Founder of Gestalt psychology. Basic theoretical principles

Gestalt psychology is a direction in psychology that originated in Germany. It allows you to study and understand the psyche from the point of view of holistic structures that are primary in relation to certain components.

This article will help you understand what the theory of Gestalt psychology is and who its representatives are. Next, we will consider such points as the history of the emergence of this direction of psychology, as well as what principles are underlying it.

Definitions and concepts

Before considering the ideas and principles, it is necessary to define the basic concepts of Gestalt psychology. This is a psychological direction that aims to explain perception, thinking and personality in general.

This direction is built on gestalts - forms of organization that create the integrity of psychological phenomena. In other words, a gestalt is a structure that has holistic qualities, as opposed to the sum of its parts. For example, a portrait or photograph a certain person includes a set of certain elements, but other people perceive the image as a whole (and in each individual case it is perceived differently).

The history of this psychological trend

The history of the development of the direction of Gestalt psychology dates back to 1912, when Max Wertheimer released his first scientific work on this topic. This work was based on the fact that Wertheimer questioned the generally accepted idea of ​​the presence of separately existing elements in the process of perceiving something. Thanks to this, the 20s went down in history as the period of development of the school of Gestalt psychology. The main personalities who figured in the emergence of this trend:

  1. Max Wertheimer.
  2. Kurt Koffka.
  3. Wolfgang Köhler.
  4. Kurt Lewin.

These scientists made an invaluable contribution to the development of this area. However, more details about these representatives of Gestalt psychology will be discussed a little later. These people set themselves difficult task. The first and main representatives of Gestalt psychology were those who wanted to transfer physical laws to psychological phenomena.

The principles of this psychological direction

Representatives of Gestalt psychology have established that the unity of perception, as well as its orderliness, is achieved based on the following principles:

  1. Proximity (stimuli that are close tend to be perceived not individually, but collectively).
  2. Similarity (stimuli that have a similar size, shape, color or outline are perceived collectively).
  3. Integrity (perception tends towards simplification and integrity).
  4. Closure (describes the tendency to complete a figure so that it takes on a complete form).
  5. Contiguity (close position of stimuli in time and space).
  6. Common area (Gestalt principles shape everyday perception as well as past experiences).
  7. The principle of figure and ground (everything that is endowed with meaning acts as a figure, which has a less structured background).

Guided by these principles, representatives of Gestalt psychology were able to determine the main provisions of this direction of psychology.

Basic provisions

Based on the principles, the main provisions can be described as follows:

  1. All processes of psychology are integral processes that have their own structure, which has its own set of specific elements that will always be secondary in relation to it. Based on this, the subject of Gestalt psychology is consciousness, which has a structure filled with closely related elements.
  2. Perception has such a feature as constancy. This suggests that the constancy of perception is the relative invariance of certain properties that objects possess (in the presence of changes in the conditions of perception). For example, this could be constancy of lighting or color.

Fundamental ideas of Gestalt psychology

Representatives of this school identified the following basic ideas of this direction of psychology:

  1. Consciousness is a holistic and dynamic field in which all its points are in constant interaction with each other.
  2. Creation is analyzed using gestalts.
  3. Gestalt is a holistic structure.
  4. Gestalts are studied through objective observation and description of perceptual contents.
  5. Sensations are not the basis of perception, since the former cannot exist physically.
  6. The main mental process is visual perception, which determines the development of the psyche and is subject to its own laws.
  7. Thinking is a process that is not formed based on experience.
  8. Thinking is a process of solving certain problems, which is carried out through “insight”.

Having determined what this direction in psychology is, as well as having understood its foundations, it is necessary to describe in more detail who the representatives of Gestalt psychology are, as well as what contribution they made to the development of this scientific field.

Max Wertheimer

As noted earlier, he is the founder of Gestalt psychology. The scientist was born in the Czech Republic, but he conducted his scientific activities in Germany.

According to historical data, Max Wertheimer, while on vacation, had the idea to conduct an experiment in order to understand why a person can see the movement of a certain object at a moment when in reality there is no movement. Having got off on the Frankfurt platform, Wertheimer purchased a very ordinary toy strobe light with the goal of conducting an experiment right in the hotel. Some time later, the scientist continued his observations in a more formal setting at the University of Frankfurt.

In general, these studies were aimed at studying the perception of the movement of objects, which does not actually occur. During the experiment, the scientist used the term “impression of movement.” Using a device such as a tachistoscope, Max Wertheimer passed a beam of light through the small holes of the toy (one slot of the toy was located vertically, and the second had deviations from the first by twenty to thirty degrees).

During the study, a beam of light was passed through the first slot, and then through the second. When the light passed through the second slit, the time interval was increased to two hundred milliseconds. In this case, the experiment participants observed how light appeared first in the first, and subsequently in the second slit. However, if the time period of illumination of the second slits was shortened, then the impression was created that both slits were constantly illuminated. And when the second slit was illuminated for 60 milliseconds, the light seemed to constantly move from one slit to the second, and then back again.

The scientist became convinced that such a phenomenon is elementary in its own way, but at the same time represents something different from one or even several simple sensations. Subsequently, Max Wertheimer gave this phenomenon the name “phi-phenomenon.”

