Robert Sessions Woodworth: biography of this American psychologist.

This psychologist became president of the APA and developed an important personality test.

Robert S. Woodworth (1869-1962) was an American psychologist who laid the foundations of eclectic approach psychology Throughout his career, Woordworth was interested in developing a unified theory of psychology based on scientific observations and the possibility of generalizing them.

In this article we will look at a biography of Robert S. Woodworthas well as some of his major contributions to psychology.

Robert S. Woodworth: life and work of this American psychologist.

Robert Sessions Woodworth was born on October 17, 1869 in Belchertown Massachusetts, United States.

In 1891 he received a degree in philosophy from Amherst College, and was subsequently trained in science and mathematics. In 1895, he began he began a major in philosophy at Harvard University, which he completed in 1896.which he completed in 1896. His tutor had been the philosopher and scientist William James, who encouraged him to pursue a doctorate in psychology.

Following this advice, Woodworth was trained at Columbia University under the direction of James McKeen Cattellwho was one of the main advocates of the scientific consolidation of psychology. Finally Robert S. Woodworth received his doctorate in psychology in 1899, with a research on The Precision of Voluntary Movement.

After this, Woodworth worked as a professor at the same university, at which time he established a close professional relationship with another of the most representative psychologists of the time: Edward L. Thorndike, with whom he carried out several studies on learning theories.. Among other things, they concluded that learning cannot be transferred from one element to another, that is, that learning one subject does not necessarily produce an improvement in general learning.

He then undertook postdoctoral training at the University of Liverpool, completing it in 1902. He then returned to Columbia University to serve as a professor, accompanied by his wife Gabrielle Schjoth. Robert S. Woodworth died on July 4, 1962 in New York City.

Professional work

In 1914 Robert s. Woodworth served as president of the American Psychological Association (APA). (APA), where he had constant debates with other renowned psychologists such as Edward B. Titchener and Oswald Külpe.

On the other hand, in the context of World War I and as with other psychologists of the time, Woodworth was involved in the design of psychological tests used to evaluate enlisted men. Woodworth's Personal Data Sheet (Woodworth's Personal Data Sheet) was the name given to the scale used for this purpose.

Woodworth also served as head of the Department of Psychology at Columbia University for nearly a decade (1918 to 1927).

Dynamic or eclectic psychology

Robert S. Woodworth's main contribution to psychology was the advocacy that it is necessary to to incorporate different approaches in order to have a broad understanding of psychology.. In the early 20th century, Woodworth proposed a unified system of psychological thinking. At the same time, he was against the dominant methodological determinism in psychology, and said that it was necessary to adopt an eclectic approach in understanding human behavior.

For example, he rejected McDougall's proposals which were strongly focused on innate components, and at the same time he remained skeptical of the proposals of John Watson, who emphasized the role of the human brain in the development of human behavior.who emphasized the role of the environment in behavior. In the same sense, he distanced himself from Edawrd Tichener, who emphasized the study of consciousness over other aspects of the human being.

Woordworth argued that behavior was indeed a function of environmental stimuli, but so was the composition of an organism and its own consciousness.

For this psychologist it was necessary to develop a "middle-of-the-road psychology" that could be adapted or generalized to the interests of all human needs. In this sense, Woodworth considered that both thought and consciousness were legitimate objects of study for scientific psychology.. The latter represented an important suggestion for the development of psychology at the time, which was caught between the debates about studying observable behavior or internal mental processes.

From this he developed two important constructs for psychology: the interactionist metaphor of "dynamics", to refer to the determining role of both nature and environment; and an explanatory model of the latter under the "Stimulus-Organism-Response" (S-O-R) formula.

Outstanding works

Some of his most recognized works are Elements of Physiological Psychology191 and Dynamic Psychology, 1918, in which he analyzed behavior and its relationship to analyzed behavior and its relationship with physiological processes.as well as the relationship of these with introspective methods. It was in this work that Wood argued in an important way the need to connect all the above elements in psychological interventions.

Also representative is the book Psychology: A study of Mental Lifeof 1921, in which he argued that both heredity and environment are determinants of human behavior, for which he developed the S-O-R formula.

This work became one of the reference texts of 20th century psychology and one of the most influential introductory writings in the professionalization of this discipline.

Bibliographical references:

• Roberth S. Woodworth (2018). Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved September 28, 2018. Available at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-S-Woodworth.
• Roberth S. Woodworth (2013). New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 28, 2018. Available at http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Robert_S._Woodworth.