preview

Psy315

Decent Essays

Gestalt Psychology Reflection
PSY 310
January 11, 2016
Sam Ivory
Dr. Fine

Gestalt psychology Reflection

The school of thought is what Gestalt psychology theory is about. Gestalt believes that all things and scenes are observed in the simplest forms. Also known as the 'Law of Simplicity,' the meaning behind the theory is that the whole of an object or scene is more important than its individual parts. When you observe everything as a whole it allows us to us find order in disorder and unity among outwardly unrelated parts and pieces of information (Cherry, 2015). Gestalt theories have implications for education focusing more meaningful learning and true understanding of principles, over the traditional structured approaches …show more content…

Law of Pragnanz:
The fundamental principle of gestalt perception is the law of prägnanz. This law states that we tend to order our experience in a manner that is regular, orderly, symmetric, and simple.
The word pragnanz is a German term that means "good figure" (Cherry, 2015). * If listening to music on the radio that continues to beep because of the explicit words, your mind will fill in the bleeps with a curse word that makes sense.
Law of Similarity:
The fact that we link things that are similar and treat them like a group is the Law of Similarity. We tend to group similar shapes together and often times, we try to attach some type of meaning to them. Grouping can happen both visually and auditory. * Grouping the players on a basketball team based on the color jersey that they are wearing.
Law of Proximity:
Law of Proximity states that the brain associates objects close to each other than it does when objects are spaced far apart. * A woman who wears an afro may be perceived as a trouble maker at work and ghetto because of her hair.
Law of Continuity:
The law of continuity holds that points that are connected by straight or curving lines are seen in a way that follows the smoothest path. Rather than seeing separate lines and angles, lines

Get Access