Gestalt Psychology: Principles and Social PsychologyGestalt Principles of Perceptual OrganizationSlide 3Slide 4Slide 5Slide 6Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9Gestalt Studies of Learning: Insight and the Mentality of ApesKohler’s MethodologyKohler’s ConclusionsKohler DisagreedIn ConclusionProductive Thinking in HumansEducational PracticesThe Spread of Gestalt PsychologyObstacles to the Spread of Gestalt PsychologySlide 19The Battle with BehaviorismSlide 21Gestalt Psychology in Nazi GermanyField Theory: Kurt Lewin (1890-1947)Kurt Lewin’s LifeKurt LewinField TheoryThe Life SpaceSlide 28Motivation and the Zeigarnik EffectSocial PsychologySlide 31Criticisms of Gestalt PsychologySlide 33Contributions of Gestalt PsychologySlide 35Discussion QuestionsSlide 37Slide 38Slide 39Slide 40Slide 41Slide 42Slide 43FRIDAY, APRIL 3RD, 2015GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY: PRINCIPLES AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGYGESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION•Wertheimer claimed that we perceive objects in the same way we perceive apparent motion – with unity rather than individual sensations•This “perceptual organization” occurs instantly!•The brain is a dynamic system (that, NOT a passive machine) where elements actively interact •The brain responds collectively to individual elements, in accordance with the following principles…GESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION•1. Proximity: parts that are close together in time or space appear to belong together and tend to be perceived togetherGESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION•2. Continuity: there is a tendency in our perception to follow a direction, to connect the elements in a way that makes them seem continuous or flowing in a particular directionGESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION•3. Similarity: similar parts tend to be seen together as forming a groupGESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION•4. Closure: there is a tendency in our perception to complete incomplete figures, to fill in gapsGESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION•5. Simplicity: we tend to see a figure as being as good as possible under the stimulus conditions – “good form”•Symmetrical, simple, stable, and cannot be made more simpleGESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION•6. Figure/ground: we tend to organize perceptions into the object being looked at (the figure), and the background against which it appears (the ground)•Typically, the figure will stand out from the backgroundGESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION•These principles do not depend on higher mental processes or past experiences•These are just characteristics, or Gestalts, of the stimuli•In other words, just like apparent motion, “it is what it is”GESTALT STUDIES OF LEARNING: INSIGHT AND THE MENTALITY OF APES•Kohler conducted primate research by putting them in problem solving situations (similar to Thorndike’s puzzle box, but not completely!) •Kohler interpreted these studies in terms of the whole situation – he thought the apes solved their problems by restructuring their perception•For example, the stick was considered more useful to the ape for retrieving food if it was in close proximity, and therefore a part of the same problem as the banana•In another study, the ape had to put two sticks together to make one long stick that could reach the food – the ape had to perceive these two sticks as having potential to be something more than what they were on their ownKOHLER’S METHODOLOGY•As an aside, Kohler’s methodology was pretty interesting•He wrote in a very nontechnical way, focusing on personalities of chimps and their individual differences•Used no formal experimental design, no measurement, no treatment, no control group, no statistical analysis•Just observation in a number of problem-solving situationsKOHLER’S CONCLUSIONS•Kohler felt that through these experiments in which monkeys solved problems, they were able to achieve insight•Insight: immediate apprehension or cognition; sudden understanding of relationships•This does not come as a gradual result of conditioning or any other experiential learning; it just comes as a realization, and from then on, no more mistakes of that concept are made•Robert Yerkes, an American animal psychologist, came to a similar conclusion around the same time and called it “ideational learning”•Pavlov thought this was dumb – that it was no more than trial-and-error learning like in Thorndike’s puzzle boxKOHLER DISAGREED•From Kohler’s experience with the apes, he thought they were more than trial-and-error learning•The smartest chimp, Sultan, could help feed the other chimps on an oral command, help Kohler’s son solve similar problems, and emulate spanking•Kohler said this was all different from Thorndike’s cats because their limited perception of the latch mechanism limited them to only trial and error efforts – they never got a Gestalt picture to perceive•He also felt this way about rat/maze researchIN CONCLUSION•Kohler’s monkey research supported the idea that behavior is global, not reductionist•It also reinforced that learning is just a restructuring of one’s physical environment in order to aid in a more perfect perception of the GestaltPRODUCTIVE THINKING IN HUMANS•Wertheimer applied these principles to thinking in humans•He thought that in order to solve a problem, you had to begin with the whole and then go down to the parts, remembering them in their context of the whole•Since we don’t perceive in terms of individual structures, why should we solve problems that way? •This is why contextual examples are helpful for learning concepts!EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES•In terms of applied psychology, Kohler certainly disapproved of rote learning and mechanical drills in the educational environment•By using Gestalt techniques and perception of the whole, you could apply learning to different variations of similar problems•With rote, it doesn’t work that way – once you memorize something, you only know that one particular thing•Repetition was good for some things, but it dampened creative and productive thinkingTHE SPREAD OF GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY•Gestalt psychology was well-formed, well-respected, and well-funded in Germany by the mid-1920s•Their center shifted from Germany to the United States due to Nazi suppression •Koffka and Kohler gave a lot of talks on Gestalt psychology in the U.S.OBSTACLES TO THE SPREAD OF GESTALT
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