Why were Münsterberg’s outspoken views often unpopular with other psychologists? How did he come to be a despised figure among the general public?
Munsterberg, a stereotypical professor from Germany, was a substantial success in the psychology of America and in the eyes of public for a time. He documented thousands of famous articles in magazines and about 24 books in areas of application like industrial, forensic and clinical psychology.
He founded psychology of application in Europe and United States and was also implicated for being a detective. He has been characterized as a “creative propagandizer for psychology of application”.
His biographer said that he was also a prosperous publicist, “adored with sensational flair which was uncanny”. He was very self-centered and had a powerful impression of self-importance.
Munsterberg had been characterized as “egoistical beyond infinity” and “pompous” by Santayana. By the end of life, he turned into a figure of ridicule and scorn, the subject for cartoons and newspapers and an embarrassment for the university he had worked for so many years.