PSYCHOLOGISTS from Netherlands

Top 5

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Dutch Psychologists of all time. This list of famous Dutch Psychologists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Geert Hofstede (1928 - 2020)

With an HPI of 62.62, Geert Hofstede is the most famous Dutch Psychologist.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages on wikipedia.

Gerard Hendrik (Geert) Hofstede (2 October 1928 – 12 February 2020) was a Dutch social psychologist, IBM employee, and Professor Emeritus of Organizational Anthropology and International Management at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, well known for his pioneering research on cross-cultural groups and organizations. He is best known for developing one of the earliest and most popular frameworks for measuring cultural dimensions in a global perspective. Here he described national cultures along six dimensions: Power Distance, Individualism, Uncertainty avoidance, Masculinity, Long Term Orientation, and Indulgence vs. restraint. He was known for his books Culture's Consequences and Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, co-authored with his son Gert Jan Hofstede. The latter book deals with organizational culture, which is a different structure from national culture, but also has measurable dimensions, and the same research methodology is used for both.

2. Frans de Waal (1948 - 2024)

With an HPI of 56.31, Frans de Waal is the 2nd most famous Dutch Psychologist.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Franciscus Bernardus Maria de Waal (29 October 1948 – 14 March 2024) was a Dutch-American primatologist and ethologist. He was the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Primate Behavior in the Department of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory, and author of numerous books including Chimpanzee Politics (1982) and Our Inner Ape (2005). His research centered on primate social behavior, including conflict resolution, cooperation, inequity aversion, and food-sharing. He was a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

3. Henri Nouwen (1932 - 1996)

With an HPI of 51.88, Henri Nouwen is the 3rd most famous Dutch Psychologist.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen (January 24, 1932 – September 21, 1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian. His interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and community. Over the course of his life, Nouwen was heavily influenced by the work of Anton Boisen, Thomas Merton, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, and Jean Vanier. After nearly two decades of teaching at academic institutions including the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School and Harvard Divinity School, Nouwen went on to work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the L'Arche Daybreak community in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

4. C. George Boeree (1952 - 2021)

With an HPI of 50.77, C. George Boeree is the 4th most famous Dutch Psychologist.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Cornelis George Boeree (January 15, 1952 – January 5, 2021) was an American psychologist at Shippensburg University, who specialized in personality theory and the history of psychology. He created the language Lingua Franca Nova.

5. Frederik van Eeden (1860 - 1932)

With an HPI of 49.74, Frederik van Eeden is the 5th most famous Dutch Psychologist.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Frederik Willem van Eeden (3 April 1860, Haarlem – 16 June 1932, Bussum) was a late 19th-century and early 20th-century Dutch writer and psychiatrist. He was a leading member of the Tachtigers and the Significs Group, and had top billing among the editors of De Nieuwe Gids (The New Guide) during its celebrated first few years of publication, starting in 1885.