studied adolescent and social psychology and mental health. After returning to Germany for a brief period, Muuss decided to move to America permanently in 1953. He was able to further his education at Western Maryland College in the master's program, from which he graduated in 1954. Muuss then attended the University of Illinois, where he majored in Educational Psychology and minored in Clinical Psychology. He graduated with his doctorate in 1957. Career Psychology Muuss’ work in psychology was focused on adolescent psychology and development. He thought that understanding human development was a valuable tool that could provide insight into raising and managing children and adolescents, and education and learning. Muuss believed development was influenced by external interacting conditions and factors, and could only be understood when all these contributors were considered. Muuss’ work in psychology has been recognised by the American Psychological Society, in which he was elected Fellow. He has also been acknowledged by the American Psychological Association. Existentialism Muuss drew his knowledge and understanding of existentialism from a wide variety of sources and perspectives. He examined it right from its roots, in the work of Socrates, Augustine, Descartes, and Pascal. He also drew from works by Soren Kierkegaard, Karl Jaspers, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Muuss claimed that existentialism and philosophy provided a way to understand humans and their existence that could not be achieved via science. He believed existentialism was the counter movement to systematics and rationalism. Muuss stated that existentialism is not concerned with external values, morals, or laws, and that these laws are in fact broken down and challenged in the process of understanding and accepting existentialism. He believed that rather than being influenced by these external values individuals create their own ideals. He drew this notion from the work of Sartre, particularly his book L ’Existentialisme est un hunznnisme. Muuss believed that existentialism was directly related to autonomy and freedom, and much more concerned with the individual than the society in which they exist. He stated that existentialism is a way to gain knowledge of ones self. Muuss also believed existentialism to be inherently pessimistic, as it brought the "meaningfulness and the absurdity of existence" to light. Muuss condensed these thoughts and beliefs about existentialism into the following ten characteristics: Existentialism is the philosophy of freedom Existentialism is a type of humanism Existentialism is irrationalism Existentialism is a radical subjectivism Existentialism is pessimism Existentialism is individualism