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CONTRIBUTIONS OF GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY

Gestalt Laws

By Regina BrooksPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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CONTRIBUTIONS OF GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY

Gestalt psychology thinks as our minds as a whole and not as elements. Gestalt psychology had started by Max Wertheimer. He came up with the concept of Phi phenomenon where flashing lights if they are continuous look like a straight line of light or an apparent motion. Motion pictures picked this up where movement can happen with light where there is no movement at all. Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization…..when the flashing lights keep moving. The gestalt law says that a person’s behavior is not based on a person’s elements but their mind/body as a whole. The great thinkers that loved gestalt law were Max Wertheheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wofgang Kohler. They believed our minds filled in the missing gaps of information. This is how perception came about. Gestalt psychologist believed that the whole of something is better than parts of something. Gestalt psychologists came up with different laws to help understand perception. These are called the Laws of Perceptual Organization.

There is Gestalt Laws that were created by Wertheimer along with Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt that is when group smaller objects to form larger ones also called (perceptual organization).

These are:

Perception….

The Law of Similarity

The Law of Pragnanz

The Law of Proximity

The Law of Closure

The Law of Continuity

The Law of Symmetry

The Law of Simularity states that if enough objects are similar that are grouped together, they will all look alike. The Law of Pragnanz is we order our experiences in manner that is orderly and symmetrical. Law of Proximity is people will tend to see objects close together as forming a group. Law of Closure is people will see objects such as shapes, letters, or pictures as wholes when they are not complete, even when they have a gap. Law of Continuity is elements of objects tend to be grouped together into wholes if they are aligned with an object. The Law of Symmetry is how the mind identify with everything being equal on both sides with a center.

Max Wertheimer worked with Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka together forming the Gestalt school. They worked concerning with perception, sensation, and visual illusion. The gestalt psychology went from visual perception to the nervous system. It goes into the nervous system into the brain. It dealt with learning and thinking.

Max Wertheimer was born April 15, 1880 and he past away October 12,1943. He wrote many famous papers and a book. He was an Austro-Hungarian psychologist. His father was an educator and served as the director of a local school in addition to teaching. While he had an early interest in music, he also became fascinated with philosophy. Wertheimer originally studied law at university, but soon switched to philosophy and psychology. 

He was known as being one of the founding figures of the Gestalt psychology. He is famous for finding the phi phenomenon by observing continuous flashing lights. In 1944, Max Wertheimer wrote about Gestalt theory in a paper. The paper he wrote was titled, GESTALT THEORY.

Gestalt theory is great in psychology because it teaches how to focus on not just the mind as a whole, but the many elements that could be causing a behavior. Gestalt psychology is great for many reasons because it teaches us that there are many different ways that may be what could be leading mental disorder. Also, on a positive note, it teaches other ways that could lead to a healthier patient. There are different ways to make therapy better. For instance, if you start therapy but are unsure of how it will go, there are ways to ensure that you will have a good therapy session. By using a gestalt way of psychology thinking, using many types of elements into one. The many types of elements could be good ways of bringing positive things to the “table” about how to make therapy a good experience. This will make your good experience of therapy a whole.

Gestalt psychology has brought to us the human perception concept. That what we perceive and think is going on around us is really our own motivations. We expect things to happen therefore we get disappointed when they are not as they seem. Max Wertheimer made this perfectly clear with the phi phenomenon as the flashing lights being continuous. They looked like a straight light, however they were not. The Gestalt effect is the way the brain picks up the whole form of an object instead of just the elements by themselves. The brain picks up the whole before the elements. The brain then can break down the whole into the elements.

References

Gestalt theory. (2010). In E. Guter, Aesthetics A-Z. Edinburg, UK: Edinburgh University Press. Retrieved from http://search.credoreference.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/content/entry/eupaes/gestalt_theory/0

Gestalt theory. (2006). In D. Jary, & J. Jary (Eds.), Collins dictionary of sociology. London, UK: Collins. Retrieved from http://search.credoreference.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/content/entry/collinssoc/gestalt_theory/0

Cherry, Kendra. (2016). What is Gestalt Psychology? Very Well. Retrieved from: https://www.verywell.com/max-wertheimer-biography-1880-1943-2795528

Cherry, Kendra. (2021). Gestalt Laws Perceptual Organization. Verywellmind. Retrieved from

https://www.verywellmind.com/gestalt-laws-of-perceptual-organization-2795835

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About the Creator

Regina Brooks

Freelance writer, dog lover, and working on my bachelor's degree in Psych at Uni of Phoenix. I love recycling. I try to make the environment a better place. I believe in positivity and showing others a smile instead of negativity.

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