Module 5 Gestalt Psychology (Part 1) PDF

Gestalt
Psychology

Learning Objectives
In this Module, challenge yourself to attain the following learning
outcomes:
describe the different gestalt principles.

list ways of applying gestalt psychology in the teaching-learning
process.
demonstrate an appreciation of the usefulness of gestalt
principles in the teaching-learning process.
Introduction
Gestalt psychology was at It opposed the external and

the forefront of cognitive mechanistic focus of
psychology. It served as the behaviorism. It considered
foundation of the cognitive the mental processes and
perspective to learning. products of perception.
Advance Organizer
Activity Examine the pictures below.
Is there a possibility Do you sense Do you get the "optical"

of you and me good or evil? and the "illusion"?
together?
These are just some illustrations that "challenge" our perceptual skills
Analysis
What was your experience in figuring out the pictures? (easy, took time, etc.) What
helped you perceive the interesting pictures? How did you go about examining the
pictures? (focus on the background, the foreground, the shape, etc.)
Abstraction/
Generalization
When you looked at the pictures in the activity, your mind followed
certain principles of perception. Gestalt psychology is concerned
with such principles.
Gestalt theory was the initial cognitive response to behaviorism.

It emphasized the importance of sensory wholes and the dynamic
nature of visual perception.
The term gestalt means "form' or "configuration."
Psychologists Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka

studied perception and concluded that perceivers (or learners)
are not passive, but rather active. They suggested that learners do
not just collect information as is but they actively process and
restructure data in order to understand it.
Abstraction/
Generalization
When you looked at the pictures in the activity, your mind followed
certain principles of perception. Gestalt psychology is concerned
with such principles.
Certain factors impact this perceptual process. Factors like past

experiences, needs, attitudes, and one's present situation can
affect their perception.
One may have difficulty perceiving both the words "you" and
"me" in the first picture in the activity if one is trying to forget an
ex-sweetheart who caused pain; or simply because he was
looking in the foreground and not the background.
Gestalt Principles
Law of Proximity.
Elements that are closer together will be
perceived as coherent objects. When objects we
are perceiving are near each other, we perceive
them as belonging together.
Law of Similarity. Elements that look similar will

be perceived as part of the same form.
Gestalt Principles
Law of Closure.
We tend to fill the gaps or "close" the figures we
perceive. We enclose a space by completing a
contour and ignoring gaps in the figure.
Law of Good Continuation.

Individuals have the tendency to continue
contours whenever the elements of the pattern
establish an implied direction. People tend to
draw a good continuous line.
Gestalt Principles
Law of Good Pragnanz.
The stimulus will be organized into as good a
figure as possible. In this example, good refers to
symmetry, simplicity, and regularity. Based on our
experiences with perception, we "expect" certain
patterns and therefore perceive that expected
pattern.
Law of Figure/Ground.
We tend to pay attention and perceive things in
the foreground first. A stimulus will be perceived
as separate from its ground.
Insight Learning
Gestalt psychology adheres to the idea of
learning taking place by discovery or insight. The
idea of insight learning was first developed by
Wolfgang Kohler in which he described
experiments with apes where the apes could use
boxes and sticks as tools to solve problems. In the
box problem, a banana is attached to the top of
a chimpanzee's cage. The banana is out of reach
but can be reached by climbing on and jumping
from a box.
Insight Learning
Only one of Kohler's apes (Sultan) could solve this problem.
A much more difficult problem that involved the stacking of
boxes was introduced by Kohler. This problem required the
ape to stack one box on another, and master gravitational
problems by building a stable stack. Kohler also gave the
apes sticks which they used to rake food into the cage.
Sultan, Kohler's very intelligent ape was able to master a
two-stick problem by inserting one stick into the end of the
other in order to reach the food.
In each of these problems, the important aspect of learning

was not reinforcement, but the coordination of thinking to
create new organizations (of materials). Kohler referred to
this behavior as insight or discovery learning.
Insight Learning
Kohler proposed the view that insight follows from
the characteristics of objects under consideration.
His theory suggested that learning could occur
when the individual perceives the relationships of
the elements before him and reorganizes these
elements and comes to a greater understanding
or insight. This could occur without reinforcement,
and once it occurs, no review, training, or
investigation is necessary. Significantly, insight is
not necessarily observable by another person.
Gestalt Principles and the
Teaching-Learning Process
The six gestalt principles not only influence perception, but
they also impact on learning. Other psychologists like Kurt
Lewin expounded on gestalt psychology. His theory focusing
on "life space" adhered to gestalt psychology. He said that
an individual has inner and outer forces that affect his
perceptions and also his learning. Inner forces include his own
motivation, attitudes, and feelings. Outer forces may include
the attitude and behavior of the teacher and classmates. All
these forces interact and impact on the person's learning.
Mario Polito, an Italian psychologist, writes about the
relevance of gestalt psychology to education.
Gestalt Principles and the
Teaching-Learning Process
Gestalt theory is focused on the experience of contact that occurs in the here
and now It considers with interest the life space of teachers as well as
students. It takes interest in the complexity of experience, without neglecting
anything, but accepting and amplifying all that emerges. It stimulates learning
as experience and the experience as a source of learning. It appreciates the
affections and meaning that we attribute to what we learn. Knowledge is
conceived as a continuous organization and rearrangement of information
according to needs, purposes, and meanings. It asserts that learning is not
accumulation but remodeling or insight. The autonomy and freedom of the
student are stimulated by the teacher. The time necessary for assimilation and
for cognitive and existential remodeling is respected. The contact experience
between teachers and students is given value: an authentic meeting based on
sharing ideas and affections.

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Gestalt

describe the different gestalt principles.

Gestalt psychology was at It opposed the external and

Is there a possibility Do you sense Do you get the "optical"

Gestalt theory was the initial cognitive response to behaviorism.

The term gestalt means "form' or "configuration."

Psychologists Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka

Certain factors impact this perceptual process. Factors like past

Law of Similarity. Elements that look similar will

Law of Good Continuation.

In each of these problems, the important aspect of learning

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