Gestalt Theory
Theory: Theory of perception
Theorist(s): Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler
Keywords: image, perception principles, and grouping
Biography:
Max Wertheimer (1880-1943) was born in the Czech Republic. “He worked with
Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffa developing the fundamental concepts of Gestalt theory”
( Cooper, S., n.d.). Wertheimer was one the major contributors to Gestalt theory. He
viewed thinking to be “proceeds from the whole of the parts, treating a problem as a
whole, and permitting the whole to command or dominate over the parts” (Cooper, S.,
n.d.).
Kurt Koffka (1886-1941) was born in Berlin. Koffka recieved his doctorate in
1908 and moved to Wurzburg to serve as an assistant to Oswald Kulpe and Karl Marbe.
Between 1910-1911 “he taught at the Academy at Frankfurt am Main, and it was during
this period, as a result of the joint deliberations of Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler,
and himself, that the central notions of Gestalt theory began to emerge” ( Miles, T.
R.,2006, p. 125).
Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1967) earned his PhD in Berlin and latter moved to
America in his adult years to escape the harassment of the Nazi movement (Dahl,
R.,2002). Kohler’s contribution to psychology include his work on animal research,
human perception, and Gestalt theory (2002).
Description of Theory:
Gestalt Theory of perception asserted that individuals perceive an object as an
unified whole. “The German word Gestalt literally means “whole configuration,” and the
whole (be it the person or a perceptional image) is always greater than the sum of the
parts” (Townzen, L. & Wilmore, E., 2006). “Gestalt theory had a central idea of
“grouping”, or aspects of visual and other stimuli which cause the subject to interperate a
problem or perceptual event in a certain way” (Cooper, S., n.d.) There are six common
grouping principles associated with Gestalt Theory. Gestalt principles include:
• Figure ground
• Similarity
• Closure
• Proximity
• Symmetry
• Continuation
Figure Ground principle shows our “perceptual tendency to separate whole
figures from their backgrounds based on one or more of a number of possible variables,
such as contrast, color, size, etc.” (Stuart G., 2012).
“The principle of symmetry describes the instance where the whole of a figure is
perceived rather than the individual parts which make up the figure” (Skaalid, B.,1999).
Similarity principle shows objects that are similar in size, shape or color tend to be
grouped together (Overvliet, K., Krampe, R. & Wagemans, J., 2012).
Closure occurs when objects are grouped in a way that completes incomplete
patterns (Townzen, L. & Wilmore, E., 2006). “Our minds react to patterns that are
familiar, even though we often receive incomplete information. It is speculated this is a
survival instinct, allowing us to complete the form of a predator even with incomplete
information” (Skaalid, B., 1999).
Proximity principle shows patterns that are close together in distance tend to be
grouped (Overvliet, K. E., Krampe, R. h., & Wagemans.,2012). “Proximity could be
considered a special case of grouping by similarity because of the underlying spacing
between objects” (Wong, B., 2010 p. 863)
Symmetry “states that the viewer should not be given the impression that
something is out of balance, or missing, or wrong” (Stuart G., 2012). Figure 1 provides
and examples of the common Gestalt principles.
The principle of continuation shows the tendency to complete a path in a visual
image.
The Gestalt law of good continuation says that people tend to continue shapes
beyond their ending points. If we see an arrow pointing to something, we
naturally continue beyond the arrow in the direction of the point to see what is
being indicated (Moore, P., & Fitz, C.,1993).
Figure 1 provides an overview of Gestalt principles of perception.
Figure 1. Gestalt principles
Gestalt Principles
Figure-ground
Example
In this example the the double
arrows can be separated from the
white background to form a
separate image (Stuart G., 2012)
Gestalt Principles
Similarity
Example
Proximity
In this example the diamonds are
similar in shape and size. Thus,
they are grouped to formed a
visual image of a square (Stuart
G., 2012).
In this example the stars are
grouped to form a pattern of the
letter “E” (Wong, B., 2010).
Symmetry
In this example, the image can be
perceived as two overlapping
square or one rectangle with two
other image. Adapted from
Skaalid, B. (1999)
Closure
In this example, the individual
lines are grouped to complete the
pattern of the letter “Y” (Townzen,
L. & Wilmore, E., 2006) .
In this example, the smaller
bubbles are continued and
connected with the larger think
bubble (Moore, P., & Fitz,
C.,1993).
Continuation
Figure 1. Gestalt principles. Example of the Gestalt principles of perception. Adapted
from Moore, P., & Fitz, C.,1993), Overvliet, K. E., Krampe, R. h., & Wagemans, J.,
2012; Stuart G., 2012; Townzen, L. & Wilmore, E., 2006; Wong, B., 2010
Prepared by: Ashley R. Bryant
References:
Cooper, S. (n.d.). Theories of learning in educational psychology. Retrieved from
http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/gestalt/wertheimer.html
Dahl, R. (2002). Psyography:Wolfgang Kohler. Retrieved from
http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/wolfgangkohler.html
Miles, T. R. (2006). In D. M. Borchert (Ed.), Encyclopedia of philosophy (2nd ed. ed.,
pp. 124-125). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA.
Moore, P., & Fitz, C. (1993). Gestalt theory and instructional design. Journal of
Technical Writing and Communication, 23(2), 137-57.
Overvliet, K. E., Krampe, R. h., & Wagemans, J. (2012). Perceptual grouping in haptic
search: The influence of proximity, similarity, and good continuation. Journal Of
Experimental Psychology: Human Perception And Performance, 38(4), 817-821.
doi:10.1037/a0029222
Skaalid, B. (1999). Gestalt principals. Retrieved from
http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/skaalid/theory/gestalt/closure.htm
Townzen, L. & Wilmore, E. (2006). Gestalt theory and therapy. In F. English (Ed.),
Encyclopedia of educational leadership and administration (pp. 420-422).
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publicaions, Inc. doi:10.4135/9781412939584.n246
Wong, B. (2010). Points of view: Gestalt principles (part 1). Nature Methods, 7(11), 863863. doi: http://dt.doi.org/10.1038/nmeth1110-862