Gestalt Psychology

Subjectbackground

Socialbackground

Atthebeginningofthe20thcentury,duetovariousreasons,thecenterofpsychologybegantoshiftfromEuropetotheUnitedStates,butGestaltpsychologyemergedForGermany,thisislargelyduetothesocialandhistoricalbackgroundofGermanyatthattime.Inthehistoryofcapitalism,theGermanbourgeoisrevolutionproceededrelativelylate,butsincethereunificationofGermanyin1871,theGermaneconomyhasdevelopedrapidly.Bythebeginningofthe20thcentury,GermanyhadcaughtupwithandsurpassedtheoldcapitalismofBritainandFrance.ThecountryhasbecomeapowerinEuropeandeventheworld;theideologyoftheentireGermansocietyalsoemphasizesunityandsubjectiveinitiative.Atthattime,politics,economy,culture,scienceandotherfieldswerealsoaffectedbythisideology,andtendedtostudyasawhole,andpsychologywasnoexception.

Philosophicalbackground

Inadditiontobeingaffectedbyspecificsocialandhistoricalconditions,theemergenceofGestaltpsychologyalsohasitsphilosophicalbackground.ThefirstisKant'sphilosophy.Kantbelievesthattheobjectiveworldcanbedividedintotwoworlds:"phenomenon"and"thing-in-itself".Humanbeingscanonlyrecognizephenomenabutnotthings-in-itself,andtheunderstandingofphenomenamustrelyonthetranscendentalcategoryofhumanbeings.Gestaltpsychologyacceptsthisperspectiveoftranscendentalthinking,butittransformsthetranscendentalcategoryintothe"primitiveorganizationofexperience".Thisprimitiveorganizationofexperiencedetermineshowweperceivetheexternalworld.Kantbelievesthathumanexperienceisaholisticphenomenonthatcannotbeanalyzedasasimpleelement.Thepsychologicalperceptionofmaterialsisbasedonacertainformandorganizedinanorganizationalmanner.Thisideaof​​KantbecamethecoresourceofGestaltpsychologyandthemainbasisfortheconstructionanddevelopmentofthetheory.

AnotherphilosophicalfoundationofGestaltpsychologyisHusserl'sphenomenology.Husserlbelievesthatthemethodofphenomenologyisthattheobservermustgetridofallpre-suppositionsandtruthfullydescribethecontentoftheobservation,sothattheessenceoftheobservationobjectcanberevealed.Thiscognitiveprocessofphenomenologymustrelyonhumanintuition,sophenomenologyinsiststhatonlyhumanintuitioncangrasptheessenceoftheobject,andproposesspecificoperatingsteps.ThisprovidesspecificguidancefortheresearchmethodsofGestaltpsychology.

Scientificbackground

Attheendofthe19thcenturyandthebeginningofthe20thcentury,thescientificcommunityproducedmanynewdiscoveries,amongwhichthe"fieldtheory"ideaof​​physicsisoneofthem.Scientistsdefine"field"asabrand-newstructure,ratherthanseeingitasasimpleadditionofgravitationalandrepulsiveforcesbetweenmolecules.Gestaltpsychologistshaveacceptedthisideaandhopetouseittomakeanewexplanationofpsychologicalphenomenaandmechanisms.Therefore,theyputforwardaseriesofnewtermsintheirtheories,suchas"behavioralfield","environmentalfield","physicalfield","psychologicalfield","psychophysicalfield"andmanyotherconceptsproposedbyKofka.

Psychologicalbackground

TheemergenceofGestaltpsychologyhasitsspecificpsychologicaltheoreticalbasis,includingMach’stheoryandthetheoryofmorphologicalschool.Machbelievesthatsensationsarethebasisofallobjectiveexistenceandthebasisofallscientificresearch,andthesesensationshavenothingtodowiththeirelements;theformofanobjectcanbeindependentofitsattributesandcanbeexperiencedbyindividualsalone.ThesetheoriesofMach,especiallytheanti-elementalviews,weredirectlyabsorbedandusedbyGestaltpsychologists.ChristianvonOlenferfurtherdeepenedandexpandedMach'stheory,advocatingthestudyoftheshapeandqualityofthings.TheholisticviewoftheSchoolofShapeandQualityisasimpleholisticview.ThistheoryalsohadanimportantinfluenceonGestaltpsychology.

