Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

Joseph Jastrow

Role / Field:

Pioneering American psychologist known for psychophysics and debunking optical illusions.

Born:

1863-01-30

Died:

1944-01-08

Century / Era:

1863s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

Joseph Jastrow (January 30, 1863 – January 8, 1944) was an American psychologist who contributed to experimental psychology, design of experiments, and psychophysics. He also worked on the phenomena of optical illusions, and a number of optical illusions (notably the Jastrow illusion) that were either first reported in or popularized by his work. Jastrow believed that everyone had their own, often incorrect, preconceptions about psychology. One of his ultimate goals was to use the scientific method to identify truth from error, and educate the general public, which Jastrow accomplished through speaking tours, popular print media, and the radio.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Jastrow was born in Warsaw, Poland. A son of Talmud scholar Marcus Jastrow, Joseph Jastrow was the younger brother of the orientalist, Morris Jastrow, Jr. Joseph Jastrow came to Philadelphia in 1866 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. During his doctoral studies at Johns Hopkins University, Jastrow worked with C. S.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Peirce on experiments in psychophysics that introduced randomization and blinding for a repeated measures design. Though Peirce had to leave the university due to...

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Frequently Asked Questions about Joseph Jastrow