Gestalt School of Psychology

History of Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt psychology originated in the works of Max Wertheimer which was in response to the structuralism approach propounded by
Wilhelm Wundt. The gestalt psychologists analyzed the behaviour pattern and mind in totality. Wundt, on the other hand,
considered the psychological parameters in parts. Let’s analyze the major contributions of these Gestalt psychologists on a one by
one basis:
Max Wertheimer: He is one of the three founding members of Gestalt school of thought and is famous for his phi phenomenon
concept, which involved perceiving still images in rapid succession which created illusion about movement.
Kurt Koffka: As one of the key founding members of Gestalt psychology, he researched on diverse topics related to the field of
psychology with focus on perception, learning and hearing disabilities.
Wolfgang Kohler: As one of the crucial founding members of Gestalt school of thought, it was he who explained the Gestalt theory
in a nutshell by describing that “The whole is different than the sum of its parts”. He was known for his research insights on
problem solving.
Characteristics of Gestalt Theory
1. Holistic Approach: For analyzing the mental health, the Gestalt psychologists adopted a holistic approach,
instead of analyzing various dimensions in isolation.
2. Perceiving realities and structuring information based on past experiences: We perceive realities
differently and perceive information differently by being under the influence of our previous experiences.
We can adapt our mental processes or perceptions as and when the new situation arises.
3. Opposed the then most prevalent schools of thought: Gestalt psychologists opposed the then
predominant schools of thought behaviourism and psychoanalytic theory. Behaviourism was viewed to be
quite narrowly focused by laying undue emphasis on stimulus and responses. According to them, the
behavioural school of thought ignored the importance of mental processes or human intelligence. They
equally criticized psychoanalytic theory for being too passive and giving undue importance to subconscious
state of mind for influencing human behaviour.
4. Focus on Perception: The Gestalt psychology's main focus was on explaining the laws of perception.
According to them, with the help of perception we are able to acquire worldly knowledge, learn to interact
Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization
● The Law of similarity stresses on the fact that objects which appear to be similar are usually grouped
together and perceived in a holistic sense. This grouping can be done on both auditory and visual stimuli.
● The Law of Proximity stresses on the fact that the objects which maintain physical proximity or are near to
each other are usually considered as members of the same group.
● The Law of Pragnanz says that we tend to perceive the objects in the simplest possible forms as our brain
responds well to harmony instead of dissimilarities or complexities.
● The Law of Closure highlights that we tend to close the open contours for providing meaning to our
interpretations in a holistic form. Our minds tend to fill the missing information for creating meaningful
shapes or making sense of the environment.
● Law of Continuity in Psychology refers to tendency of human minds to perceive objects which maintain a
uniform continuity or are engaged in either straight or curved lines to form a smooth path.
Applications of Gestalt Theory
1. Research of key psychological processes like perception and attention: The Gestalt thinkers have incredible
contributions in explaining the fundamental psychological processes like perception and attention. Their findings have laid the
foundation for further research and discoveries in this area for other thinkers. For example, research work and advances
made in this field, has helped the researchers and people from various disciplines in carrying out various programmes more
efficiently and treat various perceptual problems with the help of therapies.
2. Problem Solving: Gestalt psychologists insisted on productive thinking attaining newer insights or reaching the moment of
eureka. Productive thinking according to Wertheimer means using the creative insights or reorganizing the problems
creatively for finding out the solutions to those problems. Reproductive thinking on the other hand, relies on the mechanical
approach of applying the previously acquired knowledge in the present to tackle the issues. Productive thinking is a proactive
approach and reproductive thinking is regarded to be reactive or mechanical.
3. Application of Gestalt Psychology in Education: Gestalt psychologists viewed students’ more than just mere data
recording entities and stressed on the fact that they should learn to find out creative solutions on their own for dealing with
various difficulties. Practically, the Gestalt approach can be integrated in the area of education for deeper research insights
and solutions.
4. Communication and Gestalt Theory: Gestalt approach can be beneficial for those who are engaged in the field of creative
communication like artists, speakers, publicists, designers, etc. By applying the perceptual laws they can win the attention of
Strengths and Limitations of Gestalt Approach
One of the greatest strengths of this approach is its applicability in the day to day life and simplicity of its
ideas. The theory provides us a better understanding on how we interpret and perceive the realities or make
sense of the world around us in the light of perception. Moreover, their suggestions on creative problem
solving and productive thinking and the inputs shared by them in Gestalt therapies related to promoting
personal growth are true value additions.
However, the Gestalt theory is also not free from various criticisms. The theory has been criticized for being
too individualistic, which may encourage selfish behaviour on the part of the individuals. They give more
importance to understanding oneself first before understanding others. Secondly, some of the critics
considered the laws of perceptual organization to be unscientific, ambiguous and vague lacking practical
relevance.

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History of Gestalt Psychology

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