Lesson 9 - Gestalt

Question 1

Briefly explain the priniciple of Gestalt

Answer 1

We cannot reduce consciousness to its elements (Wundtian) without losing the meaning of consciousness experience.
• Consciousness = an experience as a whole (gestalt)

Question 2

Gestalt focused on a molar approach; what does it mean?

Answer 2

Gestalt = focused on a molar approach
• Molar = behaviour as a whole
Molecular = behaviourist’s perspective (stimulus-response contingency - Gestalt was against this)

Question 3

Describe some of the contributions of Kant, Brentano, Külpe and Stumpf on Gestalt

Answer 3

Kant: active process of the mind to build a coherent experience = gestalt
Brentano: Act psych suggests that consciousness cannot be reduced to its elements
Külpe: imageless thought
Stumpf: when sensory elements are combined they form a new pattern

Question 4

What is the link between physics and Gestalt?

Answer 4

Physics: acceptance of fields of force (magnets and iron shards) - the fields are wholes and not only individual elements
Gestalt: will use this theory of fields of force to explain the mind

Question 5

Describe the work of Ernst Mach

Answer 5

All knowledge is derived from sensation - understood in terms of phenomenological experiences

Space form / time form are independent of the elements that compose them (a circle is still a circle no matter what size it is)

Question 6

Describe the work of Christian von Ehrenfels

Answer 6

Elaborated on Mach’s time and space forms

Form: something that emerges from the elements of sensation (ex: many notes make a melody)

Question 7

What did Max Wertheimer realize with the Stroboscope?

Answer 7

That spinning around a series of static images gives the illusion of movement - therefore sensation and perception are quite different

Question 8

What is a tachistoscope? What is it used for?

Answer 8

Lights placed close together that flash successively

Depending on the interval at which the lights flash, it might be perceived as 2 lights flashing on and offf, two lights flashing simultaneously, or one light moving from one position to another.

This phenomenon is called the Phi Phenomenon (illusion that stationnary lights move)

Question 9

What was the hypothesis for explaining the Phi Phenomenon? What was finally found? Why is that so crucial?

Answer 9

Hypothesis: eye movement gave rise to kinesthetic information
Test: 3 lights in a triangle (looked as if light poured into the others)
Explanation: Brain must be adding something that was not there (Formal beginning of the school of Gestalt

Question 10

What is the main contribution of Kurt Koffka?

Answer 10

Coined the term “perception”
Systematized Gestalt into a coherent body of theories, he is more regarded for his writing than his research
Was moslty interested in cognitive processes (thinking, learning, etc), and developmental psych

Question 11

What did Wolfgang Köhler contribute to the concept of percpetion?

Answer 11

Established that the active brain is like the magnet with its magnetic field; it is a less atomistic perspective and it emulates the hard sciences
Perception is NOT built up from sensations, but a result of perceptual organization from our brain (just like the magnet organizes the iron shards in a shape)

Question 12

What is psychophysical isomorphism? (Köhler)

Answer 12

The correspondence between consicous experience and the underlying brain activity

We are experiencing what our brain is interpreting (these sensation being psychophysical isomoprhs)

Question 13

Describe what is a top-down analysis

Answer 13

A mind-driven analysis (from head to stimuli)

Question 14

Describe the law of Prägnanz (Köhler)

Answer 14

Mental events (what the brain force field creates) are organized according to this law - AKA in the simplest way possible (we want to use as little effort as possible)

Question 15

Describe how Gestaltists view perception

Answer 15

They are in favour of perceptual constancy, which suggests that we tend to respond to objects as being the same even when we experience them in different circumstances, since it uses less cognitive resources

Ex: we can recognize a door whether it’s closed or open

Question 16

Name and briefly describe the Gestalt principles of simplicity, figure/ground, proximity, continuity, similarity, closure and inclusiveness by which perception is organized

Answer 16

Simplicity: (fundamental gestalten) - core of the law of prägnanz
Figure/ground: figure = the object of attention, ground = more diffuse, everything not being attended to
Proximity: Grouping principle - parts closer together in time or space appear to belong together
Continuity: tendency to follow a direction - elements arranged in a line/curve seem more related than elements not on the line
Similarity: similar parts tend to be seen as forming a group
Closure: completing incomplete figures (being able to know what something is even though all the parts are not there)
Inclusiveness: when there is more than one figure, we are most likely to see the figure having the greatest number of stimuli

Question 17

What is the natural tendency of the mind according to Gestaltists? What happens when this tendency is disturbed?

