Gestalt Psychology

Flashcards covering key terminology and concepts from Gestalt Psychology, useful for exam preparation.

Gestalt Psychology

A branch of psychology that emphasizes that consciousness cannot be broken into elements without distortion and that it should be studied in its entirety.

Isomorphism

The belief that psychological facts and underlying brain events resemble each other in structural characteristics.

Law of Pragnanz

The principle that cognitive experiences will tend to be organized, symmetrical, simple, and regular.

Perceptual Constancy

The tendency to perceive an object as constant despite changes in distance, illumination, and orientation.

Figure-ground relationships

The ability to distinguish an object (figure) from its background (ground) in visual perception.

Principle of Continuity

Stimuli that appear to have continuity with each other are perceived as a single perceptual unit.

Principle of Proximity

Objects that are close together are perceived as being related or part of a group.

Principle of Similarity

Objects that resemble each other tend to be seen as belonging together.

Principle of Closure

The tendency to perceive incomplete shapes as complete figures.

Lewis's Life Space

The totality of influences acting on an individual at any time, encompassing both internal and external events.

Zeigarnik Effect

The tendency to remember uncompleted tasks better than completed ones.

Kohler's Insight Learning

A form of learning that occurs suddenly and is characterized by smooth and error-free performance.

Psychophysical Isomorphism

The theory that psychological experiences and the underlying brain processes have a similar structure.

Antecedents of Gestalt Psychology

Immanuel Kant and Ernst Mach, whose ideas influenced early Gestalt psychologists.

Perceptual Organization

The principles by which elements of perception are organized into coherent wholes.