Chapter 14: Gestalt Psychology

the tendency to remember uncompleted tasks better than completed tasks

zeigarnik effect

figure-ground, principles of organization

*perceptual gestalten*

advocated a *molar approach*, which concentrates on phenomenological experience

*Antecedents of Gestalt Psych*

this is called the .....

*life space* - principle of contemporaneity

these influences, called ...., consist of an awareness of internal events, external events and recollections of prior experiences

*life space* - psychological facts

the gestalt psychologists' motto was:

- properties emerge from configurations as a whole that are not found in any particular component

properties emerge from configurations as a whole that are not found in any particular component

Gestalt psychologists motto

mental experience as it occurred to the observer, without further analysis (experience as it appears in consciousness)

*Antecedents of Gestalt Psych*

german psychologists took issue with ....

*Antecedents of Gestalt Psych* - Wundt's elementism

argued that consciousness could not be ..... without distorting the true meaning of conscious experience

*Antecedents of Gestalt Psych* - reduced to elements

ehrenfels (and mach) proposed that form is something that emerges from the elements of sensation

*Philosophical antecedent views*

mach postulated that two perceptions, space form and time form, appeared to be independent of the particular elements that composed them

*Philosophical antecedent views*

the stream should be the focus of psychological inquiry; any attempt to break it up for more detailed analysis must be avoided

*Philosophical antecedent views*

von ehrenfels influenced wetheimer (one of the founders of gestalt psych) as an instructor of several courses

*Philosophical antecedent views*

william james postulated a stream of consciousness in contrast to the mind being composed of isolated mental elements

*Philosophical antecedent views*

all three individuals who are seen as the founders of gestalt psychology studied under stumpf

*act psych proposed by Brentano and Stumpf*

the act psychologists and the gestaltists were both phenomenologists

*act psych proposed by Brentano and Stumpf*

focused on the acts of ......

*act psych proposed by Brentano and Stumpf* - perceiving, sensing, or problem solving

lwwin investigated three types of conflict:

*conflict* - approach- approach conflict - avoidance-avoidance conflict - approach- avoidance conflict

organisms come to see solutions to problems

*gestalt explainations of learning* - cognitive trial and error

if a problem is presented to an organism along with whatever is necessary to solve the problem, insight learning will typically occur

*gestalt explainations of learning* - insight learning

instead of behavioral trial and error, the gestaltists believed that cognitive trail and error occurs

*gestalt explainations of learning* -cognitive trial and error

the brain tends to fill in gaps of incomplete objects to perceive complete forms

*gestalt principles* - closure

lines and patterns tend to be proceeded as continuing in time and space

*gestalt principles* - continuity

stimuli that have continuity with one another (intrinsic togetherness) will be experienced as a perceptual unit to make a whole

*gestalt principles* - continuity

inclusiveness provided evidence against ...... because people have experience with the number 6, yet the tendency is to see the larger figure (a real-world example of this camouflage)

*gestalt principles* - empiricism

if perception is determined by .... then we should see what is familiar, but we often see the less familiar

*gestalt principles* - experience

stimuli, which are close together, tend to be grouped together as a perceptual unit

*gestalt principles* - proximity

things are similar are perceived together as a perceptual unit

*gestalt principles* - similarity

when there is more than one figure, we are likely to see the figure that contains the greatest number of stimuli

*gestalt principles* -inclusiveness

for lewin, a group can be viewed as a physical system-- the behavior of the individual elements is determined by the configuration of the existing field of energy

*group dynamics*

field activity transforms sensory data and gives it characteristics it otherwise would not possess

*isomorphism and the law of prägnanz*

upon entering a field, sensory data both modify the structure of the field and are modified by the field

*isomorphism and the law of prägnanz* - field theory

the brain contains structural ....

*isomorphism and the law of prägnanz* - field theory - fields of electrochemical forces

our cognitive experience results from the interaction of ..... and the ......