Answer 17

The brain activity tends towards equilibrium (law of Prägnanz, need for things to make sense). When there is a disequilibrium, the drive to calibrate things back is a motivator for action

Question 18

What did Kölher discover with his studies about chimps?

Answer 18

He put a banana hanging by a thread on the ceiling, which the monkeys could not reach. The dilemma caused by wanting the banana but not reaching it caused the chimps to act deliberately to put boxes together, in order to form a ladder and reach the bananas

Köhler understood that chimps could act in goal-directed ways, and have a deeper understanding of properties of objects

Question 19

Name the 4 characteristics of insight learning

Answer 19

1. The transition from no solution to solution is sudden and complete (lightbulb moment)
2. Performance based on the insight learning solution is free of errors; because the possible scenarios have been evaluated cognitively before
3. A solution gained by insight is retained longer (semantic knowledge)
4. A solution gained by insight is easily applied to other problems (transposition of knowledge)

There is a link with insight learning and Toleman’s latent learning

Question 20

Describe what is transposition, and how it differs from association

Answer 20

Transposition: learning principles or relationships that can apply to more than one situation (through insight learning)
Association: learning one response - one stimulus only

The example of the chicken learning to eat on the darkest square shows that we learn relationships, and not individual responses (what differs Gestalt from behaviourism)

Question 21

Define Kurt Lewin’s field theory

Answer 21

Field theory: suggests that an individual’s beahviour is determined by personal and situational forces with the goal of maintaining equilibrium

Behaviour to get back to equilibrium is driven by many forces/factors (BIG contrast with behaviourism)

Question 22

What is Lewin’s “life space”?

Answer 22

The totality of dynamic forces acting on an individual, including personality, motivation, social and environmental influences. In this space there are “psychical forces” which cause areas of tension between them

Question 23

What are “facts” corresponding to in Lewin’s life space?

Answer 23

the facts are the individual’s psychological or behavioural environment. They affect the behaviour or thoughts of the individual at any given point.

Consist of internal, external events and recollection of prior experiences IN OUR awareness in the moment.

Something completely imagined can still be a fact, as long as it’s in your awareness

Question 24

What is the source of the motivation to act, according to Gestaltists?

Answer 24

The imbalance that results from tensions in the life space is what motivates us to act, since we are seeking to reinstate this equilibrium

Question 25

What are basic and quasi needs according to Lewin?

Answer 25

Basic needs: basic drives to eat, sleep, have sex, etc

Quasi needs: anything not directly related to our survival (AKA secondary needs) - buying a car, going on vacation, etc

Question 26

Explain what is the Zeigarnik effect

Answer 26

Tasks that are incomplete (and therefore where the tension is NOT resolved) stay in our memory longer than completed task, since the tension makes them salient (once the tension is resolved there is no need to remember the task)

Question 27

Name the 3 types of possible conflicts regarding tasks

Answer 27

1. Approach-approach conflict (being attracted to 2 goals at the same time)
2. Avoidance-avoidnce conflict (being repelled by 2 choices)
3. Approach avoidance conflict (one goal about which one has mixed feelings) - hardest to solve

Question 28

Define Lewin’s “action research”

Answer 28

The extension of Gestalt principles to group dynamics and the individual’s behaviour within a group setting

Goal: finding effective methods for social change

Question 29

Define Lewin’s dynamic interdependence

Answer 29

The nature of configuration of a group will strongly influence the behaviour of its members

Question 30

Explain the process of Lewin’s leadership study

Answer 30

3 groups of children participating in after-school art programs

group 1: led in a democratic manner (children could make devisions, were given alternatives, could receive feedback)
group 2: led in an authoritarian manner (no decisions, no choices, no feedback)
group 3: led in a “laissez faire” manner (no direction at all)

Question 31

Describe the results of Lewin’s leadership study

Answer 31

The democratic and authoritarian groups were productive

Authoritarian group had higher levels of aggression

Democratic group had higher levels of cooperation

Laissez-faire group was unproductive

This experiment is an analogy for illustrating the need for tension in the life space

Question 32

How did Lewin change the attitudes of people towards food during World War II?

Answer 32

By using his 3-step model:

1. Break down the existing culture (of eating a lot of meat) - he did this by making the need for change apparent to “gatekeepers” of the groups (mothers)
2. Introduce the change (offering alternatives to the meat)
3. Refreeze the new culture (reinforcing new habits of eating meat until they become the norm)

Question 33

What were Lewin’s main contributions to psychology?

Answer 33

He paved the road towards experimental social psych
Demonstrated that rigorous experimental research could be conducted on large scale groups
Showed that his research had practical implications