Developmenthistory

Thebirthoftheschool

In1912,GermanpsychologistWertheimerdidanexperimentonthephiphenomenonattheUniversityofFrankfurtResearchandpublishedanarticle"ExperimentalResearchonMobilePerception"todescribethisphenomenon.ThisisgenerallyregardedasasignoftheestablishmentoftheGestaltschoolofpsychology.BecausetheprimaryresearchofthisschoolwasdoneinthelaboratoryoftheUniversityofBerlin,itissometimescalledtheBerlinSchool.InadditiontoWertheimer,therepresentativesoftheschoolincludeKollerandKofka.

SchoolDevelopment

Aftertheschoolwasestablished,Wertheimer,KöhlerandKaufkacontinuedtodevelopGestalttheory.From1913to1920,KohlerservedasthedirectoroftheInstituteofAnthropologyofthePrussianAcademyofSciencesonTennaufIslandintheCanaryIslandsoftheAtlanticOcean,wherehedidfamousorangutanexperiments.From1911to1927,KofkaworkedattheUniversityofGiessenandconductedaseriesofexperimentalstudiesentitled"ContributionstoGestaltPsychology".In1922,Kaufka's"Perception-IntroductiontoGestaltTheory"publishedin"JournalofPsychology"arousedastrongresponse.In1921,Wertheimer,Köhler,andKofkajoinedthepsychopathologistKurtGoldsteinandHansGruertocreatethejournalPsychologischeForschung,whichsoonbecameGestaltThemouthpieceoftheschool.Itissuedatotalof22volumesandwastemporarilysuspendedin1938.AftertheestablishmentoftheGestaltSchool,itsinfluencehasbecomegreaterandgreater.BeforeWorldWarII,ithadbecomethedominantpsychologyschoolinGermany.

MovingtotheUnitedStates

In1924,KaufkacametotheUnitedStatesandtaughtatCornellUniversity,theUniversityofChicago,andtheUniversityofWisconsin.HetaughtatSmithCollegefrom1927until1941.Diedinyears.In1933WertheimeracceptedaninvitationtoteachattheNewSchoolofSocialStudiesinNewYork,USAuntilhisdeathin1943.In1934,KohlercametoHarvardUniversityastheWilliamJamesChairProfessor,andin1935totheUnitedStatesSwarthmoreCollegeasaprofessorofpsychology.

ThedevelopmentofGestaltpsychologyintheUnitedStatescanberoughlydividedintothreeperiods.Thefirstistheinitialacceptanceperiod(1921—1930).GestaltpsychologistsandtheirtheoreticalviewswereinitiallyacceptedbytheAmericanpsychologycommunity.Thesecondwasthemigrationperiod(1927-1945).Duringthisperiod,thethreefoundersoftheGestaltSchoolandsomeoftheirstudentsimmigratedtotheUnitedStatesoneafteranother,andtheyallheldfacultypositionsandengagedinscientificresearchinsomeuniversitiesintheUnitedStates.Thethirdisthedifficultintegrationperiod(since1945).AlthoughtheacceptanceofGestaltpsychologybyAmericanpsychologistswasslow,itstillabsorbedalargenumberofAmericanfollowers,whodevelopedthistheoryandappliedittosomenewfields.

Continuedinfluence

Sincethe1950s,inGermany,thebirthplaceofGestaltpsychology,duetotheappropriatepoliticalandculturalatmosphere,thisschoolhasrevivedTrends,somepsychologistshavedevelopedsomemajorconceptsandmethodsofGestalttheoryandresearch,andopenedupmanytheoreticalresearchandpracticalapplicationtopics.GestaltpsychologyalsohadagreatinfluenceontheJapanesepsychologycommunity,andthisinfluencewasmostsignificantinthe1930sandlasteduntilthe1960s.Inaddition,GestaltpsychologyhasalsohadasignificantimpactintheformerSovietUnion,ItalyandChina.

Representativefigures

Representativefigures

Mainresearchandcontribution

Theoreticalsystem

Researchobject

GestaltPsychologybelievesthattherearetwoobjectsofpsychologicalresearch,oneisdirectexperienceandtheotherisbehavior.

Directexperience

Gestaltpsychologistsbelievethatpsychologyshouldstudyconsciousness,butinordertobedifferentfromconstructivistpsychology,theyuse"Directexperience”toexpress.Theso-calleddirectexperiencereferstoeverythingthesubjectfeltorexperiencedatthetime,thatis,theexperiencegraspedbythesubjectintheprocessofunderstandingthephenomenon.Thiskindofexperienceisameaningfulwhole,anditisnotcompletelyconsistentwiththedirectandobjectivestimulifromtheoutsideworld.Gestaltpsychologybelievesthatdirectexperienceisthebasicmaterialforallscientificresearch.

