Heinz Ludwig Ansbacher (October 21, 1904 – June 22, 2006) was a German- American

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

specializing in the theories of

Alfred Adler Alfred Adler ( ; ; 7 February 1870 – 28 May 1937) was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. His emphasis on the importance of feelings of belonging, relationships within the family, a ...

Biography

Ansbacher was born in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. After completing high school he worked in a brokerage firm. He immigrated to the U.S. via steamer, working as a dishwasher. Upon arrival in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

he resumed his career in the financial business and attended evening lectures by

. At one point he went to see Adler for a personal consultation concerning his unhappiness over his work and over the termination of a recent relationship. Adler encouraged him to enroll in graduate school. He attended seminars in Adler's home, sparking his interest in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. Through Adler, he met Rowena Ripin, who had her doctoral degree from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. They were married a year later. Although he had no bachelor's degree, Ansbacher was admitted to the doctoral program at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on the perception of number as affected by the monetary value of objects, under R.S. Woodward, graduating in 1937. This work concerning the importance of context was cited in the 1939

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

Presidential Address. Ansbacher served on the faculty of

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

from 1940 through 1943, and worked for Walter S. Hunter as an editor for '' Psychological Abstracts''. Following this, he worked for the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

writing air-drop leaflets to convince German soldiers to give up the war effort. In addition, he wrote some papers on German military psychology. He came to the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

at Burlington (UVM) in 1947. In 1958, Heinz Ansbacher took over the editorship of ''The Individual Psychology News'' and renamed the periodical the ''Journal of Individual Psychology'' - much to the satisfaction of Adlerians outside the USA. Under his editorship, which continued until 1974, the journal maintained high academic standards and was devoted to "a holistic, phenomenological, teleological, field theoretical, and socially oriented approach to psychology and related fields" endeavoring to "continue the tradition of Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology".

Works and honors

Heinz and Rowena Ansbacher both worked directly with Alfred Adler as scholars and editors and are considered among the leading early followers of Classical Adlerian psychology. Their major contribution, ''The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler'' (1956), is still the definitive text on individual psychology and is still in print. They also authored ''Superiority and Social Interest'' (1964) and ''Cooperation Between the Sexes'' (1978). Ansbacher said his collaboration with his wife Rowena was what really made the work so successful. They were jointly awarded the degree of

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

, ''Honoris Causa'' by UVM in 1980.

Family

Heinz and Rowena Ansbacher were the parents of Charles Ansbacher (1942–2010), founder and conductor of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, which gives free classical music concerts at various locations in the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

area.Grace Notes
Geoff Edgers, ''Boston Globe'', August 9, 2002. Accessed on line November 20, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansbacher 1904 births 2006 deaths Teachers College, Columbia University alumni 20th-century American psychologists American men centenarians People of the United States Office of War Information German emigrants to the United States