WILHELM WUNDT AND THE NOBEL PRIZE

 The first part of the series - 'Psychology and the Nobel Prize' ...

Wilhelm Wundt

 

Wilhelm Wundt is considered to be the founder of modern psychology. He is instrumental in introducing the experimental method to psychology, making it a scientific discipline. He made significant contributions to making psychology an independent academic discipline, separate from philosophy.

Wundt introduced the term experimental psychology in his book Contributions to the Theory of Sensory Perception, published in 1858, started the first pure psychology university course called Psychology as a Natural Science in 1862, and established the first experimental psychology laboratory at Leipzig in 1879. The experimental psychology laboratory made Leipzig one of the best centers for studying psychology, in those times, bringing in students from different parts of the world. This also eventually influenced his student Edward Titchener to establish Structuralism, which is often considered to be the first classical school of thought in psychology. 

Along with his contributions to experimental psychology, Wundt also made significant contributions to studying social and cultural processes, comparative psychology, philosophy, aesthetics, and anthropology. Many historians of psychology consider him to be the greatest psychologist ever. 

Despite all of his significant contributions and major accomplishments, not many know that Wundt was also nominated for the prestigious Nobel Prize on three different occasions. Wundt was nominated for the Nobel Prize in the category of Physiology or Medicine in the years 1907, 1909, and 1916.

For the first nomination, in 1907, he was nominated by the German psychiatrist and neurologist Karl Robert Sommer. In 1901, Sommer coined the term psychohygiene (preventive measures and daily habits used to protect, maintain, and promote mental health) and founded the German Association for Psychohygiene.

 

Karl Robert Sommer

After completing his PhD in 1887, Sommer worked as Wundt’s assistant in his experimental psychology laboratory from 1888 to 1889. Sommer applied the experimental method to the discipline of Psychiatry. Later, Sommer developed a lifelong friendship with Wundt. In 1904, they collaborated in founding the German Society for Experimental Psychology.

By the time of his first nomination in 1907, Wundt had already been established as one of the most influential and widely known psychologists in the world. Many other psychology laboratories throughout Europe and North America were modelled after Wundt’s laboratory. His work was growing in recognition all over the world, with respect to his contributions in experimental psychology, which has its roots in experimental physiology. This might have led Sommer to nominate Wundt for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

However, Wundt did not make any discoveries in physiology. Wundt’s achievement was about developing a new discipline related to physiology. The Nobel Prize in the category of Physiology or Medicine is meant for specific discoveries and a single scientific breakthrough. Wundt’s achievements, in that way, may not have aligned with the type of contributions that are rewarded in the category of Physiology or Medicine, which is why he may not have won the Nobel Prize.

In the year 1909, Wundt was nominated for the Nobel Prize in the category of Physiology or Medicine, for the second time. This time, he was nominated by the physiologist, pathologist, and histologist Édouard Laguesse. In 1893, Laguesse created the term endocrine to describe internal secretions, which played a role in launching the era of endocrinology. 

Édouard Laguesse

Being a physiologist, Laguesse would have been familiar with Wundt’s work. Before being known as the founder of modern psychology, Wundt was a highly acclaimed experimental physiologist. His classical work, Principles of Physiological Psychology, published in 1874, demonstrated how the methods of experimental physiology could be applied in the scientific study of the mind, was widely read and highly influential all over the world. 

The establishment of experimental psychology by Wundt, rooted in experimental physiology, allowed psychology to become independent from philosophy and led to studying the mind in terms of the laws of natural sciences. Wundt used physical laboratory equipment and linked it with the understanding of the human consciousness. Because Wundt's experimental psychology was firmly rooted in experimental physiology, his work was regarded as having important implications for both physiology and psychology. 

This suggests that Laguesse felt that Wundt’s work should be viewed as deserving recognition in physiology, which is why he might have nominated him for the Nobel Prize in the category of Physiology or Medicine. However, just like his first nomination in 1907, perhaps Wundt’s work was viewed as the beginning of a new discipline and not exactly a specific discovery in physiology, and thus did not fit the traditional criteria of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. 

In the year 1916, Wundt was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the third time. This time, he was nominated by Hugo Münsterberg. Münsterberg was Wundt’s student who completed his PhD under his guidance in 1885. Later, Münsterberg parted ways with Wundt and became one of the pioneers of applied psychology, and made significant contributions to Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Forensic Psychology, and Educational Psychology.

Hugo Münsterberg

Wundt was in the later stage of his career in 1916. By this time, Wundt had made contributions beyond his experimental and physiological psychology. He was still a highly influential psychologist, but his work on consciousness, which was a major part of his work in experimental and physiological psychology, was losing popularity, mainly due to the emergence of behaviorism and the rise of applied psychology. His method of introspection was also being heavily criticized for being too subjective.

Despite parting ways from Wundt, Münsterberg never lost his respect for Wundt. He nominated Wundt for his contributions, which, according to him, is the creation of physiological psychology. In doing so, Münsterberg perhaps saw this as a recognition of Wundt’s lifetime contribution to psychology. For this nomination, Wundt was shortlisted in the final six nominees, but, again, he did not win the Nobel Prize.

This nomination was during the First World War. Historians of psychology like Ludy Benjamin argue that one of the reasons why Wundt may not have won the Nobel Prize in 1916 could be his political stance of defending Germany during the First World War. During this time, there were strong anti-German sentiments. Wundt’s political stance of defending Germany contributed to the decline of his international reputation, which could have worked against him in winning the Nobel Prize.

Wundt being nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in the category of Physiology or Medicine gives an indication that psychology had earned considerable respect and credibility as a scientific discipline. His first two nominations were made by respectable figures in the scientific community - Robert Sommer, a psychiatrist and neurologist, and Édouard Laguesse, a groundbreaking physiologist and histologist. He did not win the Nobel Prize because his contributions did not fit the category, and not because of his work being disregarded or discredited. 

For his third nomination, he made the list of the six finalists. Whether or not his political stance was the major factor for him not winning the Nobel Prize is something that only the committee members of that time could have known. But being selected among the final six nominees is in itself a big achievement.

It is difficult to say anything about the impact that psychology as a discipline would have made if Wundt had won the Nobel Prize. In contemporary times, Wundt is often criticized for making psychology artificial and narrow in scope by introducing the experimental method, rooted in experimental physiology. But it cannot be denied that it was this experimental method and its physiological roots that led to psychology being associated with the Nobel Prize, because Wundt was nominated for his work three times. Even though psychology had already been established as a scientific discipline, it was these three Nobel Prize nominations that further reinforced the respect that it had gained in the scientific community and in many ways contributed to the continued growth of the discipline.