Behavior

AnotherresearchobjectofGestaltpsychologyisbehavior.Gestaltpsychologydividesbehaviorintomanifestbehaviorandsubtlebehavior.Theformerreferstotheactivitiesofindividualsintheirownbehavioralenvironment,andthelatterreferstotheactivitieswithintheorganism.Gestaltpsychologystudiesmanifestbehavior.

Researchmethod

Wholeobservationmethod

Gestaltpsychologyregardsdirectexperienceasitsresearchobject.ThisdirectexperienceItisanaturalphenomenonthatcanonlybediscoveredthroughobservation,soGestaltpsychologyemphasizestheuseofnaturalobservationmethods.Butbecausedirectexperiencealsoincludessomethingsimilartoconsciousness,andthestudyofthispartmustrelyonthesubject'sintrospection,butintrospectioncannotbeusedforanalysis,butonlyforobservation.Whetheritisobservationorintrospection,therequirementsofGestaltpsychologymustbegraspedasawhole.

MethodsofExperimentalPhenomenology

GestaltPsychologyusesdirectexperience(sometimescalledphenomenonexperience)andmanifestbehaviorasitsresearchobjects,sothisgenreisinInadditiontotheoverallobservationmethod,theexperimentalmethodisalsousedinthespecificresearch.TheexperimentalmethodsusedbyGestaltpsychologyaremainlyexperimentalphenomenologicalmethods.

Maintheoreticalviewpoints

Isomorphism

Isomorphism(orisomorphism)referstothecommoninallempiricalphenomenaThe"Gestalt"characteristicofexistencehasacorrespondingrelationshipbetweenphysical,physiologicalandpsychologicalphenomena,sothethreeareofthesametype.ThisisatheoryabouttherelationshipbetweenmindandbodyandmindandbodyproposedbyGestaltpsychologists.GestaltpsychologistsbelievethatpsychologicalphenomenaarecompleteGestalts,whicharegestaltsandcannotbedividedintoelementsbyhumans;naturallyexperiencedphenomenaareallself-containedgestalts.Gestaltisawholebodyrelatedandorganized.Thestructure,anditcontainsmeaning,canbeunaffectedbypreviousexperience.Gestaltpsychologistsbelievethatphysicalphenomenaandphysiologicalphenomenaalsohaveagestaltnature.Itispreciselybecausepsychologicalphenomena,physicalphenomenaandphysiologicalphenomenaallhavethesameGestaltnature,sotheyareofthesametype.Gestaltpsychologistsbelievethatbothhumanperceptionofspaceandtimeareequivalenttothesameprocessinthecerebralcortex.Thistheoryofsolvingmind-bodyrelationshipandmind-bodyrelationshipishomotypictheory.

Gestaltlawsoforganization

GestaltlawsoforganizationareaseriesofexperimentallysupportedperceptualorganizationlawsproposedbytheGestaltschool,Itclarifiestheforminwhichtheperceptualsubjectorganizestheexperiencematerialintoameaningfulwhole.IntheopinionofGestaltpsychologists,thetruenaturalperceptualexperienceisexactlythedynamicwholeoftheorganization,andthecompositeofsensoryelementsisartificiallypiledup.Becausethewholeisnotasimplesumoradditionofparts,thewholeisnotdeterminedbytheparts,andthevariouspartsofthewholearedeterminedbytheinternalstructureandnatureofthewhole,sotheGestaltorganizationlawmeansthatpeoplealwaysknowwhentheyperceiveOrganizeempiricalmaterialsintoameaningfulwholeaccordingtoacertainform.

GestaltpsychologistsbelievethattherearefivemainGestaltlaws:figure-backgroundlaw,proximitylaw,similaritylaw,closedlawandcontinuitylaw.Theselawsapplytobothspaceandtime,aswellasperceptionandotherpsychologicalphenomena.Manyoftheselawsapplynotonlytohumans,butalsotoanimals.IntheopinionofGestaltpsychologists,Gestalttendstobegoodandperfect,orGestaltisagenerallawoforganizationalGestalt,andotherlawsaredifferentmanifestationsofthisgenerallaw.

Learningtheory

ThelearningtheorybasedontheorganizationalGestaltruleisoneoftheimportantcomponentsofGestaltpsychology.Itconsistsofinsightlearning,learningtransferandcreativethinking.

