Gestalt Psychology- Chapter 12

what were the antecedants to gestualt psychology

• philosophy, science, and psychology

founders of Gestalt Psychology

Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffa, Kurt Lewin

Immanuel Kant(philosophy)

stated the psychology couldn’t be measured. Many of our mental processes are organized in a a priority fashion. We come into the world read to think in certain ways. Our thoughts and experiences aren’t always the results the mechanical laws of association (or behaviorism).included causality, time, space, the environment

• includes causality, time, space and the environment  

causality

we are born ready to see cause and effect, we are programmed this way

time

the brain naturally knows concepts(they are learned automatically)

space

we come the world ready to think in terms of space(example: in college we assign ourselves seats in class)

• we naturally know where we are 

the environment

does not teach us everything that we need to know

who was the first to use the term Gestalt

Goethe

• implying that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. An example of this is art(we are programmed to see a lighter figure in a darker backround). Also used the term synergism which is the environment working together

 

max plank(science)

critiqued strict empiricism. Stated the scientific process is nurtured by creativity(especially new ideas).

• Also argued against obsession of measurement for its own sake(if you get stuck in following the same measurement techniques, you aren’t going to find anything new).

• Emphasized that the nature of events and the specific processes that underline a measure effect(what leads to things happening).

Einstein came up with the frame reference(science)

Gestalt argues that different things interact to produce our perception(think equation e=mc2). What we bring to the situation, past experience. Talked about frame of reference the context of the observer( items that people see that can impact our perceptions)

 

Ernest Mach(science)

• argued time-form(example is music, if you break musical melodies into its parts it would be a different song, and it if put a song in a different rhythm, it will change the essences of the song)  

• and space-form sensations(example of this is art. Pointillism is art that is made up from dots. If you are really close to this, you see dots. If you are far away, you see the whole painting) that are patterns rather than consisting of elements.

 

 

Von Ehrenfels(psychology)

the whole more than the sum of its parts but whole is also an element

• The whole and the parts are counted as elements

 

William James 

William James- Book “Principles of Psychology”

            Attack Atomism- breaking things down into its parts

            Defines Psychology in a broad Fashion(like Gestalt does)

            Had a chapter on habit and instinct

James had a wide ranging mind that lead to many theories  

 

Max Wertheimer

• phi phenomenon

• Law of Pragnaz

• relational determination

• reproductive versus productive thinking

the phi phenomenon

when discontinuous visual stimulation, yields the perception of continuous movement(example a picture where we see a picture of moving, yet its not actually moving, flip book). Important because we are seeing something that is not there, stimulus that is responding to something that doesn’t exists. Our brain is active not passive, it does things

relational determination 

the properties of the parts, depended upon the relation of the parts to the whole. When its discointious movement we see it them as operating together because we are looking at it together as a whole.

law of pragnaz

something is preganat with meaning. We oppose meaning to the best of our ability. The organization of any whole is as good as the prevailing conditions allow. 

our brains solve problems reproductively or productively

·       Reproductive thinking (repition, routine)- solving problems the way that we always do them. There is nothing wrong with this, however, there are other ways that we can solve the problem

·       Productive Thinking- solving problems in ways people don’t typically think about (how can we be more efficient). That which results in new ideas, breakthroughs and insights that make a difference. Argued that we should study this to

 

kurt koffka

Published first English article for Gestalt in 1922

• constancy hypothesis

• Developmental theory and stages

constancy Hypothesis

states that the relationship between the local stimulus and percept is constant

• Even when our sensory stimulus changes, we know that the items did not change

• If I turn off the lights, my shirt is still white

Developmental theory in book called growth of the mind. In the book he put forth stages of cognitive development

3 stages of learning 

• stage 1 sensorimotor learning

• stage 2-imitation

• stage 3-ideational learning

Sensorimotor learning (like pigaet)

Children learn through senses and action

•   early learning is through the senses and behavior. Also talked about the reflex arc. What we learn when we touch a hot flame is not a reflex. When we touch the flame, we are learning to avoid the flame in the future.

•  We must pay attention to learn something

 

imitation

argued that in addition to sensory learning, much of our learning comes through imitation (animals and people). Can be both simple and complex behaviors

ideational learning 

• Highest form of learning

•  Involves language

 

 

wolfgang kohler

insight we grasp problems. Insight is the sudden grasping of problems or the solution to the problem

kurt lewin

• sub theory 

• Life space

• conflicts 

field(sub) theory

when we look at what effects behavior, we have to look at the phenomenal field. He is best known for his formula(behavior is a function of the person enviorment interaction. Meaning that things about us impact out behaviors).

  Behavior is a function of a person environment interaction

• looking at a person within different environments. We have multiple environments/ circles.

• B=f(p,e)

• Different people experience different things in the same room.

life space

every psychological fact/ aspect that is influential in the life of an individual at a given time

• Physical(outside)

•   Personal and biological

• Social facts

conflicts 

the concept of conflicts would lead to discipline in psychology- decision making(our decisions are really important).   Positive valances(pros) v. negative valances(cons)- when making a decision, we are often deciding between these two.

• PositivePositive valance approach- leads to toward something

• Negative Valance-Leads you away from Sunday