Erik Erikson was a German-American psychoanalyst and developmental psychologist best remembered for developing a theory on the psychological development of humans. He is credited with coining the term identity crisis, the failure to achieve ego identity. Also a prolific writer, Erikson won a US National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize for his book Gandhi's Truth.
Wilhelm Wundt was a German physiologist, professor, and philosopher. He is often counted among the founders of modern psychology and is widely considered the father of experimental psychology. He is also credited with founding the first laboratory for psychological research, which he founded at the University of Leipzig in 1879.
![Karen Horney Karen Horney](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/karen-horney-51687-1.jpg)
Remembered for her pioneering work on feminist psychology, Karen Horney studied medicine at a time when women weren’t allowed in universities. Going against Sigmund Freud’s concept of penis envy, she suggested the idea of womb envy. She believed psychological differences weren’t rooted in gender but rather depended on the socio-cultural influences.
One of the most prominent intellectuals of the 20th century, Theodor Adorno was a pioneer of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory and despised the culture industry. Born to a singer mother, the German sociologist grew up amid music and could even play Beethoven on the piano by 12.
![Fritz Perls Fritz Perls](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/fritz-perls-3801-1.jpg)
Fritz Perls initially fought in World War I, following which he treated brain injuries of soldiers. He was later drawn to Freudian psychoanalysis. During World War II, he was the psychiatrist for the South African military. His Gestalt therapy, which he co-created with his wife, Laura, redefined psychology.
![Hermann Ebbinghaus Hermann Ebbinghaus](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/hermann-ebbinghaus-1.jpg)
Especially remembered for his pioneering work on rote learning and memory, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus became interested in the subject after reading Gustav Fechner's Elements of Psychophysics. Eventually, he developed the experimental methods for measuring memory, using 2,300 three-letter nonsense syllables that he devised. Later, he also discovered the forgetting curve and the spacing effect and described the learning curve.
The son of a musician, Emil Kraepelin, remembered as the founder of psychiatry, was the first to differentiate between dementia praecox, now known as schizophrenia, and manic-depressive psychosis. His classification of mental illnesses influenced much of the research on the subject in the 20th century.
![Selma Ergeç Selma Ergeç](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/selma-erge-1.jpg)
![Gustav Fechner Gustav Fechner](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/gustav-fechner-1.jpg)
Gustav Fechner was a German physicist, philosopher, and experimental psychologist. A pioneer in the field of experimental psychology, Fechner is credited with founding psychophysics. Gustav Fechner inspired several philosophers and scientists like Jan Koenderink, David Heeger, and Farley Norman. In 1970, a crater on the Moon was named after him by the International Astronomical Union.
![Kurt Schneider Kurt Schneider](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/kurt-schneider-17515-1.jpg)
Chiefly known for his works on the diagnosis and understanding of schizophrenia, German psychiatrist Kurt Schneider published many papers on the subject, creating a list of the psychotic symptoms, today known as Schneiderian First-Rank Symptoms, to differentiate it from other forms of mental disorder. He also made significant contributions to personality disorders, coining term like endogenous depression and reactive depression.
![Hugo Münsterberg Hugo Münsterberg](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/hugo-mnsterberg-1.jpg)
![Erich Neumann Erich Neumann](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/erich-neumann-1.jpg)
Erich Neumann was a psychologist, philosopher, and writer. He completed his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and studied medicine at the University of Berlin. He was a student of Carl Jung and regularly gave lectures at the C. G. Jung Institute. He was a member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology as well.
![Julia Shaw Julia Shaw](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/julia-shaw-1.jpg)
![Eva Justin Eva Justin](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/eva-justin-1.jpg)
Eva Justin was a German anthropologist who specialised in scientific racism. Justin, who was active during the Nazi era, contributed to the crimes of the Nazis against the Roma and Sinti peoples. Eva Justin was tasked with studying children, who were then sent to concentration camps. At least 35 children studied by Eva Justin were killed in the gas chamber.
![Peter Gay Peter Gay](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/peter-gay-5059-1.jpg)
Best known for his work on modern European cultural history, Peter Gay was a renowned American historian who had penned the iconic works such as the award-winning The Enlightenment: An Interpretation. His studies on Freud and the Weimar Republic, too, became bestsellers. He was married to award-winning author Ruth Gay.
![Johann Friedrich Herbart Johann Friedrich Herbart](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/johann-friedrich-herbart-16899-1.jpg)
![Kurt Koffka Kurt Koffka](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/kurt-koffka-28078-1.jpg)
![Rudolf Arnheim Rudolf Arnheim](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/rudolf-arnheim-23620-1.jpg)
![Gerd Gigerenzer Gerd Gigerenzer](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/gerd-gigerenzer-1.jpg)
![Ulric Neisser Ulric Neisser](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/ulric-neisser-1.jpg)
![William Stern William Stern](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/william-stern-28242-1.jpg)
![Ernst Heinrich Weber Ernst Heinrich Weber](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/ernst-heinrich-weber-1.jpg)
![Paul Baltes Paul Baltes](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/paul-baltes.jpg)
![Esther Vilar Esther Vilar](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/esther-vilar-1.jpg)
Born to German-Jewish immigrants in Argentina, Esther Vilar studied medicine before she moved to Germany to study psychology and sociology. After taking up scores of odd jobs, she soared to international fame with her bestselling book The Manipulated Man, which argues that women aren’t oppressed but control men in relationships.
![Uta Frith Uta Frith](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/uta-frith-94784-1.jpg)
![Ludwig Klages Ludwig Klages](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/ludwig-klages-1.jpg)
![Carl Stumpf Carl Stumpf](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/carl-stumpf-1.jpg)
![Lydia Benecke Lydia Benecke](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/lydia-benecke-1.jpg)
![Jutta Rudiger Jutta Rudiger](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/jutta-rudiger-1.jpg)
![Eduard Spranger Eduard Spranger](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/eduard-spranger-59866-1.jpg)
![Karl Bühler Karl Bühler](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/karl-bhler-1.jpg)
![Georg Elias Müller Georg Elias Müller](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/georg-elias-mller-1.jpg)
German psychologist Georg Elias Müller was born into a family of theologians and had initially been interested in mysticism, philosophy, and history. However, he eventually drifted apart to study psychology. A pioneer in the research on sensations, learning, and memory, he also laid down the concept of retroactive interference.
![Oswald Külpe Oswald Külpe](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/oswald-klpe-1.jpg)
![Moritz Lazarus Moritz Lazarus](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/moritz-lazarus-1.jpg)
![Friedrich Eduard Beneke Friedrich Eduard Beneke](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/friedrich-eduard-beneke-66237-1.jpg)
![Heinrich Klüver Heinrich Klüver](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/heinrich-klver-1.jpg)
![Georg Sieber Georg Sieber](http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thumbs/georg-sieber-1.jpg)
Former model Felicitas Rombold is better known as the wife of Spanish-German actor Daniel Brühl of Good Bye, Lenin! fame. The two are parents to two sons and had tied the knot after the birth of their first child. Felicitas is a psychotherapist and boasts of a PhD in psychology.