History of Psychology Anastasi Gestalt Psychology

Gestalt Psychology occurred the same time as what school of thought in the U.S.?

Behaviorism

What is the difference between Wundt/Titchener's thinking and Gestalt Psychology?

Wundt was very elemtentalistic, Gestalt says that our perceptions are different from our sensations

What is the Law of Pargnanz?

All cognitive experiences will be organized, symmetrical, simple, and predictable

Who are the 3 founders of Gestalt Psychology?

1. Max Wetheimer professor

2. Kurt Koffka students

3. Wolfgang Kohler students

What is Gestalt Psychology's main interest?

Perception

What did Gestalt Psychology broaden to other than perception?

Learning, cognition and problem solving

When and where was Max Werthheimer born?

Born and grew up in Prague in 1880

What University did Max Wethheimer attend?

University of Wurzburg Obtained doctorate in 1904 under Kulpe

Where did Max Werthheimer hold academic positions?

University of Prague, Berlin, Frankfurt

Who did Werthheimer meet at Frankfurt?

Koffka and Kohler

What school did Wethheimer teach at when he moved to America?

New School for Social Research in NY. Only spoke German but, learned English within 5 months

What one book did Max Werthheimer write and what was it about?

Productive Thinking
Had chapters on truth, ethics, democracy, freedom, etc.

When was Productive Thinking published and who was it by?

1945 by Max Werthheimer

Who wrote the forward for Productive Thinking?

Albert Einstein

Wertheimer was curious about how we perceive what?

Movement

What phenomenon did Werthheimer discover?

The phi phenomenon

What is the phi phenomenon?

50-60 msec looked like one light moving from one location to the next
< 30 msec looked like 2 lights on simultaneously
>200 looked like 2 separate lights turning on and off

When and how did Max Werthheimer die?

October 12, 1943 of a coronary embolism

Where did Kurt Koffka receive his doctorate?

University of Berlin in 1909 with Stumpf

What 6 Universities did Koffka work at?

University of Wurzburg and Frankfurt (assistant)
Then University of Giessen in 1911
Then Came to the U.S worked at Cornell and Wisconsin
Settled at Smith College in Mass. in 1941

What kind of patients did Koffka work with and what time was it during?

He worked with brain damaged and aphasic pateints during WWI

What area of psychology was Koffka very influential in?

Child psychology

What book did Koffka write in 1921?

The Growth of the Mind: An Introduction to Child Psychology

What book did Koffka write in 1935?

Principles of Gestalt Psychology

When and where did Wolfgang Kohler receive his doctorate?

In 1909 from The Univeristy of Berlin
Worked with Stumpf

What University did Kohler go to in 1909?

Frankfurt

What and where did Kohler study in 1913?

Chimpanzees in the Canary Islands

What happened to Kohler while he was studying in the Canary Islands?

He was stuck there during WWI for 7 years (May have been a spy)

What book did Kohler write from his studies on the Canary Islands?

Mentality of Apes (1917)

When Kohler returned to Germany in 1921, where did he teach?

University of Gottingten

Kohler succeeded Stumpf as what in 1922?

As director of Psychological Institute at the University of Berlin

When did Kohler leave Germany for good?

1935

What did Kohler do when he left Germany?

Lectured at Harvard for 1 year then took a job at Swarthmore College PA until retired in 1958

What is Kohler's significance on Animal memory?

Still used today to determine breed intelligence
Vary the delay between hiding object and the search

What is Kohler famous for?

Insight learning

What is Insight learning?

Animals were capable of reasoning (Not S-R)
Used dogs, chickens, young children in the detour problem
His work with chimpanzees

What is the importance of Transposition of Stimuli?

Very important against behaviorism

What was Kohler's view on educational practices?

Against rote memorization of facts or drill Should focus on understanding the principle then able to apply to other situations

Where was Kurt Lewin born?

In Prussia now part of Poland

Where did Lewin receive his doctorate?

University of Berlin in 1916 with Stumpf

Why did Lewin come to the U.S. in 1933

Because of the Nazis'

What Universities did Lewin work at?

Stanford, Cornell, and the University of Iowa the started a Research Center for Group Dynamics at MIT

Who is the founder of modern Social Psychology?

Kurt Lewin

What did Lewin apply to human behavior?

Gestalt Psychology

What is Lewin's field theory?

Individual behavior is the result of the interaction between individual traits and the environment. To predict behavior must know all forces and tensions acting on an individual (Lifespace)

2 of Lewin's students to note

Leon Festinger- cognitive dissonance
Bluma Zeigarnik

Who was Bluma Zeigarnik?

Russian born, jewish, woman

Where and when did Bluma receive her doctorate

IN 1927 at the University of Belrin

Who did Bluma Zeigarnik work with in the 1930's?

Lev Vygotsky

What is the Zeigarnik Effect?

Gave subjects 18-22 simple tasks
Interrupted subjects during half the tasks allowed subjects to complete half of the tasks
Unfinished tasks were remembered 90% better
Unfinished tasks are remembered better than a completed task (closure)
Once a task is started, were more inclined to finish it

Why did Gestalt Psychology spread slowly?

Behaviorism was huge in the U.S. at the same time
Behaviorists had already attacked Wundt & Titchener
Many psychologists felt it only dealt with perception
Gestalt psychologists settled at small colleges in the U.S.
Language barrier

What are the 4 contributions of Gestalt psychology?

1. Influenced areas of perception and learning

2. Gave a phenomenological study of psychology

3. New ideas and approaches had a stimulating effect

4. Thought unconscious existed and should be studied