Many have tried to refute the results of this experiment. In particular, Wundt's theory confirmed that the perception of two strips of light located next to each other, but nothing more, should have been created. However, no matter how strictly the introspection was carried out in Wertheimer’s experiment, the strip continued to move, and it was not possible to explain this phenomenon using the existing theoretical positions. IN this experiment the whole was the movement of the light line, and the sum of the constituent elements was two motionless lines of light.

Wertheimer's experience challenged conventional atomistic associationist psychology. The results of the experiment were published in 1912. This was the beginning of Gestalt psychology.

Kurt Koffka

Another representative of Gestalt psychology is Kurt Koffka. He was a German-American psychologist who collaborated with Wertheimer.

He devoted sufficient time to understanding how perception works and what it is formed from. In the process of scientific activity he established that a child born into the world does not yet have formed gestalts. Eg, Small child may not even know loved one, if he changes some details of his appearance. However, in the process of life, any person develops gestalts. Over time, the child becomes able to recognize his mother or grandmother, even if they change their hair color, haircut, or any other element of appearance that distinguishes them from other strangers.

Wolfgang Köhler (Keller)

Gestalt psychology as a scientific field owes a lot to this scientist, as he wrote many books that became the basis of the theory and conducted several amazing experiments. Köhler was sure that physics as a science should have a certain connection with psychology.

In 1913, Köhler traveled to the Canary Islands, where he studied the behavior of chimpanzees. In one experiment, the scientist placed a banana outside the animal's cage. The fruit was tied with a rope, and the chimpanzee easily solved this problem - the animal simply pulled the rope and brought the treat closer to itself. Köhler concluded that this simple task for an animal, and complicated it. The scientist extended several ropes to the banana, and the chimpanzee did not know which of them led to the treat, so he was more often mistaken. Köhler concluded that the animal's decision in this situation is unconscious.

The course of the other experiment was slightly different. The banana was still placed outside the cage, and a stick was placed between them (opposite the banana). In this case, the animal perceived all objects as elements of one situation and easily moved the treat towards itself. However, when the stick was at the other end of the cage, the chimpanzee did not perceive the objects as elements of the same situation.

The third experiment was carried out under similar conditions. Similarly, a banana was placed outside the cage at an inaccessible distance, and the monkey was given two sticks in his hands that were too short to reach the fruit. To solve the problem, the animal needed to insert one stick into another and take out a treat.

The essence of all these experiments boiled down to one thing - to compare the results of the perception of objects in different situations. All these examples, just like Max Wertheimer's experiment with light, proved that perceptual experience has a quality of integrity that its components do not have. In other words, perception is a gestalt, and the attempt to break it down into its components ends in failure.

Research suggested to Köhler that animals solved problems either through trial and error or through sudden awareness. Thus, a conclusion was formed - objects lying in the field of one perception and not connected with each other, when solving problems, are combined into general structure, the awareness of which helps solve the problem.

Kurt Lewin

This scientist put forward a theory comparing social pressures that determine human behavior with various physical forces (internal - feelings, external - perception of other people's desires or expectations). This theory is called “field theory”.

Lewin argued that personality is a system in which there are subsystems that interact. Conducting his experiments, Levin noted that when the feature is active, the state of the subsystem is tense, and if the activity is interrupted, it will still be in tension until the moment it returns to performing the action. If there is no logical conclusion to the action, then the tension is substituted or drained.

Speaking in simple words, Lewin tried to prove the relationship between human behavior and the environment. This scientist moved away from the ideas of the influence of experience on the structure of personality. Field theory states that human behavior is absolutely independent of the future or past, but it is dependent on the present.

Gestalt psychology and Gestalt therapy: definition and differences

IN Lately Gestalt therapy has become a very popular branch of psychotherapy. The methods of Gestalt psychology and Gestalt therapy are different, and the second is more often criticized by adherents of the first.

According to some sources, Fritz Perls is a scientist who is considered the founder of Gestalt therapy, which is not related to scientific school Gestalt psychology. He synthesized psychoanalysis, ideas of bioenergetics and Gestalt psychology. However, there is nothing from the school founded by Max Wertheimer in this area of ​​therapy. Some sources claim that in fact, the connection to Gestalt psychology was just an advertising ploy to attract attention to the synthesized direction of psychotherapy.

However, other sources note that such therapy is still associated with the school of Gestalt psychology. However, this connection is not direct, but it still exists.

Conclusion

Having understood in detail who the representatives of Gestalt psychology are, as well as what this area of ​​scientific activity is, we can conclude that it is aimed at studying perception, which is an integral structure.

Gestalt approaches have penetrated many scientific fields over time. For example, in pathopsychology or personality theory, as well as such approaches are found in social psychology, psychology of learning and perception. Today it is difficult to imagine scientific fields such as neobehaviourism or cognitive psychology without Gestalt psychology.

As noted earlier, the main representatives of Gestalt psychology are Wertheimer, Koffka, Lewin and Köhler. Having learned about the activities of these people, one can understand that this direction played a huge role in the development of world psychology.

Basic theoretical principles

The primary data of psychology are integral structures (gestalts), which in principle cannot be derived from the components that form them. Gestalts have their own characteristics and laws, in particular, the “law of grouping”, “law of relationship” (figure/ground).

Gestalt psychology arose from studies of perception. The focus of her attention is characteristic tendency psyche to organize experience into an understandable whole. For example, when perceiving letters with “holes” (missing parts), consciousness strives to fill the gap, and we recognize the whole letter.

