Granville Stanley Hall (February 1, 1844 – April 24, 1924) was a pioneering American psychologist and educator. His interests focused on childhood development and evolutionary theory. Hall was the first president of the American Psychological Association and the first president of Clark University.
Teacher
Born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, Hall graduated from Williams College in 1867, then studied at the Union Theological Seminary. Inspired by Wilhelm Wundt's Principles of Physiological Psychology, he earned his doctorate in psychology under William James at Harvard University, the first psychology doctorate awarded in America
After Hall graduated with his doctorate, there were no academic jobs
available in psychology, so he went to Europe to study at the University of Berlin, and spent a brief time in Wundt's Leipzig laboratory in 1879.
He began his career by teaching English and philosophy at Antioch College
in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and then teaching history of philosophy at
Williams College in Massachusetts. Following successful lecture series
and Harvard and Johns Hopkins University, Hall secured a position in the
philosophy department at Johns Hopkins, teaching psychology and
pedagogy. He remained at Johns Hopkins from 1882–1888 and, in 1883,
began what is considered by some to be the first formal American
psychology laboratory.
There, Hall objected vehemently to the emphasis on teaching traditional
subjects, e.g., Latin, mathematics, science and history, in high
school, arguing instead that high school should focus more on the
education of adolescents than on preparing students for college.
New discipline of psychology
In 1887, Hall founded the American Journal of Psychology and in 1892 was appointed as the first president of the American Psychological Association. In 1889, he was named the first President of Clark University,
a post he filled until 1920. During his 31 years as President, Hall
remained intellectually active. He was instrumental in the development
of educational psychology, and attempted to determine the effect adolescence has on education. He was also responsible for inviting Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung
to visit and deliver a lecture series in 1909 at the Clark Conference.
Hall and Freud shared the same beliefs on sex and adolescence. Hall
promised Freud an Honorary Degree from Clark University. This was
Freud's first and only visit to America. It was the biggest conference
held at Clark University. It was the most controversial conference
because Freud's research was based on non-scientific theories, which
Hall's colleagues criticized.
In 1917, Hall published a book on religious psychology, "Jesus the
Christ in the Light of Psychology." The book was written in two volumes
to define Jesus Christ in psychological terms. This was his least
successful work. In 1922, at the age of 78, he published the book
"Senescence," a book on aging.
Darwin's theory of evolution and Ernst Haeckel's recapitulation theory
were large influences on Hall's career. These ideas prompted Hall to
examine aspects of childhood development in order to learn about the inheritance of behavior. The subjective
character of these studies made their validation impossible. His work
also delved into controversial portrayals of the differences between
women and men, as well as the concept of racial eugenics. Hall believed that men and women should be separated into their own
schools during puberty because it allowed them to be able to grow within
their own gender. Women could be educated with motherhood in mind and
the men could be educated in more hands on projects, helping them to
become leaders of their homes. Hall believed that schools with both
sexes limited the way they could learn and softened the boys earlier
than they should be.
"It is a period of equilibrium, but with the onset of puberty the
equilibrium is disturbed and new tendencies arise. Modifications in the
reproductive organs take place and bring about secondary sexual
characteristics. Extroversion gives way slowly to introversion, and more
definitely social instincts begin to play an increasing role."