Question

fohlocked Monday, March 1o, 2019 120T AMMDT Sunday. MarCh 24, 2017 S PT Must post first. Discuss the general perspective taken by Gestalt psychologists pertaining to perception and describe their three initial rules discussed in your text. Think about, and share, examples of when we use these principles in our every day life

Answer 1

Gestalt psychologists proposed what is popularly known as Gestalt theory. The essentiality of this theory lies in the manner in which it calls for a holistic view of the world around a person. Gestalt psychologists emphasize that any object, an event, a person or an experience is function of it's wholeness rather than it's parts. One perceives another as a whole rather than perceiving its individual parts.

Gestalt theory underlines certain principles that are important in the process of perception. These are often known as Law of Perceptual Organisation. Three most important rules are :-

1. Law of proximity

2. Law of similarity

3. Law of simplicity

-- 1. Law of proximity describes why we tend to put things in close proximity in one group and others in another. For instance, in a classroom, when students are divided into groups to carry out separate projects, why are they made to sit close to each other in a group. Why doesn't the teacher let the students sit in their respective seats. Let us look at this way, in a shopping mall where there are large hang out areas, one tends to categorise people standing close to each other into a group. One presumes that it must a be a large family standing together. Whereas in reality, that might not be true. Here we understand that proximity between things, tends to give out the look of a singular entity.

--2. Law of similarity describes why we tend to see wholeness in things that are similar in shape, size or colour. For instance, when we go to candy store, we tend to categorize chewing gums or candies into separate groups even though they are not divided into one; all yellow appearing candies into yellow category, all round looking chewing gums into one category, all sheet like sugar candies into another and so on.  

-- 3. Law of simplicity is also called Law of Pragnanz. This law basically underlines the fact that all human beings perceive the simplest form in any object or event. Humans have tendency to simplify complex structures. Take for instance the famous logo of Batman from Batman series. One tends to view it as oval shape inside which, the letter 'W' and 'M' are drawn, instead of perceiving it as a bat. Similarly, in the famous logo of LG company, it seems to be the character of a well known video game- Pacman rather than people viewing it as a combination of letters 'L' and 'G' and 'i'. Or even consider an abstract painting hung in an art gallery. Among all those criss-cross lines and overlapping shapes, one can visualise a woman's face, or an elephant or even an object, say train.