Gestalt psychology owes its appearance to the German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffke and Wolfgang Köhler, who put forward a program for studying the psyche from the point of view of holistic structures - gestalts. Opposing the principle put forward by psychology of dividing consciousness into elements and constructing complex mental phenomena from them, they proposed the idea of ​​the integrity of the image and the irreducibility of its properties to the sum of the properties of the elements. According to these theorists, the objects that make up our environment are perceived by the senses not as individual objects, but as organized forms. Perception is not reduced to the sum of sensations, and the properties of a figure are not described through the properties of its parts. Gestalt itself is a functional structure that organizes the diversity of individual phenomena.

Gestalt principles

All of the above properties of perception: constants, figure, background - enter into relationships with each other and reveal a new property. This is gestalt, the quality of form. The integrity of perception and its orderliness are achieved thanks to the following principles:

  • proximity (stimuli located nearby tend to be perceived together),
  • similarity (stimuli that are similar in size, shape, color or shape tend to be perceived together),
  • integrity (perception tends towards simplification and integrity),
  • closedness (reflects the tendency to complete a figure so that it takes on a full form),
  • contiguity (proximity of stimuli in time and space. Contiguity can predetermine perception when one event causes another),
  • common area (Gestalt principles shape our everyday perceptions, as well as learning and past experiences. Anticipatory thoughts and expectations also actively guide our interpretation of sensations).

Gestalt qualities

Formed gestalts are always wholes, complete structures, with clearly defined contours. The contour, characterized by the degree of sharpness and the closedness or openness of the outlines, is the basis of Gestalt.

When describing Gestalt, the concept of importance is also used. The whole can be important, the members unimportant, and vice versa, the Figure is always more important than the base. The importance can be distributed in such a way that the result is that all members are equally important (this is a rare case, which occurs, for example, in some ornaments).

Gestalt members come in different ranks. So, for example, in a circle: the 1st rank corresponds to the center, the 2nd rank is a point on the circle, the 3rd is any point inside the circle. Each gestalt has its own center of gravity, which acts either as a center of mass (for example, the middle in a disk), or as a fastening point, or as a starting point (it seems that this point serves as the beginning for constructing the whole, for example, the base of a column), or as a guiding point (for example, the tip of an arrow).

The quality of “transpositivity” is manifested in the fact that the image of the whole remains, even if all the parts change in their material, for example, if these are different keys of the same melody, and can be lost even if all the elements are preserved, as in Picasso’s paintings ( for example, Picasso’s drawing “Cat”).

The law of pregnancy (Prägnanz) was postulated as the basic law for the grouping of individual elements. Pregnancy (from lat. praegnans- meaningful, burdened, rich) - one of key concepts Gestalt psychology, meaning the completion of gestalts that have acquired a balanced state, “ good shape" Pregnant gestalts have the following properties: closed, clearly defined boundaries, symmetry, internal structure that takes the form of a figure. At the same time, factors were identified that contribute to the grouping of elements into integral gestalts, such as “proximity factor”, “similarity factor”, “good continuation factor”, “factor common destiny».

The law of “good” Gestalt, proclaimed by Metzger (1941), states: “Consciousness is always predisposed to perceive predominantly the simplest, the most unified, the closed, the symmetrical, and included in the main spatial axis, among the perceptions given together.” Deviations from “good” gestalts are not perceived immediately, but only upon intensive examination (for example, an approximately equilateral triangle is viewed as an equilateral triangle, an almost right angle is viewed as a right angle).

Constants of perception

Size constancy

Size constancy means that the perceived size of an object remains constant, regardless of changes in the size of its image on the retina. Understanding simple things may seem natural or innate. However, in most cases it is formed through own experience. So in 1961, Colin Turnbull took a pygmy who lived in the dense African jungle to the endless African savannah. The pygmy, who had never seen objects at a great distance, perceived herds of buffalo as a collection of insects until he was brought closer to the animals.

Constancy of form

Shape constancy is that the perceived shape of an object is constant as the shape on the retina changes. Just look at this page first straight ahead and then at an angle. Despite the change in the “picture” of the page, the perception of its shape remains unchanged.

Brightness constancy

Brightness constancy means that the perceived brightness of an object is constant under changing lighting conditions. Naturally, subject to the same lighting of the object and the background.

Figure and ground

The simplest formation of perception consists in dividing visual sensations into an object - a figure located against a background. Isolation of a figure from the background and retention of the object of perception includes psychophysiological mechanisms. Brain cells that receive visual information respond more actively when looking at a figure than when looking at a background (Lamme, 1995). The figure is always pushed forward, the background is pushed back, the figure is richer in content than the background, brighter than the background. And a person thinks about the figure, and not about the background. However, their role and place in perception is determined by personal, social factors. Therefore, the phenomenon of a reversible figure becomes possible when, for example, during prolonged perception, the figure and the background change places.

