...unning head: GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY Gestalt Psychology Theory Abstract The formation of the gestalt movement. The founding fathers of gestalt theory, Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler and their focus in the movement. Gestalt therapy explained by the laws and the theory of personality. How the gestalt theory is in effect today. Gestalt Psychology Theory The three pioneers of the Gestalt Theory, Max Werthmeimer, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka. All three focused on different aspects that have continued to develop across multiple disciplines throughout the 2oth Century. Gestalt theory focused on the mind’s perceptive processes (Kearsley, 1998). The word gestalt has no direct translation into English, but “describes a configuration or form that is unified. A gestalt may refer to a figure or object that is different from the sum of its parts. Any attempt to explain the figure by analyzing its parts results in the loss of the figure’s gestalt” (Brennan, 2003). In simpler terms” A way a thing has been ‘placed’, or ‘put together’”; common translation includes “form” and “shape” (Myers, 1998). Zakia, 1997, described gestalt by saying,”…what you experience when you look at a picture is quite different from what you would experience if you were to look at each item that is in the picture separately”. Wertheimer was born in Prague in 1880 (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2001). He studied at the Universities of Prague, Berlin and Wurzburg, receiving...
Words: 4209 - Pages: 17
...Gestalt psychology Reflection The Gestalt psychology movement was fascinating within the time frame in which it started to develop. While other psychological movements strived to boil down psychology in almost simplistic, scientific terms, Gestalt psychology embraced complexities within the consciousness. Gestalt psychologists argued “that when we look out a window we really see trees and sky, not individual sensory elements such as brightness and hue” (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). There is more to what we experience and see that just the simple elements that make these things and experiences up. Gestalt psychology owes much of its beginnings to the philosophical work of Immanuel Kant (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). Kant believed that experiences were created not from association, but through the perception of those experiences (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). There is a certain level of individuality in this statement, as individual perception is not something that can be simply classified in a way that was satisfactory to a more scientific model. For me, seeing the color green immediately leads me to reflect upon my grandmother and my great deal of pleasant experiences and memories. My perception of the color green, therefore, is wholly distinct from a simplistic explanation of the hue or tone of the color. Another interesting influence of Gestalt psychology was physics professor Ernst Mach. Mach used his physics background to explain that perceptions of objects do...
Words: 278 - Pages: 2
...Influences of Gestalt psychology were Immanuel Kant’s study on the focuses of perception as a whole, Ernst Mach’s influence of sensation thinking, and Christin von Ehrenfel’s further exploration and experimentation on Mach’s sensations theory. Max Wertheimer studied Ehrenfel’s work and used it as the bass for his movement of the Gestalt theory. In addition, the two other founders of Gestalt psychology, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler, studied elements of consciousness and artificial abstractions that furthered Gestalt research and movement. “After Wertheimer initiated the studies on the perception of apparent movement, Gestalt psychologists seized on other perceptual phenomena. The experience of perceptual constancies afforded additional support for their views” (Schultz, 2011, p. 271). The idea of perceptual constancy is having completeness and or wholeness not very even if information is missing. Gestalt psychology is theory of the mind being so complex and dynamic that sensory elements such as vision and sound interact in order to fill in missing information that is perceived by an individual who is perceiving the information given. The founders of Gestalt psychology explain perceptual and a few defining principles. The first law is similarity, meaning items are perceived as being together such as forming a group. For example, if an individual were to see a group of squares and circles the law similarity would allow the individual to group the squares and circles separately...
Words: 508 - Pages: 3
... Gestalt Psychology Gestalt psychology is best describe as a school of thought which looks into the human mind and behavior as a whole. The main idea behind Gestalt psychology is that the human mind considers objects as a whole before, or in parallel with, a perception of their individual parts. Many Gestalt psychologists believed that all mental experience was not only dependent on just a specific combination of elements. They were also dependent patterns and organization of an individual experience of perceptions. Founded by three German psychologists in 1910 Wolfgang Kolhler, Kurt Koffka, and Max Wertheimer had many contributions to the discipline. It began with the brilliant work of Max Wertheimer in response to the Wilhelm Wundt structuralism Gestalt psychology became establish. This development of psychology help inspires many individuals such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Immanuel Kant, and Ernst Mach. Gestalt psychology had many contributions to the discipline, especially with Gestalt therapy. Gestalt therapy specifically focuses on helping an individual raise their senses, feelings, and needs. Helping individuals expand their boundaries as well all while contributing to a person overall self-respect and well-being. Emphasizing on making strong connections, respectful meetings and establish great contact. Lewin's theory states that an individual is part of the community and should not be isolated. According to Gestalt principles...
