What
Is Gestalt psychology?
Gestalt
psychology is a school of thought that believes all objects and
scenes can be observed in their simplest forms. Sometimes referred to as the
'Law of Simplicity,' the theory proposes that the whole of an object or scene
is more important than its individual parts. Observing the whole helps us find
order in chaos and unity among outwardly unrelated parts and pieces of
information. The school or doctrine holding that behavioral and psychological phenomena
cannot be fully explained by analysis of their component parts, as reflexes or sensations,
but must be studied as wholes.
Gestalt
psychology proposes a unique perspective on human perception. According to
Gestalt psychologists, we don't just see the world, we actively interpret what
we see, depending on what we are expecting to see. A famous French author, Anaïs
Nin, who was not a psychologist, framed that idea in an interesting way:
'We do not see the world as it is; we see it as we are.'
Gestalt
psychology encourages people to 'think outside of the box' and look for patterns.
In this lesson, we'll explore the basic principles of Gestalt psychology and
the laws of perceptual organization using examples.
Laws
of Perceptual Organization
One of the
laws of
perceptual organization is that of apparent
motion, through which the whole is more important than the
individual parts. When you view an animated cartoon or any kind of film, you'll
perceive motion when the individual frames are strung together. You won't see
the individual frames; you'll see action and motion that tells a story. For
example, in a cartoon, a character may run off the edge of the cliff and, for a
moment, tread air until he looks down, sees his situation and then plummets to
the floor of a canyon to become a flat coyote, cat or bunny.
In
reality, all of this apparent motion is nothing more than a sequence of frames
strung together and proof that 'the whole is greater than the sum of its
parts'. In watching the cartoon, we perceive the motion, but we do not perceive
the individual frames that create the illusion of motion.
Some of
the other basic laws of perceptual organization include:
- Proximity
- Similarity
- Closure
- Figure vs. ground
- Simplicity
Proximity
and Similarity
According
to the principle of proximity,
when we see objects grouped together, we tend to perceive that they belong
together. Look closely at the painting, especially the group of three people
sitting on the shaded grass in the left foreground. Do you think the group and
the dog belong together?
At first
glance, we might assume all three figures and the dog do belong together, but
we could be wrong. Notice that the man slumped on his elbows is casually
dressed, while the man and woman are formally dressed, which suggests they're a
couple. Now, try and identify some other groups in the painting based on the
principle of proximity. How many can you see?
If we
apply the principle of similarity, we'll see the slumped figure as a 'loner.'
On the other hand, we'll think that the man and woman standing in the right
foreground belong together because they're formally dressed and seem to be
facing in the same direction. In other words, when objects seem similar,
we also tend to perceive that they belong together.
Here's another
example: Imagine you are strolling across a city plaza. Around you, traffic
hums, horns blare and people are moving about in every direction. On your
right, you notice a police officer walking away from you. To your right, you
see another police officer heading off in another direction. Straight ahead,
you spot a third police officer talking to a man on the other side of the
plaza.
Based on
the principle of similarity, are you likely to see all three police officers as
belonging together? Yes. You would perceive each one belongs in the same
category, even though they are separated by space. Now, let's move on to
closure.
Closure
and Figure vs. Ground
Closure
refers to our perception of objects or spaces that are incomplete or not fully
enclosed. As a result, we add the missing information ourselves to perceive the
whole. For example, on a bright day in May, you approach the intersection of
Hill Street and Grissom Lane. You spy a stop sign partly concealed by the
leaves of a tree. Will you ignore the signal to stop because the octagonal sign
is not entirely visible? Not likely. Under the principle of closure, you
perceive the familiar red sign in its entirety.
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