Module 9 Gestalt Psychology

POLANGUI COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Polangui, Albay
MODULE 9:
GESTALT
PSYCHOLOGY
I. LEARNING OUTCOMES
After this module, the students must have:
1. Describe the different gestalt principles.

2. List ways of applying gestalt psychology in the teaching - learning process.
3. Demonstrate appreciation of the usefulness of gestalt principles in the teaching-learning process.
II. CONTENT DISCUSSION OR ABSTRACTION
A. INTRODUCTION:
Gestalt psychology was at the forefront of the cognitive psychology. It served as the foundation of
the cognitive perspective to learning. It opposed the external and mechanistic focus of behaviorism. It
considered the mental processes and products of perception.
F a c i l i t a ti n g L e a r n e r - C e n t e r e d T e a c h i n g 1|Page
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B. ABSTRACTION
When you looked at the pictures in the activity, your mind followed certain
principles of perception. Gestalt psychology is concerned with such
principles.
Gestalt theory was initial cognitive response to behaviorism. It

emphasized the importance of sensory wholes and the dynamic nature of
visual perception. The term gestalt means “form" or “configuration".
Psychologists Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka studied
perception and concluded that perceivers (or learners) are not passive,
but rather active. They suggested that learners do not just collect
information as is but they actively process and restructure data in order to
understand it. This is the perceptual process. Certain factors impact on
this perceptual process. Factors like past experiences, needs, attitudes
and one’s present situation can affect their perception.
One may have difficulty perceiving both the words "you" and "me" in the
first picture in the activity if one is trying to forget an ex—sweetheart who
caused pain; or simply because he was looking on the foreground and not the background.
According to the gestalt psychologists, the way we form our perceptions are guided by certain
principles or laws. These principles or laws determine what we see or make of things or situations we
meet.
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GESTALT PRINCIPLES
Law of Proximity. Elements that are closer together will be

perceived as a coherent object. On the left, there appears to be
three columns, while on the right, there appears to be three
horizontal rows. When objects we are perceiving are near each
other, we perceive
them as belonging
together.
Law of Similarity. Elements that look similar will be perceived as part

of the same form. There seems
to be triangle in the square. We
link similar elements together.
Law of Closure. We tend to fill the gaps or "close" the

figures we perceive.
We enclose a space
by completing a contour and ignoring gaps in the figure.
Law of Good Continuation. Individuals have the

tendency to continue contours whenever the elements of the
pattern establish an implied direction. People tend, to draw a good
continuous line.
Law of Good Pragnanz. The stimulus will be organized into

as good a figure as possible. In this example, good refers to
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symmetry, simplicity and regularity. The

figure is perceived as a square overlapping
a triangle, not a combination of several
complicated shapes. Based on our
experiences with perception, we “expect”
certain patterns and therefore perceive that
expected pattern.
Law of Figure/Ground. We tend to pay attention and perceive things in the foreground first. A
stimulus will be perceived as separate from its ground. (Figures designed by Jenny Fultz of Anderson
University.)
Insight Learning
Gestalt psychology adheres to the idea of learning taking place by discovery or insight. The idea of
insight learning was first developed by Wolfgang Kohler in which he described experiments with apes where
the apes could use boxes and sticks as tools to solve problems. In the box problem, a banana is attached to
the top of a chimpanzee's cage. The banana is out of reach but can be reached by climbing on and jumping
from a box. Only one of Kohler's apes (Sultan) could solve this problem. A much more difficult problem
which involved the stacking of boxes was introduced by Kohler. This problem required the ape to stack one
box on another, and master gravitational problems by building a stable stack. Kohler also gave the apes
sticks which they used to rake food into the cage. Kohler's very intelligent ape was able to master a two-
stick problem by inserting one stick into the end of the other in order to reach the food. In each these
problems, the important aspect of learning was not reinforcement, but the coordination of thinking to create
new organizations (of materials). Kohler referred to this behavior as insight or discovery learning.
Kohler proposed the view that insight follows from the characteristics of objects under
consideration. His theory suggested that learning could occur when the
individual perceives the relationships of elements before him and
recognizes these elements and comes to a greater understanding or insight.
This could occur without reinforcement, and once it occurs, no review,
training or investigation is necessary. Significantly, insight is not necessarily,
observable by another person.
Gestalt Principles and the Teaching-Learning Process
Polangui, Albay
The six gestalt principles not only influence perception but they also impact on learning. Other
Psychologists like Kurt Lewin expounded on Gestalt psychology. His theory focusing on "life space" adhered
to gestalt psychology. He said that an individual has inner and outer forces that affect his perceptions and
also his learning. Inner forces include his own motivation, attitudes and feelings. Outer forces may include
the attitude and behavior of the teacher and classmates. All these forces interact and impact on the person’s
learning. Mario Polito, an Italian psychologist, writes about the relevance of Gestalt psychology ‘to
education.
Gestalt theory is focused on the experiences of contact that occurs in the here and now. It
considers with interest the life space of teachers as well as students. It takes interest in the complexity of
experience, without neglecting anything, but accepting and amplifying all that emerges. It stimulates learning
as experience and the experience as a source of learning. It appreciates the affections and meaning that we
attribute to what we learn. Knowledge is conceived as a continuous organization and rearrangement of
information according to needs, purposes and meanings. It asserts that learning is not accumulation but
remodeling and insight. Autonomy and freedom of the student is stimulated by the teacher. The time
necessary for assimilation and for cognitive and existential remodeling is respected. The contact experience
between teachers and students is given value: an authentic meeting based on sharing ideas and affections.
III. LEARNER’S EXPERIENCES OR ACTIVITIES/EXERCISES
A.
1. In your own words, describe the different gestalt principles.
2. List at least 5 ways to apply gestalt’ psychology in the teaching-learning process.
B. Complete the sentence and write a short essay.

From the Module on Gestalt psychology, I learned that...
IV. ASSESSMENT/REFLECTION TOOLS
1. Essay
2. Reflection
3. Rubrics
V. MATERIALS/REFERENCE LINKS
a. Book:
Facilitating Learning: A Metacognitive Process
- Maria Rita D. Lucas, Ph.D.
- Brenda B. Corpuz, Ph.D.
b. Internet

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POLANGUI COMMUNITY COLLEGE

After this module, the students must have:

1. Describe the different gestalt principles.

II. CONTENT DISCUSSION OR ABSTRACTION

Gestalt theory was initial cognitive response to behaviorism. It

Law of Proximity. Elements that are closer together will be

Law of Similarity. Elements that look similar will be perceived as part

Law of Closure. We tend to fill the gaps or "close" the

Law of Good Continuation. Individuals have the

Law of Good Pragnanz. The stimulus will be organized into

symmetry, simplicity and regularity. The

Gestalt Principles and the Teaching-Learning Process

III. LEARNER’S EXPERIENCES OR ACTIVITIES/EXERCISES

B. Complete the sentence and write a short essay.

IV. ASSESSMENT/REFLECTION TOOLS

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