psychological effects of hypnotism and suggestion, and he conducted pioneering research on the topic.
In addition to his research, Jastrow was a popular science writer and a popularizer of psychology. He wrote several books on psychology and related topics, including “The Psychology of Illusion” and “The Subconscious.” He was a member of the American Psychological Association and the National Academy of Sciences, and he received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to psychology.
Contributions to Psychology
Joseph Jastrow made several significant contributions to the field of psychology during his career. Some of his most notable contributions include:
- Research on perception and attention: Jastrow conducted extensive research on how the brain processes visual information, including how we perceive size, shape, and distance. He was particularly interested in the role of attention in perception and how we selectively attend to certain stimuli while ignoring others.
- Research on memory: Jastrow also conducted research on memory and how we encode, store, and retrieve information. He was interested in the ways in which our memories can be influenced by suggestion and expectations, and he conducted pioneering research on the psychological effects of hypnotism and suggestion.
- Popularization of psychology: Jastrow was a popular science writer and a popularizer of psychology. He wrote several books on psychology and related topics, including “The Psychology of Illusion” and “The Subconscious,” which were widely read and helped to introduce psychology to a wider audience.
- Teaching and mentorship: Jastrow was a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin and Bryn Mawr College, and he mentored many students who went on to become prominent psychologists in their own right.
Overall, Jastrow made significant contributions to the understanding of perception, attention, memory, and the psychological effects of hypnotism and suggestion, and his work continues to be influential in the field of psychology today.
Bio 2
Joseph Jastrow; (1863-1944), American psychologist, who worked and wrote extensively on child development and psycho-pathology. Born in Warsaw, Poland, on Jan. 30, 1863, he went to the United States with his father Marcus Jastrow while still a child. He took his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins in 1886. In 1888 he began to teach psychology at the University of Wisconsin, where he remained until 1927. During this period he served a term as president of the American Psychological Association (1900-1901). Jastrow taught at the New School for Social Research from 1927 until his retirement in 1933. He died in Stockbridge, Mass., on Jan. 8, 1944.
Although Jastrow conducted important studies in psychopathology and the theory of mental processes, he is noted primarily for his efforts to bring psychological theory and research to the general public. From 1928 to 1932 he wrote a syndicated newspaper column entitled “Keeping Mentally Fit”, and from 1935 to 1938 he delivered regular radio broadcasts.
