Herbert Langfeld

Herbert Sidney Langfeld (July 24, 1879 – February 25, 1958) was an American psychologist and a past president of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Herbert Langfeld
Born	(1879-07-24)July 24, 1879 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Died	February 25, 1958(1958-02-25) (aged 78) Princeton, New Jersey, US
Known for	Past president, American Psychological Association
Scientific career
Fields	Psychology
Institutions	Harvard University Princeton University
Thesis	Über die heterochrome Helligkeitsvergleichung (1909)
Doctoral advisor	Carl Stumpf

Biography

Herbert Langfeld was born in Philadelphia on July 24, 1879.^[1] He grew up in Philadelphia and was initially drawn to a diplomatic career. He was working for the American Embassy in Berlin when he was attracted to psychology. He earned a PhD in 1909 at the University of Berlin. He took a faculty position at Harvard University and ultimately went to Princeton University, where he became the psychological laboratory director and later the department chair for psychology.^[2] While at Princeton he also directly influenced the ecological psychology approach of J. J. Gibson through his phenomenological ideas.^[3]

Langfeld was APA president in 1930.^[4] He also held leadership positions with the International Congress of Psychology and the Psychology Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.^[5]

He died from heart disease in Princeton, New Jersey on February 25, 1958.^[6]