Contribution

Gestalt psychology believed that the whole is not derived from the sum of the properties and functions of its parts (the properties of the whole are not equal to the sum of the properties of its parts), but has a qualitatively higher level. Gestalt psychology changed the previous view of consciousness, proving that its analysis is designed to deal not with individual elements, but with holistic mental images. Gestalt psychology opposed associative psychology, which divides consciousness into elements. Gestalt psychology, along with phenomenology and psychoanalysis, formed the basis of Gestalt therapy by F. Perls, who transferred the ideas of Gestalt psychologists from cognitive processes to the level of world understanding as a whole.

see also

Notes

Literature

  • Arnheim R. Art and visual perception. - M.: Progress, 1974.
  • Arnheim R. New essays on the psychology of art. - M.: Prometheus, 1994.
  • Wertheimer M. Productive thinking. - M.: Progress, 1987.
  • Dunker K. Qualitative (experimental and theoretical) study of productive thinking // Psychology of thinking. - M., 1965. P. 21-85.
  • Dunker K. Psychology of productive (creative) thinking // Psychology of thinking. - M., 1965. P. 86-234.
  • Arnheim R. Visual thinking. Berkeley and Los Angeles: California UP, 1967.
  • Koffka K. Principles of Gestalt psychology. N.Y., 1935.
  • Kohler W. Gestalt psychology. N.Y., 1947 (revised ed.).
  • James R. Lewis. Encyclopedia of dreams. - P. 151.

Links

  • Köhler Wolfgang. Some tasks of Gestalt psychology
  • Serge Ginger. Gestallexikon
  • Naranjo K. Basic techniques of Gestalt therapy
  • Akioshi Kitaoka Illusions of Akioshi Kitaoka

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Synonyms:

Gestalt psychology- This is a unique direction in psychology. It arose during a period of psychological crisis in the 20s of the last century in Germany. Gestalt psychology is a productive option for preserving the integrity of German and Austrian psychology. It was created to oppose structuralism.

Within the framework of Gestalt psychology, the human psyche is studied taking into account integral structures(gestalts), which are primary in relation to their components.

For example, a subject sees a cat and is asked who is in front of him? What will he answer? Most likely, he will say “cat” or “animal”. A person perceives it as a single whole, and not the tail, paws or muzzle separately.

This direction of psychology was studied and described by Fritz (Frederick) Perls, Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Köhler. For the first time they started talking about gestalts and the psyche in this vein in 1921.

Christian von Ehrenfels emphasized in his writings that the whole is a separate reality that differs from the world of parts. Translated from German language"Gestalt" is structure shape, image. That is, Gestalt can be called a visual-spatial form of perception of objects, which cannot be understood through summation, accumulation of properties. For example, music. A person recognizes a well-known melody, even if its key has been changed. We also recognize music when we hear it a second time.

The research is based on human perception. The focus is on the tendency of the psyche to summarize accumulated experience. For example, when demonstrating symbols “with holes” (gaps), the consciousness tries to fill in the missing part and the person remembers the whole image.

The history of the origins of Gestalt psychology

Gestalt psychology begins with an important experiment by psychologist Max Wertheimer. He investigated the "phi-phenomenon". The experiment was aided by social devices – a tachiostoscope and a strobe light. The scientist used two straight lines that protruded irritants, transmitting different speed movements.

The future representative of the school of Gestalt psychology M. Wertheimer found out that:

  • with a large interval, the subject perceives the lines sequentially;
  • with a short interval, the lines are perceived holistically;
  • the optimal time interval is 60 milliseconds. In this range, the perception of motion is created. Observing the eyes of the subject, the movement of the pupils to the left and right was observed; the eyes reacted to straight lines with a consistent gaze;
  • the subject perceives pure motion at the correct time interval. It was believed that there was movement, but there was no visible movement of the line. It is this human reaction that is called the “phi-phenomenon.”

The scientist described the experimental data in 1921 in the article “ Experimental studies perception of movement." It is from this moment that the school of Gestalt psychology begins.

Max Wertheimer himself is one of the founders of this movement in psychology. He continued to explore human perception and thinking. At that time, his work attracted the attention of many famous scientists. Among them was Kurt Koffka, who even participated in some experiments as a test subject. Together, based on the results, they substantiated a completely new, unique theory of world perception.

In the 1930s, Gestalt psychology became very popular in Berlin. The scientist himself works in Germany, and on the eve of World War II emigrates to the USA, where he dies in 1943. In 1945, Max Wertheimer's posthumous book Productive Thinking was published. This work describes problem solving process through Gestalt psychology, the process of clarifying the meaning of individual parts in the structure of a holistic problem situation is described in detail.

Kurt Koffka is considered the founder of Gestalt psychology as psychology. Collaborated with Max Wertheimer since 1910. During this period, Koffka published the article “Perception: An Introduction to Gestalt Psychology,” in which he described the main principles and provisions of this direction.

In 1921, the scientist wrote a book on child psychology– “Basics mental development”, and in 1933 he published the work “Principles of Gestalt Psychology”. The second book turned out to be difficult to read, and therefore did not become the main textbook for studying the theory of Gestalt psychology, as the author had hoped.

His studies of children's perception showed that children have weak, vague images. It was this observation that prompted him to reason about important role figures and background. Formulated one of the laws of perception, which was called transduction. He proved that children do not perceive colors, but their relationships.

The scientist argued that color vision develops due to the contrast between the perception of the background and the figure. Later this law was proved by Köhler and was called law of transposition.

Over time, Keller's research revealed the instantaneous rather than long-term nature of thinking. It is based on " insight" A little later, a scientist named K. Buhler called this phenomenon the “aha experience.” He emphasized its suddenness.

