Abraham S. Luchins


Abraham S. Luchins was one of the most important American Gestalt Psychologists and a pioneer of group psychotherapy. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and died in New York.

Biography

Luchins was a student and staff member of Max Wertheimer, the main originator of Gestalt Psychology. After Max Wertheimer fled to the USA and started lecturing at the New School for Social Research, Luchins worked as his assistant and became one of his closest collaborators from 1936 till 1942.
He is well known for his research on the role of a mental set in the use of the various water jar refill problems.
The idea was to find out, to what extent the successful use of a problem solving strategy has a negative effect when the task cannot be solved by the previous strategy.
Other fields of research were group psychotherapy and research methods and strategies.
Luchins lectured at Yeshiva University, McGill University, the University of Oregon, the University of Miami.
From 1962 on he was professor of psychology at the University at Albany, State University of New York and professor emeritus from 1984.
In 1993 he became an honorary member of the international Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications - Gesellschaft für Gestalttheorie und ihre Anwendungen .

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