*isomorphism and the law of prägnanz* - field theory - sensory data -force fields in the brain

wrote several books and articles regarding gestalt psychology

*kurt koffka*

aristotle emphasized inner essences and categories

*kurt lewin's field theory: distinguished between aristotle's vs. galileo's view of nature*

behavior is of an object or organism is determined by the total forces acting on the object or organism at the moment

*kurt lewin's field theory: distinguished between aristotle's vs. galileo's view of nature*

the psychological organization will always be "as good as conditions allow" under the prevailing conditions because field of brain activity always distribute themselves in the simplest way possible

*law of prägnanz*

we remember things in general terms rather than by specific characteristics

*memory*

when the event ends, so does the brain activity it caused:

*memory* - however, a remnant, a memory trace, remains in the brain - once the trace is formed all subsequent related experience involves in interaction between a memory process and memory trace

a ..... is brain activity caused by a specific environmental event

*memory* - memory process

for an uncompleted task the associated tension is never reduced therefore, the task remains as an intention, and remains as part of the person's life space

*motivation*

thus, we remember the completed task better than the completed task

*motivation*

biological and psychological needs (____) cause tension in the life space; the satisfaction of the need reduces the tension

*motivation* - quasi needs

the relationship between objects remain the same, therefore the perception is the same

*perception: perceptual constancy*

this phenomenon is not a function of sensation plus learning (as empiricists would explain), but is a function of the ongoing brain activity and the fields' acitvity

*perception: perceptual constancy*

we respond to objects as if they are the same, even though the actual stimulation our senses recieve may cary greatly

*perception: perceptual constancy*

the accurate perception of objects as .... despite ....

*perception: perceptual constancy* - stable or unchanged - changes in the sensory patterns they produce

the _____ is clear and unified and is the object of attention, the ____ is diffuse and consists of everything that is not being attended to

*perceptual gestalten* - figure - ground

the perceptual field can be divided into two parts, the figure and the ground

*perceptual gestalten* - figure-ground

what is the figure and what is the ground can be changed by ...

*perceptual gestalten* - shifting one's attention

the ideas presented in wetheimer's productive thinking were based on personal experience, experimentation, and interviews with people considered excellent problem solvers, such as einstein

*productive thinking*

typical of most education systems

*productive thinking*

learning and problem solving are ....

*productive thinking* - intrinsically reinforcing

learning based on gestalt principles is based on understanding the structure of the problem, followed by the solution and *the .......*

*productive thinking* - solution is reinforcing

this is ... in contrast to rote memorization or learning based ....

*productive thinking* - top-down learning - extrinsic motivation

iso-morphism comes from the greek meaning "similar shape"

*psychophysical isomorphism*

not a passive receiver and recorder of sensory information

*psychophysical isomorphism*

the patterns of brain activity and the patterns of perceptual activity (conscious experience) are structurally equivalent

*psychophysical isomorphism*

*isomorphism* opposes the ______ which stated that there is a one-to-one correspondence between environmental stimuli and sensations

*psychophysical isomorphism* - constancy hypothesis

the brain is a dynamic configuration of forces that transforms ....

*psychophysical isomorphism* - sensory information into perceptual experience

analysis proceeded form the top to the bottom instead of from the bottom to the top; analysis proceeded from the whole to the parts

*psychophysical isomorphism* - top down analysis

the whole is more important than the parts, thus reversing one of psychology's oldest traditions

*psychophysical isomorphism* - top down analysis

............, not the stimuli that enter into that activity

*psychophysical isomorphism* - top down analysis - organized brain activity dominates our perception

the force fields in the brain .... and the transformed data is what we experience consciously

*psychophysical isomorphism* - transform incoming sensory data

our own subjective reality governs our actions more than the physical environment

*subjective and objective reality*

what we are conscious of (therefore what we act on) is a product of the brain, .........