Today, the concept of “insight” is considered key in Gestalt psychology. It explains almost all forms of thinking, including productive and creative thinking.

Basic principles of Gestalt psychology

Orderliness and integrity of human perception is achieved thanks to the following principles:

Scientists perceive the human psyche as holistic phenomenal field, which has a certain structure and properties. According to Gestalt psychology, the main properties of human perception are the relationship between background and figure and constancy of perception.

Qualitative characteristics of Gestalt psychology

Gestalts that have formed are always integral. They are completed structures and have a clear outline. This contour is characterized by closedness, sharpness or blurred boundaries. The main quality of Gestalt psychology is the desire for completeness, which is manifested by the Zeigarnik effect.

When describing Gestalt, the concept of “importance” is often used. The whole is important, and the parts are secondary. And vice versa. The figure always comes first, the background comes second. In rare cases, for example, in ornaments, all parts are equally important.

Gestalt members have different ranks. For example, if you look at a circle: 1st rank is the center. And the 2nd rank is the boundaries of the circle. And any point inside the circle is already the 3rd rank.

Each gestalt has center of gravity, which is also called the “center of mass”. This is the middle, the place of connection and fastening, or the starting point as the beginning of the whole. Or a guide, like the tip of an arrow.

Quality of transpositivity in this direction of psychology - the image of the whole always remains, even if all the elements have changed. Or vice versa, the whole is lost, even if all the elements are preserved. For example, Picasso's painting "Cat".

Law of Pregnancy– completeness of the gestalt, acquisition of balance, “good form”. The properties of pregnancy include clearly defined and closed boundaries, internal structure, and symmetry.

The concept of a “good” gestalt was proclaimed by Metzger, a representative of the school of Gestalt psychology, in 1941. He argued that consciousness is predisposed to perceive, of all data, the simplest, most closed, aesthetic, unified elements that are included in the spatial axis.

Gestalt Grouping carried out using the following factors:

  • proximity factor;
  • factor of common destiny;
  • continuation factor;
  • similarity factor.

Background and figure in Gestalt psychology briefly

Main objects the phenomenal field is the background and the figure. Some of the information we perceive is clear and meaningful. While its other part is “in the fog”, only vaguely present in the individual’s consciousness.

The brain, when looking at a figure, always reacts more sharply and clearly. And the background is perceived as secondary; it is visually pushed back. The figure has richer content and is almost always brighter than the background.

But the role of the background and figure in perception is determined by the individual himself and social factors. Therefore, the phenomenon of a reversible figure is quite possible, when the figure and the background change places.

Constancy, stability of perception

The law of perception states that the integrity of the image does not change when sensory elements change. A person perceives the world as stable, despite the fact that he constantly changes the position of his body in space.

Constancy of form– the shape of the object that we perceive is constant. Even when the shape changes on the human retina. For example, if you look at the page of a book first straight ahead and then at an angle, the perception of its shape will remain the same.

Size constancy– the object remains constant, regardless of changes on the retina. Human perception of elementary objects seems innate and natural to us. In reality, it is formed in childhood, thanks to the accumulation of life experiences.

Brightness constancy– a person perceives the brightness of an object constantly, regardless of changed external conditions.

Theory and basic concepts of Gestalt psychology

The basis of Gestalt psychology and Gestalt therapy lies in the following concepts:

To fully understand what Gestalt psychology is, you need to get acquainted with 9 commandments of authentic personality:

  1. Live in the present. Be now.
  2. Experience is reality. Don't fantasize about your life.
  3. Interact only with those things that are available.
  4. The feelings you experience need to be expressed. Don't manipulate or look for excuses.
  5. There's no need to talk too much. Do it and watch.
  6. Don't create idols. Do what you think is right and effective.
  7. Accept problems and pain equally with joy and pleasure.
  8. Always remain yourself, in any circumstances.
  9. Take responsibility for all your reactions.

Why has Gestalt psychology failed to stand the test of time?

Most likely, the main problem is that physical and mental phenomena were considered in parallel, without delving into the cause-and-effect relationship. Gestalt psychology claimed to be an independent theory in psychology, but was based on studies of images of perception. If it was necessary to explain phenomena that cannot be represented in a given category, difficulties arose.

In Gestalt psychology one cannot separate action and image; they appear in the form of a unique image, a kind of universal essence. As a result, the research method based on phenomenological concept, became an obstacle to real scientific study of “image” and “action”.

Another mistake is the separation of the concepts of “analysis” and “synthesis”. The most desperate Gestaltists denied the existence of sensations, and they were also ardent opponents of associative psychology. At the same time, Gestalt psychology left a bright mark on the development of modern psychology.

She attracted the attention of scientists to the study of memory, perception, perception, creative thinking, the study of personality, its behavior and motivation.

Modern adherents of Gestalt psychology are convinced that today it is also necessary to study the experience of consciousness. However, they agree that consciousness is more difficult to study, unlike human behavior.

Gestalt psychology proves that personality analysis deals not with individual elements, but with entire images of the psyche. Unlike its main competitor, behaviorism, modern Gestalt psychology has retained much from the original theory. Thanks to this, its original principles and interest in the conscious experience of the individual did not dissolve in time and space.

