Gestalt Psychology Arose as a reaction to the ‘elementalism’ of Wudnt’s Voluntarism and Titchener’s Structuralism. Both were molecular approaches (as was Behaviorism, but in a different way) which sought to reduce conscious experience to fundamental elements. Gestalters argued that reduction is destruction. Only a molar or phenomenological approach can preserve the conscious experience as it is actually experienced. Roots of Gestalt movement: Immanuel Kant: argued that sensory inputs are meaningfully organized by innate faculties of the mind that impose time, space, causality and other meaningful categories onto the inputs. Ernst Mach: Physicist who argued that we impose time form (which creates a melody of disconnect notes) and space form (which recognizes circularity in a variety of varied inputs) on incoming sensory signals. This was related to ‘field theory’ in physics where interacting energies create emergent patterns. Christian von Ehrenfels: famous paper written in 1890 “On Gestalt Qualities.” Argued that meaningful perceptual patterns (such as melodies or face form) are emergent in the mind, not present in the sensory inputs themselves. While not considered the beginning of Gestalt movement, did inspire Wertheimer. William James: Provided compelling philosophical arguments (discussed earlier) for why the ‘stream’ of consciousness could not be reduced.

Max Wertheimer ( ) Considered the founder of Gestalt Psychology. Student of Kulpe at Wurzburg School, also influenced by Ehrenfels and Stumpf. Held numerous academic positions, most famous for his work at the University of Freiberg in Germany. The Phi Phenomenon and the birth of Gestalt Psychology. Phi is an instance where meaning (movement) is present in perception, but not in the elements that make up the sensory signal. Sum is greater than parts, the idea behind Gestalt. His 1912 paper “Experimental studies of the perception of movement” is considered to mark the beginning of the Gestalt Psychology movement. He was hardly the first to discuss the Phi or apparent motion phenomenon, so why did this have such impact? Both Wundt and Helmholtz argued that the Phi phenomenon was the result of learning processes. Wundt contended that it had to do with eye movements being associated with following the pattern of lights similar to how the eyes followed an actual moving signal. Helmholtz argued similarly saying that experience with moving signals produced ‘unconscious inferences’ of movement for a range of similar signals. But Wertheimer showed that movement would be perceived under highly novel conditions, such as a single light seeming to move simultaneously in two different directions. Eye movements, past experience, and learning seem not to be able to explain this. Instead, Wertheimer argued it was the result of innate brain processes that sought ‘Pragnanz’ or simple, stable, symmetrical form.

Pragnanz and brain field theory Pragnanz is the central Gestalt law of perception. It states that the brain has a natural tendency to construct meaning that (given nature of the sensory inputs) represents the simplest, most stable, most regular and symmetrical understanding of the world. This is a physical property of the brain, similar to how magnetic energy fields naturally create stable, organized patterns in the physical world. Field theory in physics deals with the how interacting elements and their physical properties combine to create an overall pattern or force. In contrast the reductionism of Newtonian Physics, force fields are emergent from elements. Parts create a whole that has unique properties not predicable based on simple addition of elements. Gestalt Psychology was an attempt to apply field theory to the mind. Gestalt isomorphism or psychophysical isomorphism: idea is that the pattern of energy in the sensory signal will generate a similar pattern of energy in the brain. However, there will not be a perfect one-to-one correspondence. Instead, brain will take sensory inputs and using Pragnanz, will create an energy pattern that is the most stable, meaningful, simplest interpretation of the sensory signal. This was contrary to constancy hypothesis of structuralist and other elementalist theories.

Gestalt Laws of Organization Brain’s natural tendency toward Pragnanz interacts with organization present in sensory signals to create ultimate perception. This interaction can be described by various laws of organization. Kohler argued that organizational laws do not depend on learning or experience. Laws of good contin or prox operating below create meaningless forms while masking a familiar word with which we are more familiar Figure/ground: another example of Pragnanz at work. Also lightness constancy, not due to learning but constant ratios of light to dark even though absolute levels of illumination vary across figure.

