author
Harry L. (Harry Levi) Hollingworth
1880–1956
A pioneer of applied psychology, this early 20th-century researcher helped bring psychological testing into advertising, industry, and the courtroom. He is also remembered for careful studies that challenged exaggerated claims about caffeine and helped shape practical, evidence-based psychology.
2 Audiobooks
Vocational Psychology: Its Problems and Methods
by Harry L. (Harry Levi) Hollingworth, Leta Stetter Hollingworth
The Sense of Taste
by Harry L. (Harry Levi) Hollingworth, Albert T. (Albert Theodore) Poffenberger
About the author
Born in De Witt, Nebraska, in 1880, Harry Levi Hollingworth became one of the early American psychologists to show how psychology could be used outside the lab. He studied at the University of Nebraska, earned his doctorate at Columbia University in 1909, and went on to build a career around applying psychological methods to real-world problems.
Hollingworth is especially known for work in advertising and industrial psychology, where he studied attention, consumer response, and vocational testing. He also played a notable role in the famous Coca-Cola caffeine case, using experimental research to test whether common claims about caffeine's harmful effects were actually supported by evidence.
Along with his research, he taught for many years at Barnard College and became a prominent figure in American psychology, later serving as president of the American Psychological Association. He also wrote on clinical topics, including functional nervous disorders, and remained an important advocate for practical, scientifically grounded psychology throughout his career.