GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY

Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and behavior
as a whole. When trying to make sense of the world around us, Gestalt psychology
suggests that we do not simply focus on every small component. Instead, our minds
tend to perceive objects as part of a greater whole and as elements of more complex
systems.

This school of psychology played a major role in the modern development of the
study of human sensation and perception.
 What Does Gestalt Mean?

Gestalt is a German word that roughly means

“configuration,” or the way things are put
together to form a whole object. A core belief
in Gestalt psychology is holism, or that the
whole is greater than the sum of its parts.1
How the Gestalt Approach Formed

Originating in the work of Max Wertheimer, Gestalt

psychology formed in part as a response to the
structuralism of Wilhelm Wundt.
While followers of structuralism were
interested in breaking down
psychological matters into their
smallest possible parts, the Gestalt
psychologists wanted instead to look at
the totality of the mind and behavior.
Guided by the principle of holism, Max
Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt
Koffka identified instances where our
perception was based on seeing things as a
complete whole, not as separate components.
 Wertheimer developed Gestalt psychology4 after observing what
he called the phi phenomenon while watching alternating lights
on a railway signal. The phi phenomenon is an optical illusion
where two stationary objects seem to move if they are shown
appearing and disappearing in rapid succession. In other words,
we perceive movement where there is none.
 Important Principles

Gestalt psychology helped introduce the idea that

human perception is not just about seeing what is
actually present in the world around us; it is heavily
influenced by our motivations and expectations.
 5 BASIC PRINCIPLES

SIMILARITY
PROXIMITY
CONTINUITY
CLOSURE
FIGURE/GROUND
 GROUP 2,
 MEMBERS:
 1.MARGIELYN RAGOS
 2. LYKA GONZALES DINO
 MARAMING SALAMAT PO!!!!!