Gestalt psychology

Psychology And Guidance In Education Gestalt Psychology



Gestalt psychology • Gestalt is a German word that means roughly means “shape”, “form”, or “whole”. • Gestalt is a psychology term which means \"unified whole\". It refers to theories of visual perception • It was developed about 1910by Max Wertheimer and carry on by Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka at Frankfurt University. • Max Wertheimer – developed Gestalt principles • Kurt Koffka – developed laws of perception • Wolfgang Kohler – worked with apes on insight

Gestalt psychology  Gestaltists pointed out that perception has meaning only when it is seen as a whole perceptions are shaped by our thoughts learners do not just collect information as is but they actively process and restructure data in order to understand it. This is the Perceptual Process

Gestalt psychology • Certain factors impact on this perceptual process. • Factors like past experiences, needs, attitudes and one’s present situation can affect his perception

Gestalt Principles • They believed learning is the result from good perception, which enable an individual to form correct concept in their mind. Later on they proposed the principles or law for perceptual organization 1. Law of Proximity 2. Law of Similarity 3. Law of Closure 4. Law of Good Continuation 5. Law of Good form or Pragnanz 6. Law of Figure/Ground

Law of Proximity

Law of Proximity Proximity means nearness in space, time, or relationship The law of proximity states that when objects appear close to one another they tend to be perceived as a group .Things, which are close together in space or time, tend to be perceived as grouped together

• In the Food mobile logo we can see a group of single objects, representing types of food (bread, fish, vegetables are clearly recognizable) which, grouped for proximity, create a car shape

Law of Similarity

Law of Similarity

Law of Similarity • The law of similarity captures the idea that when we look at objects that are similar to each other, we tend to group them together. Our brains quickly identify patterns faster than the separate parts of the pattern. 1. The way we group things together based on similar aspects (look, sound, texture, taste, etc.) 2. We group things that are alike. 3. We tend to group similar shapes together and often times, we try to attach some type of meaning to them

Law of Closure Words and shape

Law of Closure The law of closure captures the idea that when we see incomplete elements in a visual, our brains tend to fill in the gaps and see it as a whole.  For example When an object is not complete, but there is still enough information for the shape to be indicated, the brain will complete the missing info. The brain does this in order to increase consistency

Law of Good Continuation • Continuation occurs in the example above, because the viewer's eye will naturally follow a line or curve. The smooth flowing crossbar of the \"H\" leads the leaf directly

Law of Good Continuation

Law of Good Continuation • When you see a figure like the one above, you are much more likely to see it as consisting of two lines (1a)rather than of the two shapes(1b). • This is the Gestalt principle of continuity which saw a single unbroken line is likely to be seen as an entity.

Law of Good form or Pragnanz

Law of Good form or Pragnanz • The word pragnanz is a German term meaning \"good figure.\" The law of Pragnanz is sometimes referred to as the law of good figure or the law of simplicity, which says that we tend to order our experience in a manner that, is regular, orderly, symmetric, and simple our perceptions are influenced by our past experiences. This principle is also called Pragnanz Law. (Tan Oon Seng et al., 2003). • This law holds that objects in the environment are seen in a way that makes them appear as simple as possible

Law of Good form or Pragnanz

Law of Figure/Ground Figure 1 two faces or a vase? (From spooncer, 1992 p.35)

Law of Figure/Ground • Figure–ground organization is a type of perceptual grouping which is a vital necessity for recognizing objects through vision. • This law explains that the source of a message determines one’s perception.

Law of Figure/Ground • we see the two forms of equal importance. The problem here is a confusion of figure and ground. Young Lady or Old Lady? (From Spooncer, 1992 p.35)

Insight Learning • Wolfgang kohler was the first psychologist who developed the insight learning in which he described an experiment with apes that could use boxes and sticks as tools to solve the problem

Insight Learning • In his experiment, Kohler hung a piece of fruit just out of the reach of each chimp. He then provided the chimps with either two sticks or three boxes, then waited and watched. Kohler noticed that after the chimps realized they could not simply reach or jump up to retrieve the fruit, they stopped and thought about how they might solve the problem. Then after a few moments, the chimps stood up and proceeded to solve the problem

Insight Learning • In the first scenario, the problem was solved by placing the smaller stick into the longer stick to create one very long stick which could be used to knock the hanging fruit down

Insight Learning • In the second scenario, the chimps would solve the problem by stacking the boxes on top of each other, which allowed them to climb to the top of the stack of boxes and reach the fruit.

Insight Learning • Insight learning is the abrupt realization of a problem's solution. Insight learning is not the result of trial and error It is a completely cognitive experience, which requires the ability to visualize the problem and the solution internally, in the mind, before initialing a behavioral response. • The important aspect of learning was not reinforcement, but the coordination of thinking to create new organizations. Kohler referred to this behavior as insight or discovery learning.

Implications of the Gestalt principles in the teaching and learning process 1. Law of Proximity Related concepts or lessons should be taught aligned or closely to each other. This is the reason why subtraction is taught after addition, multiplication after subtraction then division after multiplication

2. Law of Similarity Similar lessons or contents should be grouped together to make learners develop Understanding more efficiently and effectively. This is the reason why lessons are Grouped into units: Unit I is for human body, Unit II is for energy and motion, So on and so forth.

3. Law of Closure When a concept or topic is incomplete thus isn't \"closed\", incomplete information May make learners want to discover what’s missing, rather than concentrating on The given instruction. If students find a math algorithm confusing because a certain Question is left unanswered or a step isn't clear, they will tend to concentrate on That confused part of the process rather than the total process as a whole. This is why students get \"lost\". Thus, make the lesson complete. Present it clearly, Simply and always be ready for students' clarifications.

4. Law of Good Continuation Lessons should be presented in such a way that learners will see these as connected and continuous. Now you know why we have the \"review\" part of the lesson plan. This way, students will realize that their new lesson actually has continuity and is related to what they already know or to the previous lesson.

5. Law of Pragnanz Pragnanz states that when things are grasped as wholes, the minimal amount of energy is exerted in thinking. In short, make your lesson holistic, complete and most of all simple.

6. Law of Figure/Ground For a figure to be perceived, it must stand out from the background. Emphasis should be done on important aspects of the lesson. For example, teachers should vary the tone of their voice or write boldly or underline the important key words of the lesson.

References • Dewey, R. A. (n.d.). Psychology: An Introduction. Retrieved from www.intropsych.com. • key concepts in healthcare education. (2011). London: SAGE publishers. • http://www.whatispsychology.biz • http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu