Wolff, Werner, 1904-1957

Born in 1904, Werner Wolff was a German-born professor of psychology who taught at Bard College, Columbia University in New York from 1942 until his death in 1957. Wolff completed his doctorate under Max Wertheimer at the University of Berlin in 1930 and researched there until 1933. He published on primitive cultures during that time. He was a Lecturer of Psychology at the University of Barcelona and Madrid from 1933-1936; he researched ancient symbols. He came to the United States in 1939. Wolff taught at Vassar College and Columbia University before joining the Bard faculty in 1942.

Wolff authored several books in the field of psychology, anthropology, graphology, and religion. His first book in English was The Expression of Personality: An Experimental Depth Psychology (1943). Wolff was one of the first psychologists to consider child behavior and child expression from the point of view of the dynamics of personality during the foundation years. He specialized in experimental depth psychology, personalities, and ethno-psychology.

From the guide to the Werner Wolff papers, 1921-1976, (Center for the History of Psychology)