At the beginning of the 20th century in Germany, Max Wertheimer, experimentally studying the features of visual perception, proved the following fact: the whole cannot be reduced to the sum of its parts. And this central position became fundamental in Gestalt psychology. It can be noted that the views of this psychological movement contradict the theory of Wilhelm Wundt, in which he highlighted the elements of consciousness. So, in one of his scientific research W. Wundt gives the subject a book and asks him to evaluate what he sees. At first, the subject says that he sees a book, but then, when the experimenter asks him to look more closely, he begins to notice its shape, color, and the material from which the book is made.

The ideas of Gestaltists differ; they believe that it is impossible to describe the world from the point of view of dividing it into elements. In 1912, M. Wertheimer’s work “Experimental Studies of the Perception of Motion” was published, in which he, using an experiment with a strobe light, shows that movement cannot be reduced to the sum of two points. It should be noted that this same year is the year of birth of Gestalt psychology. Subsequently, the work of M. Wertheimer gained great popularity in the world and soon a school of Gestalt psychology appeared in Berlin, which included such popular scientific figures as Max Wertheimer himself, Wolfgang Köhler, Kurt Koffka, Kurt Lewin and other researchers. The main task facing the new scientific direction was to transfer the laws of physics to mental phenomena.

Basic ideas of Gestalt psychology

The main concept of Gestalt psychology is the concept of Gestalt. Gestalt is a pattern, configuration, a certain form of organization individual parts which creates integrity. Thus, Gestalt is a structure that is holistic and has special qualities, in contrast to the sum of its components. For example, a portrait of a person usually has a certain set constituent elements, but the human image itself is perceived completely differently in each individual case. In order to prove the fact regarding integrity, M. Wertheimer conducted an experiment with a strobe light, which made it possible to observe the illusion of movement of two light sources that light up alternately. This phenomenon is called the phi phenomenon. The movement was illusory and existed exclusively in this form; it could not be broken down into separate components.

In his subsequent studies, M. Wertheimer also extends his views regarding other mental phenomena. He views thinking as an alternating change of gestalts, that is, the ability to see the same problem from different angles, in accordance with the task.

Based on the above, we can highlight the main position of Gestalt psychology, which is as follows:

1) mental processes are initially holistic and have a certain structure. Elements can be identified in this structure, but all of them are secondary to it.

Thus, the subject of research in Gestalt psychology is consciousness, which is a dynamic integral structure where all elements are closely interconnected.

The next feature of perception that was studied in the school of Gestalt psychology, in addition to its integrity, was the constancy of perception:

2) constancy of perception represents the relative invariance of the perception of certain properties of objects when the conditions of their perception change. These properties include color or lighting constancy.

Based on such features of perception as integrity and constancy, Gestaltists highlight the principles of the organization of perception. They note that the organization of perception occurs precisely at the moment when a person turns his attention to the object of interest to him. At this time, parts of the perceived field are connected to each other and become one.

M. Wertheimer identified a number of principles according to which the organization of perception occurs:

  • The principle of proximity. Elements located next to each other in time and space are combined with each other and form a single form.
  • The principle of similarity. Similar elements are perceived as one, forming a kind of vicious circle.
  • The principle of closure. There is a tendency for humans to complete unfinished figures.
  • The principle of integrity. A person completes incomplete figures into a simple whole (there is a tendency to simplify the whole).
  • The principle of figure and ground. Everything that a person assigns a certain meaning is perceived by him as a figure against a less structured background.

Development of perception according to Koffka

Kurt Koffka's research made it possible to understand how human perception is formed. After conducting a series of experiments, he was able to establish that a child is born with unformed gestalts, unclear images of the outside world. For example, any change in the appearance of a loved one can lead to the child not recognizing him. K. Koffka suggested that gestalts, as images of the external world, are formed in a person with age and over time acquire more exact values, become clearer and differentiated.

Studying color perception in more detail, K. Koffka substantiated the fact that people do not distinguish colors as such, but their relationships among themselves. Considering the process of development of color perception over time, K. Koffka notes that initially a child is able to distinguish among themselves only those objects that have a certain color and those that do not have color. Moreover, the colored ones stand out to him as figures, and the uncolored ones are seen by him as the background. Then, to complete the gestalt, warm and cold shades are added, and already at an older age these shades begin to be divided into more specific colors. However, colored objects are perceived by the child only as figures located on a certain background. Thus, the scientist concluded that the main role in the formation of perception is played by the figure and the background against which it is presented. And the law, according to which a person perceives not the colors themselves, but their relationship, is called “transduction.”

Unlike the background, the figure has a brighter color. However, there is also the phenomenon of a reversible figure. This occurs when, upon prolonged examination, the perception of an object changes, and then the background can become the main figure, and the figure - the background.

The concept of insight according to Köhler

Experiments with chimpanzees allowed Wolfgang Köhler to understand that the task assigned to an animal is solved either by trial and error or through sudden awareness. Based on his experiments, W. Köhler made the following conclusion: objects that are in the animal’s field of perception and that are in no way connected with each other, in the process of solving a particular problem, begin to connect into some single structure, the vision of which helps to resolve problematic situation. This structuring occurs instantly; in other words, insight occurs, which means awareness.