(1)InsightfulearningisalearningmodeldescribedbyGestaltpsychologists.Theso-calledepiphanylearningislearningthatoccursbyreorganizingtheperceptualenvironmentandsuddenlycomprehendingtherelationshipsamongthem.Inotherwords,learningandproblem-solvingaremainlynotthefunctionofexperienceandtrialanderror,butofinsight.

(2)Learningtransferreferstotheinfluenceofonekindoflearningonanotherkindoflearning.Thatistoapplythelearnedexperiencetoanothersituationvariably.Regardingthereasonforthelearningtransfer,Thorndikebelievesthatthecommoncomponentsinthetwolearningmaterialsactonthecommonneuralpathway,whileGestaltpsychologistsbelievethatitisduetosimilarfunctions,thatis,duetotheentireTheunderstandingoftherelationshipbetweenthevariouspartsofthesituationortherelationshipbetweenthepurposeandthemeans.Forexample,whenthereisnobamboopoleinthecage,orangutanscanalsouseironwireandstrawinsteadofbamboopolestogetbananas,whichisasimilarfunctionofmigration.

(3)ProductivethinkingisafieldinwhichGestaltpsychologyhascontributedalot.Wetterheim'sdefaultisthatcreativethinkingistobreaktheoldGestaltandformanewGestalt.Inhisview,anewunderstandingoftheinterrelationshipsofsituations,goals,andwaystosolveproblemsisthefundamentalelementofcreativeproblemsolving,andpastexperiencecanonlygainmeaningandmeaninginanorganizedbodyofknowledge.Geteffectiveuse.Therefore,creativethinkingfollowsthebasicprocessofbreakingtheoldgestaltandconstructingthenewgestalt.

Psychologicaldevelopment

GestaltpsychologistsapplyGestalttheorytodevelopmentalpsychologyresearch.Behaviorismexplainslearningwiththeviewofconnection,whileGestaltpsychologyexplainslearningwithchangesintheperceptualfield.Theybelievethatthechangeofmeaningisthechangeordevelopmentofthemind,whichcannotbeexplainedbythestimulus-responseformula.Theybelievethatbehaviorisgovernedbyadynamicmodelcomposedofinteractingforces.Thefieldofpersonaloperationisthepsychophysicalfieldinwhichinternalandexternalforcesareactive.Thefieldofthisoperationcanbestudiedfromalocalormolecularpointofviewonthebasisofphysicalfields,aswellasattheoverallormacromolecularlevelcoveringallaspectsofexperienceandbehavior.Gestaltpsychologistsbelievethatmolecularbehaviorshouldbestudiedbyphysicistsandphysiologists,whileoverallbehaviorissuitableforpsychologiststostudy.

Personalitytheory

Gestaltpsychologyschoolregardspersonalityasadynamicwhole,andthebehaviorfieldhastwopoles,namelyself(personality)andenvironment.Onceaperson’sgoals(i.e.motivationsandneeds)areachieved,thetensiondisappears.Tensionoccurswhentheforcesinthefieldareinanunbalancedstate.Thistensioncanbeformedbetweentheselfandtheenvironment,therebystrengtheningthepolarity(polarity),destroyingthebalancebetweenthetwopoles,causingthedifferencebetweentheindividualselfandtheenvironment,andmakingtheselfinamoreconsciousstateofconsciousness;itcanalsobewithintheselfOrformintheenvironment,andthencauseimbalance.

MainContributions

ChinesepsychologistYeHaoshengbelievesthatGestaltpsychologyhasthefollowingcontributions:

CriticizingElementalism

OneofthemostprominentcontributionsofGestaltpsychologyisthecriticismofelementalpsychologyrepresentedbyconstructivistpsychology.Gestaltpsychologistscallconstructivistpsychologyasbrick-and-mortarpsychology,thatis,psychologyisbrick,gluedtogetherbyassociation(mud).Theybelievethatstructuralpsychologyusesintrospectiontoreducehumanpsychologytoelementsisartificialandcannotrevealtheessenceofpsychology.

Promotetheriseofhumanism

Gestaltpsychologyemphasizesholism,whichhasagreatinfluenceonthedevelopmentofhumanisticpsychology.Forexample,Maslow,thefounderofhumanisticpsychology,learnedthemethodofholisticanalysisundertheguidanceofWertheimer,andfinallyformedthemethodologicalprincipleoftheholisticresearchofhumanisticpsychology.Similarly,severalfamousrepresentativesofhumanismalsoemphasizetheoverallexperienceanddescriptionoftheobject.AlltheseshowtheinfluenceofGestaltpsychologyonhumanisticpsychology.

