Gall, Franz Joseph

Gall, Franz Joseph

(born March 9, 1758, Tiefenbronn, Baden—died Aug. 22, 1828, Paris, Fr.) German anatomist and physiologist, founder of phrenology. Convinced that mental functions reside in specific brain areas and determine behaviour, he assumed that the skull surface reflected development of these areas. The first concept was proved correct when Paul Broca located the brain's speech centre in 1861. The second was invalidated when it was found that the skull's thickness varies, so its shape does not reflect the brain's. Gall was the first to identify gray matter with active tissue (nerves) and white matter with conducting tissue.

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Gall, Franz Joseph 

Born Mar. 9, 1758, in Tiefenbrunn, Austria; died Aug. 22, 1828, in Montrouge near Paris. Austrian physician and anatomist. Founder of phrenology.

On the basis of anatomical research and numerous observations of various groups of people, Gall came to the conclusion that the centers of mental life were concentrated not in the ventricles of the brain, as was generally believed at that time, but in the cerebral convolutions. His anatomic works were based on experiments. At the same time, the classification of mental capacities proposed by him was completely arbitrary. However arbitrary were the ideas of Gall on the location of mental functions in different parts of the cerebral hemispheres, the idea of the location of mental functions in itself represented an important step forward in psychological theory. Gall assumed that variations in cerebral convolutions must be revealed on the outer form of the skull—its bumps, by means of which the mental capacities of a man could be judged. These ideas were the foundation of phrenology, which gained tremendous popularity in the 19th century. Physiological research has proved phrenology untenable.

WORKS

Iaroshevskii, M. G. Istoriia psikhologii. Moscow, 1966. Chapter 7.
Fraisse, P., and J. Piaget [comps.]. Eksperimental’naia psikhologiia: Sb. st., vol. 1. Moscow, 1966. Chapter 1.

M. G. IAROSHEVSKII