To prove that a person solves certain problems in a similar way, that is, thanks to the phenomenon of insight, W. Köhler conducted a number of interesting experiments to study the thought process of children. He posed a task for the children similar to the one posed for the monkeys. For example, they were asked to get a toy that was high on the cabinet. At first, in their field of perception there was only a closet and a toy. Next, they paid attention to the ladder, chair, box and other objects, and realized that they could be used to get the toy. In this way, a gestalt was formed and it became possible to solve the problem.

W. Köhler believed that the initial understanding of the general picture, after some time, is replaced by a more detailed differentiation and on the basis of this a new gestalt, more adequate for a specific situation, is already formed.

Thus, W. Köhler defined insight as solving a problem based on capturing logical connections between stimuli or events.

Lewin's dynamic theory of personality

From the point of view of Kurt Lewin, the main gestalt is a field that functions as a single space, and individual elements are pulled towards it. Personality exists in a charged psychological field of elements. The valence of each item that is in this field can be either positive or negative. The variety of objects surrounding a person contributes to the emergence of his needs. The existence of such needs can be manifested by the presence of a feeling of tension. Thus, to achieve a harmonious state, a person needs to satisfy his needs.

Based on the basic ideas and principles of Gestalt psychology, Gestalt therapy was created in the mid-20th century by Frederick Perls.

Gestalt therapy according to Perls

The main idea of ​​this therapy is the following: a person and everything that surrounds him is a single whole.

Gestalt therapy assumes that a person’s entire life consists of an infinite number of gestalts. Every event that happens to a person is a kind of gestalt, each of which has a beginning and an end. An important point is that any gestalt must be completed. However, completion is possible only when the human need that resulted in this or that gestalt is satisfied.

Thus, all Gestalt therapy is based on the need to complete unfinished business. However, there are various factors that can prevent the perfect completion of the gestalt. The incompleteness of the gestalt can manifest itself throughout a person’s life and interfere with his harmonious existence. In order to help a person get rid of excess tension, Gestalt therapy offers various techniques and exercises.

Using these techniques, Gestalt therapists help patients see and understand how unfinished Gestalts affect their lives in the present, and also help complete unfinished Gestalts.

An example of these techniques are exercises that are aimed at understanding oneself and others. Gestalt therapists call these techniques games in which the patient conducts an internal dialogue with himself, or builds a dialogue with parts of his own personality.

The most popular is the “empty chair” technique. For this technique, two chairs are used, which must be placed opposite each other. One of which contains a fictitious interlocutor, and the other - a patient, main participant games. The main idea of ​​the technique is that the patient gets the opportunity to play out the internal dialogue, identifying himself with his subpersonalities.

Thus, for Gestalt psychology, the fact that a person is an integral personality is integral. The constant development of this scientific direction to this day allows us to develop new methods of working with different patients. Gestalt therapy currently helps individuals make their lives more and more meaningful, conscious and fulfilling, and therefore allows them to achieve a higher level of psychological and physical health.

Bibliography:
  1. Wertheimer M. Productive thinking: Trans. from English/General ed. S. F. Gorbova and V. P. Zinchenko. Entry Art. V. P. Zinchenko. - M.: Progress, 1987.
  2. Perls F. “Gestalt approach. Witness to therapy." - M.: Publishing House of the Institute of Psychotherapy, 2003.
  3. Shultz D.P., Shultz S.E. History of modern psychology / Trans. from English A.V. Govorunov, V.I. Kuzin, L.L. Tsaruk / Ed. HELL. Nasledov. - St. Petersburg: Publishing house "Eurasia", 2002.
  4. Koehler V. Study of the intelligence of anthropoid apes. - M., 1930.
  5. http://psyera.ru/volfgang-keler-bio.htm

Editor: Bibikova Anna Aleksandrovna

I am glad to welcome you, dear blog readers! I decided to introduce you to various areas in psychology, and today I will start with the characteristics and tasks that Gestalt psychology sets itself briefly, so as not to bore you with details.

History of origin and characteristics of the direction

The founders are considered to be individuals such as Kurt Koffka, Wolfang Keller and Max Wertheimer, but it was Fritz Perls, his wife Laura and Paul Goodman who refined the ideas and began to apply them in their practice. They believed that it is human nature to perceive objects as one whole, without distinguishing individual parts. To make it clearer, I’ll give an example: if you are shown a photograph of a cat and asked what you see, most likely you will answer “cat”, well, maybe “animal”; few people would think of listing all its components separately. But if you begin to isolate these components as part of the whole, this will be called gestalt.

Principles of perception

Figure-ground relationship

What is very valuable and important in this moment, where attention is directed, is a figure, and everything else that fades into the background, respectively, is the background. That is, I come to the opening of a store where they have a buffet, and I am very hungry, so at the moment I am only interested in food, and it doesn’t matter at all how many people are nearby, what color the napkins are and in general, nothing but food. I can’t even really distinguish what exactly the dishes consist of. Because the plate with sandwiches and other things will be a figure, everything else is the background. But they can change places. When I feel full, I become interested in something else, I begin to identify completely different needs.

