Gestalt psychology

Gestalt psychology is often associated with the adage, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts". In Gestalt theory, information is perceived as wholes rather than disparate parts which are then processed summatively. As used in Gestalt psychology, the German word Gestalt (/ɡəˈʃtælt, -ˈʃtɑːlt/ gə-SHTA(H)LT,^[4][5] German: [ɡəˈʃtalt] ; meaning "form"^[6]) is interpreted as "pattern" or "configuration".^[7]


It differs from Gestalt therapy, which is only peripherally linked to Gestalt psychology.

Theoretical framework and methodology[edit]

The Gestalt psychologists practiced a set of theoretical and methodological principles that attempted to redefine the approach to psychological research. This is in contrast to investigations developed at the beginning of the 20th century, based on traditional scientific methodology, which divided the object of study into a set of elements that could be analyzed separately with the objective of reducing the complexity of this object.


The principle of totality asserts that conscious experience must be considered globally by taking into account all the physical and mental aspects of the individual simultaneously, because the nature of the mind demands that each component be considered as part of a system of dynamic relationships. Thus, holism as fundamental aspect of Gestalt psychology.^[9][24] Moreover, the perception of the nature of a part depends upon the whole in which it is embedded.^[9][25] The maxim that the whole is more than the sum of its parts is not a precise description of the Gestaltist view.^[9] Rather, as Koffka writes, "The whole is something else than the sum of its parts, because summing is a meaningless procedure, whereas the whole-part relationship is meaningful."^[26]


The principle of psychophysical isomorphism hypothesizes that there is a correlation between conscious experience and cerebral activity.^[16]


Based on the principles, phenomenon experimental analysis was derived, which asserts that any psychological research should take phenomena as a starting point and not be solely focused on sensory qualities. A related principle is that of the biotic experiment, which establishes the need to conduct real experiments that sharply contrasted with and opposed classic laboratory experiments. This signified experimenting in natural situations, developed in real conditions, in which it would be possible to reproduce, with higher fidelity, what would be habitual for a subject.^[27]

Problem solving and insight[edit]

Gestalt psychology contributed to the scientific study of problem solving.^[28] In fact, the early experimental work of the Gestaltists in Germany^{[note 2]} marks the beginning of the scientific study of problem solving. Later this experimental work continued through the 1960s and early 1970s with research conducted on relatively simple laboratory tasks of problem solving.^{[note 3][43]}


Max Wertheimer distinguished two kinds of thinking: productive thinking and reproductive thinking.^{[8]: 456 [44][45]: 361} Productive thinking is solving a problem based on insight—a quick, creative, unplanned response to situations and environmental interaction. Reproductive thinking is solving a problem deliberately based on previous experience and knowledge. Reproductive thinking proceeds algorithmically—a problem solver reproduces a series of steps from memory, knowing that they will lead to a solution—or by trial and error.^[45]: 361


Karl Duncker, another Gestalt psychologist who studied problem solving,^[45]: 370 coined the term functional fixedness for describing the difficulties in both visual perception and problem solving that arise from the fact that one element of a whole situation already has a (fixed) function that has to be changed in order to perceive something or find the solution to a problem.^[46]