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nvariance

GestaltpsychologyWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

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Invarianceisthepropertyofperceptionwherebysimple
geometricalobjectsarerecognizedindependentofrotation,
translation,andscaleaswellasseveralothervariations
suchaselasticdeformations,differentlighting,anddifferent
componentfeatures.Forexample,theobjectsinAinthe
figureareallimmediatelyrecognizedasthesamebasic
shape,whichareimmediatelydistinguishablefromtheforms
inB.Theyareevenrecognizeddespiteperspectiveand
elasticdeformationsasinC,andwhendepictedusing
differentgraphicelementsasinD.Computationaltheoriesof
vision,suchasthosebyDavidMarr,havehadmoresuccess
inexplaininghowobjectsareclassified.
Emergence,reification,multistability,andinvariancearenot

Invariance

necessarilyseparablemodulestomodelindividually,butthey
couldbedifferentaspectsofasingleunifieddynamic

mechanism.[citationneeded]

Prgnanz

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Mainarticle:Principlesofgrouping
Thefundamentalprincipleofgestaltperceptionisthelawofprgnanz(intheGermanlanguage,pithiness),
whichsaysthatwetendtoorderourexperienceinamannerthatisregular,orderly,symmetrical,and
simple.Gestaltpsychologistsattempttodiscoverrefinementsofthelawofprgnanz,andthisinvolves
writingdownlawsthat,hypothetically,allowustopredicttheinterpretationofsensation,whatareoften
called"gestaltlaws".[13]Theseinclude:

Gestaltlawsofgrouping

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AmajoraspectofGestaltpsychologyisthatitimpliesthatthemind
understandsexternalstimuliaswholeratherthanthesumoftheir
parts.Thewholesarestructuredandorganizedusinggrouping
laws.Thevariouslawsarecalledlawsorprinciples,dependingon
thepaperwheretheyappearbutforsimplicity'ssake,thisarticle
usesthetermlaws.Theselawsdealwiththesensorymodality

Lawofproximity

vision.However,thereareanalogouslawsforothersensory
modalitiesincludingauditory,tactile,gustatoryandolfactory(BregmanGP).ThevisualGestaltprinciples
ofgroupingwereintroducedinWertheimer(1923).Throughthe1930sand'40sWertheimer,Kohlerand
Koffkaformulatedmanyofthelawsofgroupingthroughthestudyofvisualperception.[14]
LawofProximityThelawofproximitystatesthatwhenan
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individualperceivesanassortmentofobjectstheyperceiveobjects
thatareclosetoeachotherasformingagroup.Forexample,in
thefigurethatillustratestheLawofproximity,thereare72circles,
butweperceivethecollectionofcirclesingroups.Specifically,we
perceivethereisagroupof36circlesontheleftsideoftheimage,
andthreegroupsof12circlesontherightsideoftheimage.This
lawisoftenusedinadvertisinglogostoemphasizewhichaspects
ofeventsareassociated.[14][15]
LawofSimilarityThelawofsimilaritystatesthatelementswithin
anassortmentofobjectsareperceptuallygroupedtogetherifthey
aresimilartoeachother.Thissimilaritycanoccurintheformof

Lawofsimilarity

shape,colour,shadingorotherqualities.Forexample,thefigure
illustratingthelawofsimilarityportrays36circlesallequaldistance
apartfromoneanotherformingasquare.Inthisdepiction,18of
thecirclesareshadeddarkand18ofthecirclesareshadedlight.
Weperceivethedarkcirclesasgroupedtogether,andthelight
circlesasgroupedtogetherformingsixhorizontallineswithinthe
squareofcircles.Thisperceptionoflinesisduetothelawof
similarity.[15]

