findings of the authors. They include work in the fields of social psy-
chology, motivation, and art, in addition to new developments in the
exploration of the cognitive processes, for which Gestalt psychology
used to be best known.

The concepts of Gestalt psychology have been central for some work-
ers in the field, have markedly influenced others, and have slightly
tinged the work of hundreds more. Limitations of space have dictated
the omission from the present volume of authors whose inclusion would
have given a more rounded picture of the scope and influence of con-
temporary Gestalt psychology. Perhaps the most conspicuous omission
is that of Kurt Lewin, whose work developed out of Gestalt psychology
and whose approach and assumptions remained in many respects similar
to those of Gestalt psychologists working in other fields. Lewin's recent
papers are excluded because they have been collected elsewhere and are
readily available in book form. For the same reason the work of Fritz
Heider and of Lewin's students is not included.

In a sense this has become a volume of work from the New School for
Social Research. As the reader will notice, all the senior authors whose
work is included have had some connection with the New School,
whose graduate psychology department was founded by Wertheimer in
1933 as part of the University in Exile. It must be mentioned, however,
that the New School is presently the principal academic connection of
only one of the authors, and that this volume by no means represents
the varied points of view of all the psychologists at this institution. Still,
the New School has in some sense provided a center for Gestalt psy-
chology in America. This is, of course, not the first instance in the his-
tory of psychology in which one or a few universities have provided a
home for a particular approach to our science.

This book was edited while the editor was a Fellow of the John
Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. It is a pleasure to call
attention to an additional debt this book owes to the Foundation.
Four of the studies in this collection were made while their authors were
Guggenheim Fellows.

MARY HENLE

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