Koffka, Kurt (1887–1941)

Life Dates

Kurt Koffka was born in Berlin in 1886. In 1904–1905, he studied at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where he met British scholars, and studied in English. He completed a Ph.D. at the University of Berlin in 1908 under the supervision of Carl Stumpf. Koffka served as research assistant at the universities of Würzburg and Frankfurt before moving to the University of Giessen, where he served as professor until 1924. When Koffka was in Frankfurt he began his collaboration with Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Köhler in developing the foundation of Gestalt psychology. In 1924, Koffka came to the Unites States in order to serve as visiting professor at Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin. Then he accepted a position at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he remained until his death in 1941.

Theoretical Background

Koffka was one of the founders of Gestalt theory (along with Wertheimer and Köhler). Like Wertheimer and Köhler, he was not only...