Stern, William
Stern, William
(1871-1938) Psychologist and philosopher who has contributed extensively to individual psychology (see Individual Psychology), child psychology and applied psychology. He was an innovator in the field of intelligence testing, having suggested the use of intelligence quotient (I.Q.) obtained by dividing in individual’s mental age by his chronological age and recognized that this quotient is relatively constant for a given individual. The Psychological Methods of Testing Intelligence. Stern’s psychology with its emphasis on individual differences affords the foundation for his personalistic philosophy, the main contention of which is that the person is a psychophysical unity, characterized by purposiveness and individuality. See Die Psychologie und der Personalismus (1917); Person und Sache, 3 Vols. Die Philosophie der Gegenwart in Selbstdarstellung, Vol. 6. — L.W.