Lawofclosure

LawofClosureThelawofclosurestatesthatindividuals
perceiveobjectssuchasshapes,letters,pictures,etc.,asbeing
wholewhentheyarenotcomplete.Specifically,whenpartsofa
wholepicturearemissing,ourperceptionfillsinthevisualgap.
Researchshowsthatthereasonthemindcompletesaregular
figurethatisnotperceivedthroughsensationistoincreasethe
regularityofsurroundingstimuli.Forexample,thefigurethat
depictsthelawofclosureportrayswhatweperceiveasacircleon
theleftsideoftheimageandarectangleontherightsideofthe
image.However,gapsarepresentintheshapes.Ifthelawofclosuredidnotexist,theimagewoulddepict
anassortmentofdifferentlineswithdifferentlengths,rotations,andcurvaturesbutwiththelawof
closure,weperceptuallycombinethelinesintowholeshapes.[14][15][16]
LawofSymmetryThelawofsymmetrystatesthatthemindperceivesobjectsasbeingsymmetricaland
formingaroundacenterpoint.Itisperceptuallypleasingtodivideobjectsintoanevennumberof
symmetricalparts.Therefore,whentwosymmetricalelementsareunconnectedthemindperceptually
connectsthemtoformacoherentshape.Similaritiesbetweensymmetricalobjectsincreasethelikelihood
thatobjectsaregroupedtoformacombinedsymmetricalobject.Forexample,thefiguredepictingthelaw
ofsymmetryshowsaconfigurationofsquareandcurledbrackets.Whentheimageisperceived,wetend
toobservethreepairsofsymmetricalbracketsratherthansixindividualbrackets.[14][15]
LawofCommonFateThelawofcommonfatestatesthatobjectsareperceivedaslinesthatmove
alongthesmoothestpath.Experimentsusingthevisualsensorymodalityfoundthatmovementof
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elementsofanobjectproducepathsthatindividualsperceivethattheobjectsareon.Weperceive
elementsofobjectstohavetrendsofmotion,whichindicatethepaththattheobjectison.Thelawof
continuityimpliesthegroupingtogetherofobjectsthathavethesametrendofmotionandarethereforeon
thesamepath.Forexample,ifthereareanarrayofdotsandhalfthedotsaremovingupwardwhilethe
otherhalfaremovingdownward,wewouldperceivetheupwardmovingdotsandthedownwardmoving
dotsastwodistinctunits.[17]
LawofContinuityThelawofcontinuitystatesthatelementsofobjectstendtobegroupedtogether,and
thereforeintegratedintoperceptualwholesiftheyarealignedwithinanobject.Incaseswherethereisan
intersectionbetweenobjects,individualstendtoperceivethetwoobjectsastwosingleuninterrupted
entities.Stimuliremaindistinctevenwithoverlap.Wearelesslikelytogroupelementswithsharpabrupt
directionalchangesasbeingoneobject.[14]
LawofGoodGestaltThelawofgoodgestaltexplainsthatelementsofobjectstendtobeperceptually
groupedtogetheriftheyformapatternthatisregular,simple,andorderly.Thislawimpliesthatas
individualsperceivetheworld,theyeliminatecomplexityandunfamiliaritysotheycanobservearealityin
itsmostsimplisticform.Eliminatingextraneousstimulihelpsthemindcreatemeaning.Thismeaning
createdbyperceptionimpliesaglobalregularity,whichisoftenmentallyprioritizedoverspatialrelations.
Thelawofgoodgestaltfocusesontheideaofconciseness,whichiswhatallofgestalttheoryisbasedon.
ThislawhasalsobeencalledthelawofPrgnanz.[14]PrgnanzisaGermanwordthatdirectlytranslates
tomean"pithiness"andimpliestheideasofsalience,concisenessandorderliness.[17]
LawofPastExperienceThelawofpastexperienceimpliesthatundersomecircumstancesvisual
stimuliarecategorizedaccordingtopastexperience.Iftwoobjectstendtobeobservedwithinclose
proximity,orsmalltemporalintervals,theobjectsaremorelikelytobeperceivedtogether.Forexample,
theEnglishlanguagecontains26lettersthataregroupedtoformwordsusingasetofrules.Ifanindividual
readsanEnglishwordtheyhaveneverseen,theyusethelawofpastexperiencetointerprettheletters"L"
and"I"astwolettersbesideeachother,ratherthanusingthelawofclosuretocombinethelettersand
interprettheobjectasanuppercaseU.[17]
Thegestaltlawsofgroupinghaverecentlybeensubjectedtomodernmethodsofscientificevaluationby
examiningthevisualcortexusingcorticalalgorithms.CurrentGestaltpsychologistshavedescribedtheir
findings,whichshowedcorrelationsbetweenphysicalvisualrepresentationsofobjectsandselfreport
perceptionasthelawsofseeing.[17]