Words: 464 - Pages: 2
... there have been many people and innovations in the psychiatric world that have spurred from him. One of those innovations was the Gestalt Theory by Fredrick S. Perls. The background behind Perls and his theory, an analysis of what his theory was and what it did, and how it is still used today, is what is focused on in this paper. Fredrick S. Perls created the Gestalt Theory in the 1940’s and continued to have an influence on culture through the 1950’s. His main interests in existenalism and Eastern religions, and Gestalt psychology contradicted what his Freudian training had taught him, but in the end led him to his well-known Gestalt Theory. “Perls saw the human being as a unified organism, an integration of mental, physical, emotional. And sensory processes expressed in the present moment” (Irving B. & Craighead, 2010). A lot of Perls work had been influenced by Kurt Goldstein, a neurologist, Moreno’s social experimentation, field therapy by Kurt Lewin, and ideas derived from Zen (Gaie, 2003). His theory focused on the less shy and submissive idea of feelings and brought up the value of the client/patient dynamic and the effectiveness of facing the problem head on. Even though all the people and therapy’s listed above had an influence on Perls, he was able to mesh all of what he had learned together beautifully into his own. The Gestalt Theory that was created by Fredrick Perls is a theory that focuses on self-acceptance and taking responsibilities for one’s own actions...
Words: 1162 - Pages: 5
...Gestalt Psychology Reflection The school of thought Gestalt psychology began in the late 19th century in Austria and Germany. Gestalt psychology is based on the idea that perception is experienced in larger wholes, or gestalts (Cherry, 2014). Psychologists that use this school of thought believe that instead of breaking down behavior and thoughts into small elements, behavior should be looked at as a unified whole experience (Kowalski, PhD. & Westen, 2010). The assumption behind Gestalt psychology is that an individual’s mind functions by recognizing structures when none is seen. Gestalt psychology was developed from the initial ideas of structuralism and functionalism regarding perception. The Antecedent Influences on Gestalt psychology accepted the value of consciousness and focused on the wholeness of perception. Immanuel Kant and Enst Mach proposed two different propositions regarding Antecedent Influences on Gestalt psychology. Kant proposed, “pieces of information are organized in meaningful ways through association and form a coherent perceptual experience," while Mach proposed “perception of an object does not change despite changing our orientation to the object (Schultz & Schultz, 2012).” According to Schultz & Schultz (2012), another early influence regarding Gestalt psychology was Phenomenology. Phenomenology was influenced by German philosophy and psychology. It is a doctrine based on the “unbiased description of immediate experience just as it occurs...
Words: 595 - Pages: 3
...Gestalt Psychology Amber Havener PSY 310 October 14, 2014 K. Hathaway Gestalt Psychology Early development of psychology have been traced back to the initial idea of Wundt and later on elaborated on by Titchener. Gestalt psychology focused primarily on the nature of Wundt’s work. Gestalt approached Wundt’s ideas with complete opposition. Wolfgang Kohler, psychological facts consist of unrelated inert atoms…thus introduce action are association”. Early influences of Gestalt psychology consist of many different elements. Such as, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) he has implied that when we see what we call objects we come in contact with mental states that are composed of bits and pieces. To Kant these elements are organized in the mind the process of perceiving will occur or a creation of a whole experience. Perception is not a combination of sensory elements, but more an active organizing of elements into a coherent experience. The mind gives shape to the raw, uncut data of perception. Fraz Brentano proposed that psychology was studying the act of experiencing. Brentano opposed Wundt’s interest on the elements of conscious experience, he thought that Wundt’s introspection was a more direct observation of an experience that occurred. Ernst ach pushed for a more direct influence on Gestalt psychology. Mach was more interested in geometric figures and patterns, such as, melodies. An example of this would the space form of a circle. Even if the space form of the circle was black...
