Gestalt Psychology

The word gestalt is used to describe a phenomenon/concept in which the 'whole' is considered as greater than sum total of all its parts. This very concept is the essence/core of Gestalt psychology; it can also be used as the definition. In the German language, 'gestalt' is a word used to describe the term, 'form'. The structuralism theory of Wilhem Wundt received opposition from Gestalt psychology. Studying the structural elements in order to get an idea about the whole entity/phenomenon proves to be useful only in few cases. Most of the time, it doesn't give an idea of the intrinsic nature of that particular concept/phenomenon/concept. Christian von Ehrenfels from the 'School of Brentano' introduced the concept of Gestalt and those philosophers/thinkers who influenced its development were Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Ernst Mach and Immanuel Kant.

What is Gestalt Psychology Theory?

In the words of Max Wertheimer, "There are wholes, the behavior of which is not determined by that of their individual elements, but where the part-processes are themselves determined by the intrinsic nature of the whole. It is the hope of Gestalt theory to determine the nature of such wholes." This statement by Max Wertheimer gives more importance to the nature of the whole instead of assigning greater value to the sum total of its structural components.

Laws Based on Gestalt Psychology

There are different laws which were developed by Gestalt psychologists. These laws are presented in the paragraphs below and help understand the basic concept of gestalt from different angles. The examples of this psychology incorporated in these paragraphs help explain the laws in a better manner.

Law of Proximity
As per the law of proximity, the objects/elements that are in close proximity with each other should appear to be or are perceived as coherent. For example, if elements are placed in close proximity of each other, in a single horizontal line, the whole arrangement/structure seems to be a single row.

Law of Good Continuation
According to the law of good continuation, establishment of a particular implied direction by a set of elements causes the human mind to continue that particular contour/outline. For example, people generally tend to draw a continuous line when given a pen/pencil.

Law of Similarity
The law of similarity states that few dissimilar elements in a particular group/pattern of elements merge/blend in the whole and appear to be a part of this structure.

Law of Pragnanz
The concept underlying this law is very interesting to study. A particular stimulus received by the mind is organized/transformed in a manner that it appears to be simple, symmetrical and regular (or simply, of good form).

Law of Closure
The law of closure states that the human mind generally ignores/neglects gaps present in a particular pattern/drawing. Creating a virtual contour/outline, in order to enclose the given space or gap in a pattern is the activity that our mind indulges in.

Law of Figure/Ground
As per the law of figure, a given stimulus is perceived in a manner that it appears to be separate/detached from the ground/figure of the pattern in question. Ground reversals are generally used to create patterns which appear to be surprising for the senses.

Methodological Principles

The traditional methodology of studying scientific concepts was that of breaking the given objective into parts to make them less complex. This manner of research was completely redefined by the proponents of Gestalt psychology theory. The methodological principles that were developed on this psychology are presented below.

Biotic Experiments
The biotic experiments are those in which the classical methodology of laboratories is not followed. Such experiments are conducted in the natural/real conditions. The purpose behind conducting experiments in real-life conditions is to understand a particular phenomenon from a real life perspective than creating artificial scenarios/situations.

Phenomenon Experimental Analysis
This methodological principle of gestalt psychology indicates that the study of psychology needs to be carried out in a manner that just sensory qualities are not taken into account.

The subject of gestalt psychology is explained in this article by means of theoretical concepts and appropriate examples. This psychology opens a new channel through which human mind can be studied in a much better manner.