Does anyone know about Gestalt Psychologists?

Question

Studying the subject and wondered what the broad knowledge/understanding of these psychologists are.

Answer 1

Gestalt psychology (also Gestalt theory of the Berlin School) is a theory of mind and brain that proposes that the operational principle of the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies. The classic Gestalt example is a soap bubble, whose spherical shape (its Gestalt) is not defined by a rigid template, or a mathematical formula, but rather it emerges spontaneously by the parallel action of surface tension acting at all points in the surface simultaneously. This is in contrast to the "atomistic" principle of operation of the digital computer, where every computation is broken down into a sequence of simple steps, each of which is computed independently of the problem as a whole. The Gestalt effect refers to the form-forming capability of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a collection of simple lines and curves.

Although Max Wertheimer is credited as the founder of the movement, the concept of Gestalt was first introduced in contemporary philosophy and psychology by Christian von Ehrenfels (a member of the School of Brentano). The idea of Gestalt has its roots in theories by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Immanuel Kant, and Ernst Mach.

Both von Ehrenfels and Edmund Husserl seem to have been inspired by Mach's work Beiträge zur Analyse der Empfindungen (Contributions to the Analysis of the Sensations, 1886), in formulating their very similar concepts of Gestalt and Figural Moment, respectively.

Early 20th century theorists, such as Kurt Koffka, Max Wertheimer, and Wolfgang Köhler (students of Carl Stumpf) saw objects as perceived within an environment according to all of their elements taken together as a global construct. This 'gestalt' or 'whole form' approach sought to define principles of perception -- seemingly innate mental laws which determined the way in which objects were perceived.

These laws took several forms, such as the grouping of similar, or proximate, objects together, within this global process. Although it has been criticised for being merely descriptive, it has formed the basis of much further research into the perception of patterns and objects (ref: Carlson, Buskist & Martin, 2000), and of research into behavior, thinking, problem solving and psychopathology.

The investigations developed at the beginning of the 20th century, based on traditional scientific methodology, divided the object of study into a set of elements that could be analyzed separately with the objective of reducing the complexity of this object. Contrary to this methodology, the school of Gestalt practiced a series of theoretical and methodological principles that attempted to redefine the approach to psychological research.

The theoretical principles are the following:

* Principle of Totality - The conscious experience must be considered globally (by taking into account all the physical and mental aspects of the individual simultaneously) because the nature of the mind demands that each component be considered as part of a system of dynamic relationships.
* Principle of psychophysical isomorphism - A correlation exists between conscious experience and cerebral activity.

Based on the principles above the following methodological principles are defined:

* Phenomenon Experimental Analysis - In relation to the Totality Principle any psychological research should take as a starting point phenomena and not be solely focused on sensory qualities.
* Biotic Experiment - The School of Gestalt established a need to conduct real experiments which sharply contrasted with and opposed classic laboratory experiments. This signified experimenting in natural situations, developed in real conditions, in which it would be possible to reproduce, with higher fidelity, what would be habitual for a subject.


The most basic rule of gestalt is the law of prägnanz. This law says that we try to experience things in as good a gestalt way as possible. In this sense, "good" can mean several things, such as regular, orderly, simplistic, symmetrical, etc. The other gestalt laws are:

* Law of Closure - Our mind adds missing elements to complete a figure.
* Law of Similarity - Our mind groups similar elements to an entity. The similarity depends on relationships constructed about form, color, size and brightness of the elements.

Law of Similarity
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Law of Similarity

* Law of Proximity - Regional or chronological closeness of elements are grouped by our mind and seen as belonging together.
* Law of Symmetry - Symmetrical images are seen as belonging together regardless of their distance.
* Law of Continuity - The mind continues a pattern, even after it stops.
* Law of Common Fate - Elements with the same moving direction are seen as a unit.

Law of Proximity
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Law of Proximity

Figure-ground minds have an innate tendency to perceive one aspect of an event as the figure or foreground and the other as the ground or the background.

Under the gestalt theory, these laws not only apply to images, but to thought processes, memories, and our understanding of time.

Examples of the Gestalt experience include the perception of an incomplete circle as a whole or a pattern of dots as a shape - the mind completes the missing pieces through extrapolation. Studies also indicate that simple elements/compositions where the meaning is directly perceived do not offer as much a challenge to the mind as complex ones and hence the latter are preferred over the former.

Gestalt psychology should not be confused with the Gestalt therapy of Fritz Perls, which is only peripherally linked to Gestalt psychology. A strictly Gestalt psychology-based therapeutic method is Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy, developed by the German Gestalt psychologist and psychotherapist Hans-Juergen Walter.

Answer 2

The "broad knowledge" notion is somewhat in conflict with the "understanding" aspect of Gestalt as fostered by Fritz Perls. That is, it is possible for individuals to acquire considerable information about the idea of Gestalt, and to have absolutely no understanding of it.

Gestalt, unlike most other "methods" of psychotherapy is unfortunately effective regardless of who uses it. Effective to some degree, that is. I say "unfortunately" because the inherent effectiveness of the Gestalt process to solicit emotional surfacing of repressed material from within the MIND realm is a fact.... that has little to do with who is using this process. As a result, clients [patients] are often surprised at what they reveal, and confused when those facilitating this process have no idea what to do or say in response.

This situation was, many years ago, less likely because those practicing Gestalt were required to "fully" undergo their own programs of Gestalt psychotherapy. Due to the impact of behavioral psychology on the field, this requirement of requiring therapists to actually know what they are doing has almost been forgotten.

Fritz Perls, in his "In and Out the Garbage Pail", said that he did not know what the third step of therapy would look like. He attributed the first step to Freud, and the second step to Gestalt as practiced by himself. Hopefully, the third step will see the disappearance of the behavioral nonsense so prevalent today and a movement back to a study of the Esoteric dimensions of the human being as intended by the ancient Greeks.

Answer 3

Gestalt Psychologist's experiments show that the brain is not a passive receiver of information, but that it structures all it's input in order to make sense of it. Gestalt Psychology regards all mental phenomena as being arranged in organized, structured wholes,as opposed to being composed of simple sensations.

Answer 4

yes, Read Fritz Perls for further information. Very popular in the 60's and 70's. A very good therapy technique and great for use with groups,

Answer 5

the sum of the parts is greater than the whole or something like that!

Answer 6

I do, but I can't remember - my psych degree was a long time ago!

Answer 7

nope

Answer 8

look it up