Gestaltviewsinpsychology

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Gestaltpsychologistsfinditisimportanttothinkofproblemsasawhole.MaxWertheimerconsidered
thinkingtohappenintwoways:productiveandreproductive.[13]
Productivethinkingissolvingaproblemwithinsight.
Thisisaquickinsightfulunplannedresponsetosituationsandenvironmentalinteraction.
Reproductivethinkingissolvingaproblemwithpreviousexperiencesandwhatisalreadyknown.
(1945/1959).
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Thisisaverycommonthinking.Forexample,whenapersonisgivenseveralsegmentsofinformation,
he/shedeliberatelyexaminestherelationshipsamongitsparts,analyzestheirpurpose,concept,and
totality,he/shereachesthe"aha!"moment,usingwhatisalreadyknown.Understandinginthiscase
happensintentionallybyreproductivethinking.
Anothergestaltpsychologist,Perkins,believesinsightdealswiththreeprocesses:
1. Unconsciousleapinthinking.[13]
2. Theincreasedamountofspeedinmentalprocessing.
3. Theamountofshortcircuitingthatoccursinnormalreasoning.[18]
Viewsgoingagainstthegestaltpsychologyare:
1. Nothingspecialview
2. Neogestaltview
3. TheThreeProcessView
GestaltpsychologyshouldnotbeconfusedwiththegestalttherapyofFritzPerls,whichisonlyperipherally
linkedtogestaltpsychology.AstrictlygestaltpsychologybasedtherapeuticmethodisGestaltTheoretical
Psychotherapy,developedbytheGermangestaltpsychologistandpsychotherapistHansJrgen
WalterandhiscolleaguesinGermany,AustriaandSwitzerland.Othercountries,especiallyItaly,have
seensimilardevelopments.

Fuzzytracetheory

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Fuzzytracetheory,adualprocessmodelofmemoryandreasoning,wasalsoderivedfromGestalt
Psychology.Fuzzytracetheorypositsthatweencodeinformationintotwoseparatetraces:verbatimand
gist.Informationstoredinverbatimisexactmemoryfordetail(theindividualpartsofapattern,for
example)whileinformationstoredingistissemanticandconceptual(whatweperceivethepatterntobe).
TheeffectsseeninGestaltpsychologycanbeattributedtothewayweencodeinformationasgist.[19]

GestaltandDesign

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Centralmotiffrom

GestaltintheEye,digital

theBauhauslogo,1921

montage,2011

22

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CompositionshowingtheGestaltPrinciples,graphicdesign(GestaltEducationalProgram,2011).

Usesinhumancomputerinteraction

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Thegestaltlawsareusedinuserinterfacedesign.Thelawsofsimilarityandproximitycan,forexample,
beusedasguidesforplacingradiobuttons.Theymayalsobeusedindesigningcomputersandsoftware
formoreintuitivehumanuse.Examplesincludethedesignandlayoutofadesktop'sshortcutsinrowsand
columns.Gestaltpsychologyalsohasapplicationsincomputervisionfortryingtomakecomputers"see"
thesamethingsashumansdo.[20]

Quantumcognitionmodeling

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Mainarticle:QuantumcognitionGestaltperception
SimilaritiesbetweenGestaltphenomenaandquantummechanicshavebeenpointedoutby,among
others,chemistAntonAmann,whocommentedthat"similaritiesbetweenGestaltperceptionandquantum
mechanicsareonalevelofaparable"yetmaygiveusefulinsightnonetheless.PhysicistElioConteand
coworkershaveproposedabstract,mathematicalmodelstodescribethetimedynamicsofcognitive
associationswithmathematicaltoolsborrowedfromquantummechanics[21][22]andhasdiscussed
psychologyexperimentsinthiscontext.AsimilarapproachhasbeensuggestedbyphysicistsDavid
Bohm,BasilHileyandphilosopherPaavoPylkknenwiththenotionthatmindandmatterbothemerge
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froman"implicateorder".[23][24]Themodelsinvolvenoncommutativemathematicssuchmodelsaccount
forsituationsinwhichtheoutcomeoftwomeasurementsperformedoneaftertheothercandependonthe
orderinwhichtheyareperformedapertinentfeatureforpsychologicalprocesses,asitisobviousthatan
experimentperformedonaconsciouspersonmayinfluencetheoutcomeofasubsequentexperimentby
changingthestateofmindofthatperson.

Criticism

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Insomescholarlycommunities,suchascognitivepsychologyandcomputationalneuroscience,gestalt
theoriesofperceptionarecriticizedforbeingdescriptiveratherthanexplanatoryinnature.Forthisreason,
theyareviewedbysomeasredundantoruninformative.Forexample,Bruce,Green&
Georgeson[25]concludethefollowingregardinggestalttheory'sinfluenceonthestudyofvisualperception:
Thephysiologicaltheoryofthegestaltistshasfallenbythewayside,leavinguswithasetofdescriptive
principles,butwithoutamodelofperceptualprocessing.Indeed,someoftheir"laws"ofperceptual
organisationtodaysoundvagueandinadequate.Whatismeantbya"good"or"simple"shape,for
example?