Contributionstocognitivepsychology

ThecontributionofGestaltpsychologytocognitivepsychologyisdividedintotwoparts.Thefirstisthecontributiontothenarrowsenseofcognitivepsychology,thatis,thecognitivepsychologyofinformationprocessing.Cognitivepsychologyofinformationprocessingattachesgreatimportancetothestudyoftheinternalmechanismofpsychology,andemphasizesthesimulationoftheinput,processingandoutputofinformationasawhole.ThiscanbesaidtobedeeplyinfluencedbyGestaltpsychology.Thesecondisthecontributiontogeneralcognitivepsychology,suchasperceptualpsychology,learningpsychology,etc.ItisnoexaggerationtosaythatitisthefruitfulperceptualresearchofGestaltpsychologythatpushesperceptualpsychologytobreakawayfromsensorypsychologyandbecomeanindependentbranch.Similarly,thelearningtheoryofGestaltpsychologyisalsoverysuccessful,andtheepiphanytheoryhasbecomeamoreinfluentiallearningtheoryinhumanhistory.

ContributionstoSocialPsychology

Theideaof​​fieldwasfirstintroducedintopsychologybyGestaltpsychologists.Thisideawaslaterintroducedinsociety.Ithasbeenwidelyusedinpsychology,andmanysocialpsychologytheoriesarebasedonthisasastartingpoint.Atthesametime,thefruitfulexperimentalphenomenologicalmethodofGestaltpsychologyprovidedamethodologicalbasisforthelaterdevelopmentofsocialpsychology.Theexperimentalphenomenologicalmethodanditsvariantshavebecomeaneffectivemethodcommonlyusedinmodernsocialpsychologyresearch.

Maindefects

TheChinesepsychologyhistorianCheWenbobelievesthatGestaltpsychologymainlyhasthefollowingproblems:

Inastateofidealism

Originally,Gestalttheoryemphasizesnaturalobservation,whichisdesirableintermsofbeingclosetoreallife.ButtheybelievethatperceptionitselfhasaGestaltnatureandisnotaffectedbypastexperience,sotheytrytoreduceorevendenytheroleofpastexperienceintheprocessofcognition,making"Gestalt"somethingtranscendent.Gestaltpsychologyexaggeratestheinitiativeofpsychology,usesapriorimodelandtheinternallawsofthesubjecttoexplaintheintegrityoftheformationofpsychology,whichresultsinaprioritheoryandsubjectiveidealism.

Notgettingridoftheshacklesofmetaphysics

Gestaltpsychologyopposesthewholeandthepart,thinkingthatthereisthewholefirst,thenthepart;thewholedeterminesthepart,Theparthasnoeffectonthewhole.Therefore,thetheoryisone-sided.Thistheoryonlyemphasizesqualitativeanalysisandignoresquantitativeanalysis.Theybelievedthatpsychologyatthattimewasstillinitsnaiveperiod,andthatexperiencewasonlysuitableforqualitativeanalysis,notquantitativeanalysis.Infact,qualitativeanalysisandquantitativeanalysisareinterdependentandinseparable.Therefore,researchthatonlyemphasizesqualitativeobservationandignoresquantitativeanalysisisalsoone-sided.Gestaltpsychologybelievesthatpsychologyandbehaviorarefieldphenomena,soitmaintainsthatcurrenteventsareonlyaffectedbythecurrentsituationandnotaffectedbythepresentandfuturepsychologicalfacts.Thetheoryignoresthedevelopmentviewandhistoricalcausalanalysis,anditisalsoone-sided.

Thetheoryisnottoorigorous

Gestaltpsychologyignorestheresearchofphysiologicalbasis;someconceptsarerathervague,andtheirscienceisnotstrictlyregulatedMeaning;someexperimentslacksufficientevidence.Atthesametime,thegenreusesalargenumberofmathematicalconceptsinitsowntheorieswithoutspecialexplanation.Manyconceptshaveatendencytobeabused.ThismakesthetheoryofGestaltpsychologytooobscureanddifficulttounderstand.AllthisaffectedtheconstructionofthedisciplineofGestaltPsychology,whichpreventeditfromestablishingacompletetheoreticalsystem.