Words: 308 - Pages: 2
...Gestalt Psychology Reflection Paper PSY/310 Desirèe Ray 2/1/16 Melody Thompson The word Gestalt means a unified whole. Based on that understanding, Gestalt psychology looks at things as a whole versus in pieces or parts. The thoughts of Gestalt psychology is that we are processing the world around us, we don’t just focus on the small, seemingly insignificant things. Instead our mind perceive our surroundings as parts of a greater whole. The Gestalt psychology school played a major role in the study of human perception and sensation. The guiding idea behind Gestalt psychology is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Gestalt psychology was found by 3 principle psychologists. Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler. Max Wertheimer initially studied law, but took an interest in perception after noticing flashing train lights at a train station gave the illusion of motion. From there he went on to change his focus from law to psychology. While at the University of Frankfurt's Psychological Institute, he began to work with two assistants named Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka. The three colleagues and would go on to form the school of thought known as Gestalt psychology. Thanks to his work during his time at the New School for Social Research in New York City, it became one of the leading schools of psychology during the early part of the twentieth century. Psychologist Solomon Asch wrote of Max Wertheimer the “thinking of Max Wertheimer has penetrated...
Words: 746 - Pages: 3
...Gestalt Psychology Reflection April Cage Professor Katrina Ramos 3/16/15 INTRODUCTION Gestalt psychology means unified whole. The three main founders who established the school of gestalt psychology were Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka as well as Wolfgang Kohler. The foundations of the Gestalt psychology are perception, memory and learning. Some of the principles of Gestalt psychology are isomorphism, productive thinking as well as reproductive thinking. It refers to theories of visual perception developed by German psychologists in the 1920s. Instead of approaching psychology as atoms or elements according to Wundt’s theory, Gestalt psychology on the other hand, focuses on human experiencing psychological events as a whole. Reflection Max Wertheimer used to study law but his interest soon shifted to philosophy and psychology. He developed a keen interest on perception after observing how the flashing of lights at train station created an illusion of movement. He was at the University of Frankfurt where he worked with Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler and the three of them established a school of thought known as Gestalt Psychology. He pursued perceptual ideas through his studies with chimpanzees as director of the Canary Island Anthropoid Station in 1913. He became an American citizen and finally became the president of the American Psychological Association in 1959. Kohler contributed substantial literature work to the field of...
Words: 682 - Pages: 3
...Gestalt Psychology Reflection Yanko Abreu PSY 310 February 15, 2016 Dr. Fine Gestalt Psychology Reflection Psychology has always been an ever evolving discipline, popular ideas are constantly thought up and either disproved or developed. Early to mid-twentieth century the United States had become home to the behaviorist school of thought. Being able to conduct experiments in order to further ideas was more important than simply speculating on thought process. Behaviorism had essentially broken down thought to simple stimuli and reaction. This however way not the only school of thought at the time. In Germany, psychologist were having issue with this oversimplification of the human mind. There were those who believed that the mind could not be looked at as just the sum total of its parts this was to be known as Gestalt psychology. Instead the mind had to be studied as a whole in order to fully understand it, especially in regard to the more complex thought processes (Goodwin, 2015). The idea was sound but creating observable experiments to test many of the theories was beyond the capabilities of the time. This was a vulnerability that other psychologist would often exploited. Gestalt psychology stemmed from many different areas of study to include philosophy, physics, and even music. The idea that things had to be studied as a whole instead of its parts was in line with some of the concepts that these other areas were looking into at the time. Music played a surprising...
Words: 1043 - Pages: 5
...Gestalt Psychology Reflection Michael A. Perkins PSY310 January 26th, 2015 Dr. Shannon Kelly Gestalt Psychology Reflection The Gestalt psychology movement was fascinating within the time frame in which it started to develop. While other psychological movements strived to boil down psychology in almost simplistic, scientific terms, Gestalt psychology embraced complexities within the consciousness. Gestalt psychologists argued “that when we look out a window we really see trees and sky, not individual sensory elements such as brightness and hue” (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). There is more to what we experience and see that just the simple elements that make these things and experiences up. Gestalt psychology owes much of its beginnings to the philosophical work of Immanuel Kant (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). Kant believed that experiences were created not from association, but through the perception of those experiences (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). There is a certain level of individuality in this statement, as individual perception is not something that can be simply classified in a way that was satisfactory to a more scientific model. For me, seeing the color green immediately leads me to reflect upon my grandmother and my great deal of pleasant experiences and memories. My perception of the color green, therefore, is wholly distinct from a simplistic explanation of the hue or tone of the color. Another interesting influence of Gestalt psychology was physics professor...
