Gestalt Theory

Gestalt theory emphasizes that

the whole of anything is greater than
its parts. That is, the attributes of the
whole are not deducible from analysis
of the parts in isolation. The word
Gestalt is used in modern German to
mean the way a thing has been placed
or put together. There is no exact
equivalent in English.
Gestalt psychologist not only
believe that we organize multiple elements into one meaningful whole, but that we also interpret
these situations and objects based on what we expect to see. This demonstrates how much
Gestalt psychology has impacted our understanding of sensation and perception in humans. It
increases our understanding of how our cognitive processes influence the way we behave
socially.

Gestalt Psychology Principles

There are 6 ways in which we organize our
perceptions:
1. Prägnanz- This foundational principle states
that we naturally perceive things in their
simplest form or organization. An example
for this is when presented with the Olympic
logo, you will see overlapping circles rather
than an assortment of curved, connected
lines.
2. Similarity- This principle suggests that we
naturally group similar items together based on elements like color, size, and orientation.
An example would be grouping dogs based on whether they are small or large, or if they
are big or small.
3. Proximity- The principle of proximity states that objects near each other tend to be
viewed as a group. An example would be marching band often use during various
performance, such as marching band competition. The individual band member often
group together in ways that are perceived as shapes, letters and even words.
4. Continuity- According to this principle, we perceive elements arranged on a line or
curve as related to each other, while elements that are not on the line or curve are seen as
separate. Example: we perceived such a sign on a building of which a tree partly covers a
letter X and we’ll read the sign without any problem we can see he continuity of the lines.
5. Closure- this suggest that elements that form a closed object will be perceived as a
group. We will even fill in missing information to create closure and make sense of an
object. An example of this principle is using negative space to give the illusion that a
particular shape exists when it doesn’t.
6. Figure and ground- this principle states that we tend to group objects together if they’re
located in the same bounded area. For example, objects inside a box tend to be
considered a group.