Law of Equilibrium

It says that our psyche strives for stability, that is, as soon as a person identifies a figure from the background, he gives it a form that is convenient for him, the characteristics of which are determined by proximity, simplicity, regularity, completeness, etc. And if it meets these criteria, then it is usually called “good gestalt.” Now I’ll try to learn more about these criteria:

  • Proximity – if stimuli are nearby, they are perceived as one whole. The most common example is when a guy and a girl walking together can be identified by those around them as a couple.
  • Similarity . Stimuli are perceived together if they have some similarities in shape, color, size, etc....
  • Integrity . Our perception simply needs simplification and integrity.
  • Closedness – if something is incomplete, we will definitely complete it ourselves.
  • Adjacency– when stimuli are close in space and time.

Basic concepts that Gestaltists use in their work

  • Organism and environment . A person is not considered separately from the environment, because there is constant interaction between them, because the environment influences a person, and he, in turn, transforms it. There is even the concept of mental metabolism, which states that the body must give into the environment and receive from it. These can be thoughts, ideas, feelings, otherwise there will be no growth of this very organism, development and balance in general, as a result of which it may even cease to exist. I’ll try to give an example regarding influence to make it more clear. When changes happen within us, they also happen in the outside world. You were storing up anger at a colleague, and then something happened to your worldview, and you let go of this feeling, ceasing to expect anything from him. And suddenly you noticed how his attitude towards you changed, and he began to treat you differently.
  • Phi phenomenon – Wertheimer conducted one experiment, showing subjects two straight lines, changing time intervals, and found that with an interval of 60 milliseconds, it seems to a person that these lines are moving, and he called this phenomenon the phi phenomenon.
  • Insight - insight, unexpected understanding of the essence of the problem.
  • Contact boundary - that is, this is the boundary that separates “I” from “not me” and regulates exchange in the process of contact.

On the basis of this entire theory, Gestalt therapy arose, which from its inception to this day occupies a leading position in psychotherapy. But it has made some additions and also includes other areas, for example, psychoanalysis, the teachings of Reich or Otto Rank, using the principles of phenomenology, holism and existentialism.

The tasks that Gestalt sets itself


1. Teach a person to be in contact with himself

That is, to realize what is happening to him, what feelings he experiences, understand what he wants, what needs he satisfies, and so on. Man with high level iQ will not be successful and happy if he emotional intellect will be at a minimum. Unfortunately, schools and families rarely teach how to recognize one’s feelings, live them, and realize why they arose. A person who is not in touch with himself will isolate himself from emotions that he considers negative and ignore them, which will entail internal discomfort and various types of illness.

2.Teach to be in contact with others

3.Teach to be “here and now”

That is, to be in reality, and not live in memories or dreams. Even if therapy is carried out for an event that happened long ago, the emphasis is on experiences at the moment. It is impossible to change the past, it is only possible to change our attitude towards it.

4. Show that there is no need to “pok” in your unconscious

Since the most important and necessary things will definitely lie on the surface. And it will be a figure. It’s really simple, and makes life much easier, since there is no need to “invent” possible difficulties for yourself, cling to them and hold on to them. As soon as the current problem is recognized and solved, a new figure will appear, and so on.

5.Teach to experience any feeling

A very interesting task, as it differs significantly from the methods of other areas in psychology and psychotherapy. Usually, it is customary to fight negative experiences, transform them into positive ones, cover them up with some other emotions, or rationalize them. The idea is that if you consciously stay in the experience of a feeling for as long as it takes, it will change. That is, if you are sad, you do not need to purposefully cheer yourself up, since the effect will be short-lived, if at all. It’s better to immerse yourself in it, think about what it’s connected with and allow yourself to be in it, then this sadness will pass, leaving space inside for another emotion to take its place.

The final stage of gestalt


Perls, the founder of this movement, believed that a person must be mature, then he will be healthy and successful. That is, she must be able to take responsibility for her actions, be able to appropriate experience, even if it was negative, take risks and independently satisfy her needs, interacting with others, and not manipulating them. Paul Goodman described precisely the cycle of experience, that is, the very process of satisfying a need, so that, as they say, “the gestalt is completed”:

  1. Pre-contact is a phase when a person has not yet identified a need. Well, for example, my stomach began to “seem”, but I can’t yet understand why, maybe because I want to eat, or maybe indigestion due to breakfast.
  2. Direct contact itself, when a person has already recognized what exactly he wants and begins to interact with the environment in order to satisfy the desire. Only here it is an impulse, and not a process. That is, I understood what I wanted to eat and what kind of dish. Therefore, I decide to go to the kitchen to prepare it.
  3. Full contact. The phase of connection with the object of desire. Borders are erased, and actions take place here and now. Continuing with my example, I cooked and ate.
  4. Assimilation - comprehension, digestion, both directly and figuratively. A very important phase that does not always happen if you make a mistake in at least one of the steps described above. If we move away from theory and use the example of food, then I could incorrectly recognize the desire and prepare soup, although, as it turns out later, I wanted sweets with tea. Then there will be no satiation from the soup, I mean emotional. Has it ever happened that your stomach is full, but you still want something? Because satisfaction did not come. Thanks to assimilation, a person develops and moves forward, because he does not have to return to previous stages, then listen to himself, then experiment with ways to finally get what he wants.

Conclusion

I do my thing, and you do your thing.
I don't live in this world to live up to your expectations
And you don’t live in this world to live up to mine.
You are you.
And I am me.
If we meet each other by chance, it's wonderful.
And if not, so be it.

See you soon, friends. Subscribe to blog updates, there is still a lot of material about practical psychology ahead. Bye bye.