Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Journal #1 Chapter 10

 History & Systems

Chapter 10 introduces the concept of Gestalt Psychology and those who helped build it to what it is today.  There is no exact translation for gestalt, but some close approximations can be holistic, structure, and pattern.  Max Wertheimer was the visionary of gestalt psychology, and Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka were both spokespeople and advocates for gestalt psychology.  The main focus of gestalt psychology revolved around perception.  A main principle of the area is that the whole is not only more than the sum of its parts, but it's also entirely different from them.  Wertheimer focused on the distinctions between productive and reproductive thinking.  The psychologists of this area viewed learning in a nonbehavioristic sense.  The impact of Gestalt psychology was inspiring more systematic approaches in other fields of life.

Elements of Thought:
The purpose was to introduce us to the idea of gestalt psychology, and explain how it differs from other areas of psychology as well as introduce some of the applications and effects gestalt psychology had on the larger world of psychology.
The information presented differed from other areas of psychology.  One specific example would be in the area of learning.   Usually, most traditional psychologists view learning as a behavioristic science, however, the gestalt psychologists view it as the opposite.  
Point of View and perception is everything in this chapter.  The whole idea of gestalt psychology revolves around how everyone perceives the world differently, and everything is not as truly basic as it seems at first glance. 

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