“GESTALT APPROACH”

GROUP MEMBERS:
1. SHAFI MOHAMMAD 3. MARIAM AWAN 5. ANILA ALI SHEIKH
2. SUBREEN ABBASI 4. MARIAM SOHAIL

SUBMITTED TO: MA’AM ZUBIA

COURSE NUMBER: 521

Definition:

 Gestalt psychology was founded by Max Wertheimer, a Czechoslovakian

psychologist who interestingly also developed a lie detection device to
objectively study courtroom testimony. Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka are also
considered to be co-founders of the Gestalt theory.
 Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and
behavior as a whole. When trying to make sense of the world around us, Gestalt
psychology suggests that we do not simply focus on every small component.
Instead, our minds tend to perceive objects as elements of more complex
systems.  This school of psychology has played a major role in the modern
development of the study of human sensation and perception.
Principles of Gestalt Theory in learning:

The main principles of the Gestalt Theory in Learning are:

 Teachers should encourage their students to discover the relationship of the
elements that make up a problem
 Incongruities, gaps, or disturbances are essential stimuli in the learning process
 Educational instruction should be based on the Laws of Organization
 In a learning environment, the Gestalt Theory applies to problem solving and
perception. However, it can be used in all aspects of education.
Principles of Gestalt Psychology:

Gestalt psychology helped introduce the idea that human perception is not just
about seeing what is actually present in the world around us. It is also heavily
influenced by our motivations and expectations.
Wertheimer created principles to explain how Gestalt perception functions. Some of
the most important principles of Gestalt theory are:
 Pragnanz: This foundational principle states that we naturally perceive things in
their simplest form or organization.
 Similarity: This Gestalt principle suggests that we naturally group similar items
together based on elements like color, size, or orientation.
 Proximity: The principle of proximity states that objects near each other tend to
be viewed as a group.
 Continuity: According to this principle, we will perceive elements arranged on a
line or curve as related to each other, while elements that are not on the line or
curve are seen as separate.
 Closure: This suggests that elements that form a closed object will be perceived
as a group. We will even fill in missing information to create closure and make
sense of an object.
 Common region: This Gestalt psychology principle states that we tend to group
objects together if they're located in the same bounded area. (For example,
objects inside a box tend to be considered a group.)
 Uses for Gestalt Psychology:
There are several uses for Gestalt psychology, some of which include those related to therapy,
design, and product development.
Gestalt Therapy:
 Gestalt therapy is based on the idea that overall perception depends on the interaction
between many factors. Among these factors are our past experiences, current environment,
thoughts, feelings, and needs.
 Gestalt therapy focuses on the present. While past context is important for viewing yourself
as a whole, a Gestalt therapist will encourage you to keep your focus on your present
experience.
DESIGN:
Designers embraced Gestalt concepts, using our perception of contrast, color, symmetry, repetition, and proportion to
create their work.9 Gestalt psychology influenced other design concepts, such as:
 Figure-ground relationship: This describes the contrast between a focal object (like a word, phrase, or image)
and the negative space around it. Designers often use this to create impact.
 Visual hierarchy: Designers use the way we perceive and group visual objects to establish a visual hierarchy,
ensuring that their most important word or image attracts our attention first.
 Associativity: This concept involves the principle of proximity. Designers often use this to determine where to
place important objects, including text elements like headlines, captions, and lists.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT:
 Product designers use Gestalt psychology to inform their decisions during the development process. Consumers
tend to like products that follow Gestalt principles.
 This influence can be seen in the appearance of the products themselves and in their packaging and advertising.
We can also see Gestalt principles at work in apps and digital products. Concepts like proximity, similarity, and
continuity have become standard to our expected user experience.
Importance and its uses today:

 Gestalt psychology has influenced how we study perception and sensation. It

also increases our understanding of how our cognitive processes influence the
way we behave socially.
 Some therapists use Gestalt psychology to help patients focus on the present
over the past. Designers and product developers also use Gestalt theory to make
their creations more appealing or to draw focus to certain elements over others.
Educational Implications of Gestalt Theory:

 From Whole to Parts: The teacher should present the subject matter as a whole to
facilitate insight learning.
 Integrated Approach: While planning curriculum, gestalt principles should be given
due consideration. A particular subject should not be treated as the mere collection
of isolated facts. It should be closely integrated into a whole.
 Importance of Motivation: the teacher should arouse the child’s curiosity, interest
and motivation. He should gain full attention of the whole class before teaching. 
Emphasis on Understanding: It has made learning an intelligent task requiring
mental abilities than a stimulus - response association. So the learner must be given
opportunities for using his mental abilities.
Impact of Gestalt Psychology:

 Gestalt psychology has largely been subsumed by other types of psychology, but it had an
enormous influence on the field. Researchers like Kurt Lewin and Kurt Goldstein were influenced
by Gestalt concepts before going on to make important contributions to psychology.
 Gestalt psychology’s contribution to education lies in its concepts of the organization of
stimuli and of insight. The world of the classroom in which the child is living and learning
is not just a body of discrete stimuli nor is his responses to it those of trial and error
adaptions. The world is organized, it has meaning. The child can reach with
understanding, he has insight.
 The idea that the whole is different than its parts has influenced our understanding of
the brain and social behavior. Gestalt theory still impacts how we understand vision and
the ways that context, visual illusions, and information processing impact our
perception.
Conclusion:

When trying to make sense of the world around us, Gestalt psychology suggests that
we do not simply focus on every small component. Instead, our minds tend to
perceive objects as elements of more complex systems. A core belief in Gestalt
psychology is holism, or that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
“THANK YOU”