*subjective and objective reality* - not the physical world

koffka distinguished between the geographical environment (_____) and the behavioral environment (our _______ of the geographical environment)

*subjective and objective reality* - physical environment - subjective interpretation

his paper describing this phenomenon is customarily taken as the formal beginning of gestalt psychology

*the founding of gestalt psychology: max wertheimer*

his researc assistants at the time were kurt koffka and wolfgang köhler

*the founding of gestalt psychology: max wertheimer*

proposed that perceptions are different than the sensations that comprise them

*the founding of gestalt psychology: max wertheimer*

these individuals are considered the cofounders of gestaltism

*the founding of gestalt psychology: max wertheimer*

used the ....- a perception of apparent movement when the elements of the experience are, in fact, stationary

*the founding of gestalt psychology: max wertheimer* - phi phenomenon

he did research regarding aspects of learning which greatly influenced gestalt ideas, including the nature of learning in chimpanzees

*wolfgang köhler*

insight learning has basically *four characteristics*:

- 1. the transition from no solution to solution is sudden and complete - 2. performances based on the insightful solution is usually smooth and free of errors - 3. a solution is gained by insight is retained for a considerable length of time - 4. a principle gained by insight is easily applied to other problems

an organism learns principles or relationships, not specific responses to specific situations

- transposition

attracted to two goals at the same time

approach- approach conflict

one goal with mixed feelings

approach- avoidance conflict

repelled by two unattractive goals at the same time

avoidance-avoidance conflict

people experience things in meaningful, intact configurations which are termed Gestalts

*Gestalts*

this type of psych was called Gestalt Psych

*Gestalts*

Gestalt principles describe the brain's organization of sensory information into ....

*Gestalts* - meaningful units and patterns

kant and the gestaltists both believed that consciousness cannot be reduced to sensory stimulation, and conscious experience is different from the elements that compose it

*Philosophical antecedent views*

studies of group dynamics led to encounter groups, sensitivity training, and leadership institutes

*group dynamics*

the nature of configuration of a group will strongly influence the behavior of its members

*group dynamics*

members of each group has what lewin called a ....

*group dynamics* - dynamic interdependence

the .... (force fields) exists prior to the ..... (individual sensations); .......

*isomorphism and the law of prägnanz* - whole - parts - the whole gives the parts identity and meaning

his article entitled, "perception: an introduction o gestalt-therories," was believed to provide a misrepresentation that gestaltists were only interested in perception

*kurt koffka*

galileo emphasized outer causation and the dynamics of forces

*kurt lewin's field theory: distinguished between aristotle's vs. galileo's view of nature*

lewin saw galileo as revolutionizing science when he changed its focus inner causation to a more comprehensive notion of causation

*kurt lewin's field theory: distinguished between aristotle's vs. galileo's view of nature*

for lewin, .... acting on an individual at a given moment .....

*kurt lewin's field theory: distinguished between aristotle's vs. galileo's view of nature* - complex dynamic forces - explains human behavior

that is what *"as good as conditions allot"* means

*law of prägnanz*

the law asserts that all cognitive experiences will tend to be as ..... as they can be, given the pattern of brain activity at any given moment

*law of prägnanz* - organized, symmetrical, simple, and regular

consists of all influences acting on him or her at a given time

*life space*

only those facts that are currently present in the life spaces can influences a person's thinking and behavior

*life space*

to be a psychological fact, it must exist in a person's ....

*life space* - awareness at the moment

the interaction of traces and trace systems with memory processes results in our perceptions and memories being smoother and better organized than they otherwise would be

*memory*

once the trace is formed all subsequent related experience involves in interaction between a ..... and .....

*memory* - memory process - memory trace

however, a remnant, a ....., remains in the brain

*memory* - memory trace

individual traces gives way to a ..., which is the consolidation of a number of interrelated experiences

*memory* - trace system

gestalt psych has lost its distinctiveness as a school

*the impact of gestalt psych*

gestalt psych have been assimilated into modern psych

*the impact of gestalt psych*

gestalt psych influences on .....

*the impact of gestalt psych* - cognitive psychology

problems exist in two stages only- ........; an organism comes to *see* a solution to problem

- solved and unsolved

once it learns a principle, the organism applies it to similar situations (similar to thorndike's transfer of training)

- transposition