Download Gestalt Psychology

Gestalt Psychology
Presented by
Rachel Barnes, Ph.D.
Reminders
• LATE WORK
• Due November 17 (NEXT TUESDAY)
• Unless approved by me PRIOR to this
• Papers, discussions, option 2 seminars
• Worth the points, even if reduced
• CHECK GRADE FEEDBACK
• FINAL PROJECT
• Due November 17th
• If hand in by November 15th (Sunday) at noon, I
will review and get back to you
• PLEASE take advantage of this and writing
center!
Gestalt Principles
• How did it differ from Behaviorism?
• Revolted against elementistic nature of
Wundt’s work - “brick and mortar
psychology”
• More to perception than meets the eye
• Associated with the ideas of physics
• Phi Phenomenon - illusion the stationary
flashing lights are moving from one place to
another
• Existed as perceived and could not be reduced
• What did the Gestalt psychologists
mean by the expressions, “the whole is
different from the sum of its parts”
and “there is more to perception than
meets the eye”?
Max Wertheimer
QuickTi me™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see t his pict ure.
• Czech-born Jewish teacher
• Proposed that the operational principle of
the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog,
with self-organizing tendencies
• soap bubble - shape is not defined by a rigid
template or a mathematical formula, but it
emerges spontaneously by the parallel action of
surface tension acting at all points
• Focus on the orm-forming capability of our
senses, particularly with respect to the
visual recognition of figures and whole forms
instead of just a collection of simple lines
and curves
Kurt Koffka
Qui ckTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see thi s pi cture.
• Student of Karl Stumpf, participated as
subject of phi phenomenon
• Child Development
• Infants first perceive and respond
holistically
• Later are they able to perceive the
individual sensations that comprise the
whole
Wolfgang Kohler
•
•
•
•
Spokesman for Gestalt movement
Trained in physics and psychology
Studied apes, but became tired of this
Criticized Nazi regime and fled from
Germany
Principles of Organization
1. Proximity - parts that are close together in time
and space appear connected
2. Continuity - tendency in our perception to follow
a direction to connect elements in a way that
makes them seem continuous
3. Similarity - similar parts tend to be seen closer
together as forming a group
4. Closure - tending to complete figures, fill in gaps
5. Simplicity - we tend to see a figure as being as
good as possible
1. Symmetrical, simple, stable, perceived as
complete and organized
6. Figure-ground - organized by figure and
background
Kurt Lewin
• Force field analysis
• provides a framework for looking at the factors
(forces) that influence a situation, originally
social situations
• Looks at forces that are either driving movement
toward a goal (helping forces) or blocking
movement toward a goal (hindering forces).
• Life space - The places where you physically
go, the people and events that occur there,
and your feelings about the place and
people.
• One part of this is the places you inhabit every
day, or at least regularly.
• Another part is places you've been to, but go only
very occasionally or may never go back to again.
Lewin (Cont’d)
• Zeigarnik effect
• Tendency to recall uncompleted tasks
better than completed tasks
• Social psychology
• Focus on group dynamics
• Emphasized social action research
• Promoted sensitivity training
Quic kT i me™ and a
dec om pres s or
are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.
Insight
• How does insight learning differ from
trial-and-error learning?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m
DntbGRPeEU
• In what ways did Gestalt psychology
affect psychology as a whole? How
does the Gestalt perspective shed light
on our understanding of the behavior
of individuals within groups?
Have a great week!
• Please be sure to answer both
discussions questions
• Begin thinking about the final
project and contact me with
questions