Seealso

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Structuralinformationtheory
RudolfArnheim

Psychologyportal

WolfgangMetzger
KurtGoldstein
PlSchillerHarkai
SolomonAsch
HansWallach
HermannFriedmann
JamesJ.Gibson
JamesTenney
GrazSchool
Importantpublicationsingestaltpsychology
Mereology
Opticalillusion
Patternrecognition(psychology)
Patternrecognition(machinelearning)
Amodalperception
Phenomenology
Topologicaldataanalysis
Fuzzytracetheory
LawsofAssociation
Cognitivegrammar
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References

GestaltpsychologyWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

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1. ^Tuck,Michael(Aug17,2010)."GestaltPrinciplesAppliedinDesign" .Retrieved20141219.
2. ^DavidHothersall:HistoryofPsychology,chapterseven,(2004)
3. ^Heider,F.1977.CitedinDewey,R.A.2007.Psychology:Anintroduction:ChapterfourTheWholeisOther
thantheSumoftheParts.[online].Availablefrom:
<http://www.intropsych.com/ch04_senses/whole_is_other_than_the_sum_of_the_parts.html >
[Accessed:4/12/2014]
4. ^Humphrey,G(1924)."Thepsychologyofthegestalt".JournalofEducationalPsychology15(7):401
412.doi:10.1037/h0070207 .
5. ^BerndBocian:FritzPerlsinBerlin18931933.ExpressionismPsychonalysisJudaism,2010,p.190,EHP
VerlagAndreasKohlhage,BergischGladbach.
6. ^JoeWysong/EdwardRosenfeld(eds):AnOralHistoryofGestaltTherapy,Highland,NewYork1982,The
GestaltJournalPress,p.12.
7. ^AllenR.Barlow,"GestaltAntecedentInfluenceorHistoricalAccident" ,TheGestaltJournal,VolumeIV,
Number2,(Fall,1981)
8. ^MaryHenlenotedinherpresidentialaddresstoDivision24atthemeetingoftheAmericanPsychological
Association(1975):"WhatPerlshasdonehasbeentotakeafewtermsfromGestaltpsychology,stretchtheir
meaningbeyondrecognition,mixthemwithnotionsoftenunclearandoftenincompatiblefromthedepth
psychologies,existentialism,andcommonsense,andhehascalledthewholemixturegestalttherapy.Hiswork
hasnosubstantiverelationtoscientificGestaltpsychology.Tousehisownlanguage,FritzPerlshasdone'his
thing'whateveritis,itisnotGestaltpsychology".Gestalttheory .Howeversherestrictsherselfexplicitlyto
onlythreeofPerls'booksfrom1969and1972,leavingoutPerls'earlierwork,andGestalttherapyingeneral.
SeeBarlowcriticizingHenle:AllenR.Barlow:GestaltTherapyandGestaltPsychology.GestaltAntecedent
InfluenceorHistoricalAccident ,in:TheGestaltJournal,VolumeIV,Number2,Fall,1981.
9. ^WilliamRayWoodward,RobertSonnCohenWorldviewsandscientificdisciplineformation:science
studiesintheGermanDemocraticRepublic:papersfromaGermanAmericansummerinstitute,1988
10. ^Lettvin,J.Y.,Maturana,H.R.,Pitts,W.H.,andMcCulloch,W.S.(1961).TwoRemarksontheVisualSystemof
theFrog.InSensoryCommunicationeditedbyWalterRosenblith,MITPressandJohnWileyandSons:New
York
11. ^ValentinFedorovichTurchinThephenomenonofscienceacyberneticapproachtohumanevolution
ColumbiaUniversityPress,1977
12. ^"GestaltIsomorphism" .Sharp.bu.edu.Retrieved20120406.
13. ^ a b c Sternberg,Robert,CognitivePsychologyThirdEdition,ThomsonWadsworth2003.
14. ^ a b c d e fStevenson,Herb."Emergence:TheGestaltApproachtoChange" .UnleashingExecutiveand
OrzanizationalPotential.Retrieved7April2012.
15. ^ a b c dSoegaard,Mads."GestaltPrinciplesofformPerception" .InteractionDesign.Retrieved8April2012.
16. ^http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/05/whyyourbrainthinksthesedotsareadog/
17. ^ a b c dTodorovic,Dejan."GestaltPrinciples" .scholarpedia.Retrieved5April2012.
18. ^Langley&associates,1987Perkins,1981Weisberg,1986,1995"
19. ^Reyna,Valerie(2012)."Anewinstitutionism:Meaning,memory,anddevelopmentinFuzzyTrace
Theory".JudgmentandDecisionMaking7(3)

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