Words: 635 - Pages: 3
...What is Gestalt Therapy? http://www.westhartfordcounselingcenter.com/gestalt.html Gestalt therapy is a type of therapy used to deepen our awareness of ourselves and our feelings in a less intellectual manner than the more traditional forms of therapy. "Gestalt" means the whole; it implies wholeness. In any experience or interaction there are feelings in the foreground and in the background. The idea in Gestalt therapy is that all of us have had to repress or supress aspects of ourselves because they were not accepted or supported. It is these aspects of ourselves or our feelings that end up in the background and can become unfinished business. Gestalt therapy can help shed light on unfinished business by helping us to focus our awareness on our feelings (or lack of feelings) moment to moment. Once we recognize our unfinished business,( i.e. uncomfortable feelings, stuck patterns of behavior, or ways in which we perceive ourselves and others that are based on our experiences as opposed to reality), we are better equipped to understand ourselves and to choose whether we want to make changes or not. [pic] One method utilized in Gestalt therapy is the empty-chair technique. This is a simple tool in self-exploration and is clearly explained in an excerpt taken from the Internet. When you go see a Gestalt therapist, the office will usually have an extra chair--an empty chair. This chair serves an important function. The therapist may ask you to imagine holding...
Words: 963 - Pages: 4
...Gestalt psychology reflection Paper Barrie Bogatov Psy/310 14 March, 2015 Since its inception, psychology has taken many twists and turns from the theories of Skinner, Thorndike, experiments from Watson, Pavlov etc. and from them we have learned a great deal. Nevertheless, according to Schultz & Schultz (2012) “at approximately the same time the behaviorist revolution was gathering strength in the United States, the Gestalt revolution was taking hold of German psychology” (Schultz & Schultz, 2012 pg 262). When it comes to Gestalt psychology, one can say that this field had many influences from many different founders with many different views and theories. Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, Ernst Mach, and Kurt Koffka are some of the ones that had a huge impact on the development of Gestalt psychology. Gestalt psychology as we know is “the study of perception and behavior from the standpoint of an individual's response to configurationally wholes with stress on the uniformity of psychological and physiological events and rejection of analysis into discrete events of stimulus, percept, and response” Max Wertheimer was a young scholar who was going to school to study law. But during his time at the University of Prague he decided to change his major to a field of study that he found rather interesting and that field was philosophy and psychology. As per different students, who took his lectures or had been to his office said that the way he saw...
Words: 656 - Pages: 3
...Gestalt Psychology Reflection Gestalt Psychology Reflection Gestalt psychology is known as the school of thought. It looks within human thought processing and human behavior as a whole rather than separately. The mind's ability to process and interpret the world. Gestalt psychology was formulated by the original works of Max Wertheimer and provided a substantial amount of information to formulate Wilhelm Wundt's theory of structuralism partially. Other contributors to Gestalt psychology are; Johann Wolfgang von Goeth, Ernst Mach, and Immanuel Kant. (Cherry, 2015) Gestalt psychology is also known as gestaltism and was continually referenced for idealists who were not in favor of Wilhelm Wundt's theory of structuralism. Gestaltism brought new understanding of what human abilities were capable of in terms of meaningful perceptions amongst complicated scenarios or ambitious world views. Max Wertheimer wrote, "There are holes, the behavior of which is not determined by that of their individual elements, but where the part-processes are themselves determined by the intrinsic nature of the whole. It is the hope of Gestalt theory to determine the nature of such wholes" (Cherry, 2015) Wertheimer saw Gestaltism as a rapid sequence of perceptual events. An example of this would be rows of flashing lights creating an illusion of an event in motion. This is also known as phi phenomenon, something that the movie field has processed into still pictures being presented...
Words: 565 - Pages: 3
...Gestalt Jeapordy Presentation 200 This Ad represents the figure ground principle the best What are the Budweiser girls ad? Figure ground principle- it will combine both the dominant figure and background. The girls are technically the foreground image and that dominates. However, the background, the Budweiser combines with the foreground at points that will dominate the eyes focal points. It combines the foreground in the background into a seamless image, and then creates a conflict in the mind because you can’t tell between the logo or bathing suites subconsciously. This draws attention to the ad, in addition to the sex appeal. 400 On the Budweiser girls ad, this gestalt principle is being displayed with the girls swimsuits. What is the closure principle? Closure principle- first off the closure principle states that people tend to perceive an incomplete picture as completed. We fill in the blanks due to prior experience. It even works with music or theme songs. The bathing suits the girls have on uses the closure principle because your brain fills in the images that aren’t really there. For example, the saying king of beers at the bottom of the ad isn’t all there but when you look at it your brain fills in the blanks. This is a very good way to create an image for an organization. 600 This Gestalt principle is used in both the Budweiser girl ad (through the logo colors) and the MGD 64 commercial (through the amber colors). What is the similarity principle? ...
Words: 310 - Pages: 2
