Arnold Gesell

Infobox Scientist
name = Arnold Gesell
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caption = Arnold Gesell
birth_date = 21 June 1880
birth_place = Alma, Wisconsin
death_date = 29 May 1961
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field = psychology
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Dr. Arnold Lucius Gesell (21 June 1880 - 29 May 1961) was a psychologist and pediatrician who was a pioneer in the field of child development.

Gesell was born in Alma, Wisconsin, whose dysgenic qualities Gesell later analysed in "The Village of a Thousand Souls". He was the eldest of five children and the son of a photographer and a teacher, individuals who were both interested in education. Watching his younger siblings learn and grow helped to establish in him an interest in children.

With plans to become a teacher, Gesell attended Stevens Point Normal School after he graduated from high school in 1896. Here, he took a course with the Clark University-educated Edgar James Swift, who piqued Gesell’s interest in psychology. He worked as a high school teacher briefly, but then went on to study at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. There he took history courses taught by Frederick Jackson Turner and psychology courses taught by Joseph Jastrow, who started the psychology laboratory at the University of Wisconsin. Gesell received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from Wisconsin in 1903. He served as a teacher and high school principal before continuing his education at Clark University, an early leader in psychology. Clark was highly influenced by its president, G. Stanley Hall, who founded the child study movement. Gesell received his Ph. D. from Clark in 1906. He worked at several educational facilities in New York City and Wisconsin before fellow Clark graduate Lewis Terman helped him get a professorship at the Los Angeles State Normal School. There he met fellow teacher Beatrice Chandler, a brilliant woman whom he married. They later had a daughter and a son. After spending time at schools for persons with mental disabilities, such as the Vineland Training School in New Jersey, which was run by Henry H. Goddard, he developed an interest in studying children with disabilities.

Determined to become a doctor, he spent some time studying at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Later he served as an assistant professor at Yale University while studying medicine. He developed the Clinic of Child Development there and received his M.D. in 1915. He was eventually given a full professorship at Yale. He also served as the school psychologist for the Connecticut State Board of Education and helped to develop classes to help children with disabilities succeed. He wrote several books, including "The Preschool Child from the Standpoint of Public Hygiene and Education" in 1923, "The Mental Growth of the Preschool Child" in 1925 (which was also published as a film), and "An Atlas of Infant Behavior" (chronicling typical milestones for certain ages) in 1934. He coauthored with Frances Ilg two childrearing guides, "Infant and Child in the Culture of Today" in 1943, and "The Child from Five to Ten" in 1946.

Gesell made use of the latest technology in his research. He used the newest in video and photography advancements. He also made use of one-way mirrors when observing children, even inventing the Gesell dome, a one-way mirror shaped as a dome, under which children could be observed without being disturbed. In his research he studied many children, including Kamala, the wolf girl. He also did research on young animals, including monkeys.

As a psychologist, Gesell realized the vast importance of both nature and nurture. He cautioned others not to be quick to attribute mental disabilities to specific causes. He believed that many aspects of human behavior, such as handedness and temperament were heritable. He understood that children adapted to their parents as well as to one another. He thought that a nationwide nursery school system would benefit America.

References

*Boring, E.G. (1952) “Arnold Lucius Gesell.” History of Psychology in Autobiography 4: 123-42. Worcester, MA: Clark University Press.
*Harris, Benjamin. "Arnold Lucius Gesell". American National Biography. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
*Kessen, William. (1965). "Growth and Personality" The Child: 208–228.
*Miles, Walter R. (1964). "Arnold Lucius Gesell". Biographical Memoirs: National Academy of Sciences 37: 55–96. New York: Columbia University Press.
*Gesell, Arnold. “The Village of a Thousand Souls.” American Magazine, Oct. 1913, pp. 11-16.
*Citation
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url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/332745
last=Ball
first=R S
publication-date=1977
year=1977
title=The Gesell Developmental Schedules: Arnold Gesell (1880-1961).
volume=5
issue=3
periodical=Journal of abnormal child psychology
pages=233-9
*Citation
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last=LEYS
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publication-date=1961 Dec
year=1961
title=Arnold GESELL.
volume=3
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periodical=Cerebral palsy bulletin
pages=608-9
*Citation
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url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14036863
last=KNOBLOCH
first=H
publication-date=1961 Dec
year=1961
title=Arnold GESELL 1880-1961.
volume=118
issue=
periodical=The American journal of psychiatry
pages=574-6
*Citation
id = PMID:13751194
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13751194
last=KANNER
first=L
publication-date=1960 Dec
year=1960
title=Arnold GESELL's place in the history of developmental psychology and psychiatry.
volume=13
issue=
periodical=Psychiatric research reports
pages=1-9
*Citation
id = PMID:11921680
url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11921680
last=Herman
first=E
publication-date=2001 Dec
year=2001
title=Families made by science. Arnold Gesell and the technologies of modern child adoption.
volume=92
issue=4
periodical=Isis; an international review devoted to the history of science and its cultural influences
pages=684-715

External links

* [http://www3.uakron.edu/ahap/gesell_a.htm Gesell's archives]
* [http://elvers.stjoe.udayton.edu/history/people/Gesell.html Historical link collection] (with photo)