Wolfgang Kohler ( ) Studied under Stumpf and later joined Wertheimer and Koffka at University of Frankfurt. Well-known for his insight learning studies at at the Tenerife anthropoid research station on the Canary Islands (off of the West coast of Africa) where apparently he also did a little spying for German military during WWI. To study insight learning Kohler would set up situations where a problem existed but the solution to the problem was also present, only it required re- organizing recognizing patterns, such as the famous Sultan stacking crates to get access to a out-of-reach banana. Contrary to work by Thorndike, Kohler’s studies showed no evidence of incremental learning. This was true, he argued, because his studies were more ecologically valid. Puzzle box and other lab learning studies presented the animal with a highly impoverished environment where insight was impossible. In one famous study, Kohler punished chickens for eating grain off of a white sheet but rewarded them for eating off a grey sheet. Later when presented with grey vs. black, most chickens chose to eat off the black. Why? Kohler argued (contra the behaviorists) that the chickens learned a relational pattern, not a simple s-r bond. Transpositional learning, the learning of problem solving principles or relations. A problem creates an unnatural state of disequilibrium. Animal searches environment in cognitive trial and error to try to create a new pattern that restores equilibrium (solves problem). Motivation remains until new pattern is achieved. Insight learning: (1) onset of solution is sudden and complete, (2) error-free performance, (3) long-lasting memory, (4) widely applicable principles or patterns.

Kurt Koffka ( ) Studied under Stumpt, then moved to University of Frankfurt where he worked with Wertheimer and Kohler. In 1922 published “Perception: an introduction to Gestalt theorie.” Two effects: made Gestalt ideas more widespread among American Psychologists, but also gave erroneous impression that Gestalt theory was primarily about perception. Made important distinction between geographical environment and behavioral environment. Geo is the actual physical environment, behavioral is our subjective interpretation based on organized perceptual patterns established in the brain. Behavioral determines the kinds of actions we can engage in, problems we can solve or risks we might encounter. We live in the behavioral environment, not geo environment. In 1921, Koffka published an important book on child development The Growth of the Mind. Book demonstrated how Gestalt Psychology was applicable to a wide range of issues including developmental psychology. Gestalt Psychology tackled other aspects of psychology as well including learning, cognition, memory, and physiological. Koffka on memory: brain has natural tendency to regularize or stabilize memory patterns. Initial sensory activity = memory process. Retained memory process = memory trace. Future processes will be affected by traces such that they will, over time, tend toward patterns similar to traces, creating a trace system (a prototype or template used to interpret later signals.

Kurt Lewin ( ) Same educational route as others, studied under Stumpf, then to Frankfurt to work with Wertheimer, Kohler, and Koffka. Represents the Gestalt approach in social psychology. Argued that Psychology was too Aristotelian, that is, concerned with identifying ‘essences’ in human nature, internal forces (personality traits, genetic dispositions, instincts, etc) that were responsible for behavior. Instead, argued that Psychology needed to be more Galilean, that is, it ought to identify external forces (social/environmental factors) responsible for behavior at any given moment in time. Thus, the acting person can be thought of as an element in the larger social pattern and as part of that pattern is affected by it. For Lewin, the individual was always operating within a Life Space that represented the totality of the psychological facts affecting him/her. PF are internal (desires, states, needs, hunger, pain, etc), external (social and environmental signals, objects) and past relevant memories (he’s angry, that tastes good, etc,). Only PF in awareness can affect behavior: Principle of contemporaneity. Extending from Kohler’s work on problem solving, Lewin argues that internal needs (desires, goals, unpleasant feelings, etc) create tension and disequilibrium which we are motivated to reduce using environmental resources. Bluma Zeigarnik student of Lewin. Found that incomplete tasks remembered better than completed tasks, presumably because of continued motivation. Zeigarnik effect