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| | In this section, Hugo Munsterberg will be
discussed in terms of how he was similar and different to other leading
psychologists during the time of his career. Among these psychologists,
such as James Cattell, Walter Dill Scott, and Frederick Taylor, there
contributions are widely recognized in the history of Industrial/Organizational
Psychology.
Munsterberg and James Cattell
 | One of the similarities that Munsterberg and Cattell
had in common was that they both found individual differences to be highly
important. Throughout their work, they both implored methods and
analyzed the differences between their participants to understand
differences in behaviors. Another similarity between these two
psychologist is that they both originally studied under Wundt in Germany,
but crossed over to having a strong functionalist perspective. Both of
these psychologists were influenced by principles of Darwin. They were
highly interested in the applications of natural selection. They
differed in there ways of thinking and applying these concepts set forth by
Darwin. Cattell incorporated natural selection and trait variability
among generations with looking at behaviors from mental tests.
Munsterberg applied the idea of natural selection to the business
world. Another difference that distinguishes these two psychologist
was that Munsterberg used mental testing towards a different goal then
Cattell. Munsterberg customized vocational tests that were more suited
towards the concepts that he was trying to assess, whereas Cattell only used
anthropometric tests to assess subjects (Van De Water, 1997). Another
distinction between Munsterberg and Cattell was that Cattell believed that
measurement should be used for its own sake, while Munsterberg wanted to use
the individual differences reported in data to predict behavior (Landy,
1992). |
Munsterberg and Walter Dill Scott
| Walter Dill Scott also believed in the value of
looking at individual differences, just like Munsterberg and Cattell.
He incorporated his interests of individual differences into his studies on
persuasion and motivation. Scott was also trained under Wundt and he
eventually disregarded structuralism to form a functionalist
perspective. Munsterberg and Scott were also similar because they were
considered entrepreneurs in pioneering in marketing to business consumers
(Van De Water, 1997). A distinction between Munsterberg and Scott was
that Scott focused his studies on advertising and bettering businesses,
while Munsterberg focused his studies on a wide variety of studies including
forensics, education, and psychotherapy. Scott was more focused on
management, advertising, and employee selection. Another distinction
between these two psychologists was that Scott looked at the positive side
of human behavior in business, such as motivation, and Munsterberg focused
more of the problems of business, such as lack of productivity. |
Munsterberg and Frederick Taylor
| Munsterberg and Taylor were both heavily influenced
by Darwin. They both incorporated the principle of natural selection
and survival of the fittest into their theories. They both viewed
business as being run by evolutionary means that involved an interaction
between workers and the environment (Landy, 1992). Also, they both
used applied methods that would change the behaviors on the job. They
both also were considered to be very influential in their involvement in
developing I/O psychology. Also, they were highly interested in
researching job efficiency and performance. On the other hand, they
differed because Taylor was only focused on applying his concepts to
business and its related problems of the times. He sought out to
redefine how business was conducted and the utility of its gains that could
be maximized. Munsterberg was involved in many areas that related to
psychology that were previously mentioned. His whole career was not
dedicated to the business world. He sought out to apply theories to
business after he was ostracized from the academic world at Harvard as a
result from his disputes with James. |
Interesting fact: Since
Munsterberg found himself to be heavily influenced by Darwin, he decided to cut
his finger nails straight across so he would more nearly resemble the hooves of
a horse (Landy, 1992).
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