Hayley Oxborrow Cole Gestalt Psychology Reflection
Hayley Oxborrow Cole
Gestalt Psychology Reflection
PSY/310
Feb 23, 2015
Instructor: Cheri Meadowlark
Gestalt Psychology Reflection
Gestalt Psychology Reflection
Gestalt psychology can be credited to the work of three men who all shared a passion for exploration of the mind and who helped lead the revolt against structuralism.
Austro-Hungarian Max Wertheimer, had an epiphany that perception was sometimes an illusion, different from the current days practice of introspection. His theory called the phi phenomenon, suggested if separate objects were viewed in rapid succession it would create an optical illusion giving the perception that the objects were actually one. Also conceptualizing the idea of productive thinking, believing new ideas are a product of reasoning.
Wertheimer was not alone in his works though. Wolfgang Kohler, an associate who studied primates in their environment, believed that more could be learned from observing a subject outside of a lab and with out reinforcements. During his work with chimpanzees he was able to observe something new, the apes possessed problem solving capabilities, which contradicted the theory widely believed that most mammals operated on a trial and error, (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). He determined that apes operated through insight and calculation based on their perceptions.
An equally important contribution to their research was the work that Kurt Koffka did to promote it. As the three men began defining the theory of Gestalt, Koffka began to write articles and hold lectures, which illustrated the findings and clarified the theories meaning. This helped promote understanding of their research and created a following, (Schultz & Schultz, 2011).
Gestalt’s six principles, explain perception not as individual parts but as a whole sum of a perceived occurrence. Proximity, states if objects are close together, even when different, they appear as a group, such as a bowl of mixed fruit. Closure, sees familiar
Gestalt Psychology Reflection
PSY/310
Feb 23, 2015
Instructor: Cheri Meadowlark
Gestalt Psychology Reflection
Gestalt Psychology Reflection
Gestalt psychology can be credited to the work of three men who all shared a passion for exploration of the mind and who helped lead the revolt against structuralism.
Austro-Hungarian Max Wertheimer, had an epiphany that perception was sometimes an illusion, different from the current days practice of introspection. His theory called the phi phenomenon, suggested if separate objects were viewed in rapid succession it would create an optical illusion giving the perception that the objects were actually one. Also conceptualizing the idea of productive thinking, believing new ideas are a product of reasoning.
Wertheimer was not alone in his works though. Wolfgang Kohler, an associate who studied primates in their environment, believed that more could be learned from observing a subject outside of a lab and with out reinforcements. During his work with chimpanzees he was able to observe something new, the apes possessed problem solving capabilities, which contradicted the theory widely believed that most mammals operated on a trial and error, (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). He determined that apes operated through insight and calculation based on their perceptions.
An equally important contribution to their research was the work that Kurt Koffka did to promote it. As the three men began defining the theory of Gestalt, Koffka began to write articles and hold lectures, which illustrated the findings and clarified the theories meaning. This helped promote understanding of their research and created a following, (Schultz & Schultz, 2011).
Gestalt’s six principles, explain perception not as individual parts but as a whole sum of a perceived occurrence. Proximity, states if objects are close together, even when different, they appear as a group, such as a bowl of mixed fruit. Closure, sees familiar
References: Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E.(2011). A History of Modern Psychology (10th ed.).Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. PAGE PAGE 1