Gestalt psychology focuses on the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It was developed in the early 1900s and proposes that humans perceive things holistically rather than by individual elements. The key Gestalt principles include proximity, similarity, closure, good continuation, pragnanz, and figure/ground. These principles influence how humans group and perceive visual elements. Wolfgang Kohler also studied insight learning through experiments with apes solving problems. The Gestalt principles can be applied to education by considering how proximity, similarity, closure, continuity, simplicity, and emphasis impact teaching and learning.

1. Psychology And Guidance In Education
Gestalt Psychology

3. Gestalt psychology
• Gestalt is a German word that means “shape”,
“form”, or “whole”.
• Gestalt is a psychology term which means
"unified whole".
• It was developed about 1910by Max Wertheimer
and carry on by Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka
at Frankfurt University.
• Max Wertheimer – developed Gestalt principles
• Kurt Koffka – developed laws of perception
• Wolfgang Kohler – worked with apes on insight

4. Gestalt psychology
Gestalt focuses on the belief that human
consciousness cannot be broken down into its
elements.
 Gestaltists pointed out that perception has
meaning only when it is seen as a whole
Perceptions are shaped by our thoughts

5. Perceptual process
learners do not just collect information as is
but they actively process and restructure data
in order to understand it. This is the
Perceptual Process
Certain factors impact on this perceptual
process.
 Factors like past experiences, needs, attitudes
and one’s present situation can affect his
perception

6. Gestalt Principles
• They believed learning is the result from good
perception, which enable an individual to form
correct concept in their mind. Later on they
proposed the principles or law for perceptual
organization
1. Law of Proximity
2. Law of Similarity
3. Law of Closure
4. Law of Good Continuation
5. Law of Good form or Pragnanz
6. Law of Figure/Ground

7. Law of Proximity

8. Law of Proximity
Proximity means nearness in space, time, or
relationship
The law of proximity states that when objects
appear close to one another they tend to be
perceived as a group .Things, which are close
together in space or time, tend to be
perceived as grouped together
Thus, if you want to perceive two ideas as
associated, present them in close proximity.

9. • In the Food mobile logo we can see a group of
single objects, representing types of food
(bread, fish, vegetables are clearly
recognizable) which, grouped for proximity,
create a car shape

10. Law of Similarity

11. Law of Similarity

12. Law of Similarity
• The law of similarity captures the idea that when
we look at objects that are similar to each other,
we tend to group them together. Our brains
quickly identify patterns faster than the separate
parts of the pattern.
1. The way we group things together based on
similar aspects (look, sound, texture, taste, etc.)
2. We group things that are alike.
3. We tend to group similar shapes together and
often times, we try to attach some type of
meaning to them

13. Law of Closure
Words and shape

14. Law of Closure
The law of closure captures the idea that
when we see incomplete elements in a visual,
our brains tend to fill in the gaps and see it as
a whole.
 For example When an object is not complete,
but there is still enough information for the
shape to be indicated, the brain will complete
the missing info. The brain does this in order
to increase consistency

15. Law of Good Continuation
• Continuation occurs in the example below,
because the viewer's eye will naturally follow
a line or curve. The smooth flowing crossbar
of the "H" leads the leaf directly

16. Law of Good Continuation
• Continuity: To maintain
order, the brain will
carry on any visual
patterns . Also,
continuation happens
when the viewer’s eye
moves (whether
smoothly or
disjointedly) through an
object into another

17. Law of Good Continuation
• When you see a figure
like this, you are much
more likely to see it as
consisting of two lines
(1a)rather than of the two
shapes(1b).
• This is the Gestalt
principle of continuity
which saw a single
unbroken line is likely to
be seen as an entity.

18. Law of Good form or Pragnanz

19. Law of Good form or Pragnanz
• The word pragnanz is a German term meaning "good
figure." The law of Pragnanz is sometimes referred to
as the law of good figure or the law of simplicity, which
says that we tend to order our experience in a manner
that, is regular, orderly, symmetric, and simple our
perceptions are influenced by our past experiences.
This principle is also called Pragnanz Law. (Tan Oon
Seng et al., 2003).
• This law holds that objects in the environment are seen
in a way that makes them appear as simple as possible

20. Law of Good form or Pragnanz

21. Law of Figure/Ground
Figure 1 two faces or a vase? (From spooncer,
1992 p.35)

22. Law of Figure/Ground
• Figure–ground organization is a type of
perceptual grouping which is a vital necessity
for recognizing objects through vision.
• This law explains that the source of a message
determines one’s perception.
• The concept of figure-ground perception is
often illustrated with the classic "faces or
vases" illusion, also known as the Rubin vase.

23. Law of Figure/Ground
• we see the two forms of
equal importance. The
problem here is a
confusion of figure and
ground.
Young Lady or Old Lady? (From Spooncer, 1992
p.35)

24. Insight Learning
• Wolfgang kohler was the first psychologist
who developed the insight learning in which
he described an experiment with apes that
could use boxes and sticks as tools to solve the
problem

25. Insight Learning
• In his experiment, Kohler hung a piece of fruit
just out of the reach of each chimp. He then
provided the chimps with either two sticks or
three boxes, then waited and watched. Kohler
noticed that after the chimps realized they could
not simply reach or jump up to retrieve the fruit,
they stopped and thought about how they might
solve the problem. Then after a few moments,
the chimps stood up and proceeded to solve the
problem

26. Insight Learning
• In the first scenario, the
problem was solved by
placing the smaller stick
into the longer stick to
create one very long stick
which could be used to
knock the hanging fruit
down

27. Insight Learning
• In the second scenario, the
chimps would solve the
problem by stacking the
boxes on top of each other,
which allowed them to
climb to the top of the
stack of boxes and reach
the fruit.

28. Insight Learning
• Insight learning is the abrupt realization of a
problem's solution. Insight learning is not the
result of trial and error It is a completely cognitive
experience, which requires the ability to visualize
the problem and the solution internally, in the
mind, before giving a behavioral response.
• The important aspect of learning was not
reinforcement, but the coordination of thinking
to create new organizations. Kohler referred to
this behavior as insight or discovery learning.

29. Implications of the Gestalt principles
in the teaching and learning process
1. Law of Proximity
Related concepts or lessons should be
taught aligned or closely to each other.
This is the reason why subtraction is taught
after addition, multiplication after subtraction
then division after multiplication

30. 2. Law of Similarity
Similar lessons or contents should be grouped
together to make learners develop
Understanding more efficiently and effectively.
This is the reason why lessons are Grouped
into units: Unit I is for human body, Unit II is
for energy and motion, So on and so forth.

31. 3. Law of Closure
When a concept or topic is incomplete thus isn't
"closed", incomplete information May make
learners want to discover what’s missing, rather
than concentrating on The given instruction.
If students find a math algorithm confusing
because a certain Question is left unanswered or
a step isn't clear, they will tend to concentrate on
That confused part of the process rather than the
total process as a whole. This is why students get
"lost". Thus, make the lesson complete. Present it
clearly, Simply and always be ready for students'
clarifications.

32. 4. Law of Good Continuation
Lessons should be presented in such a way
that learners will see these as connected and
continuous.
Now you know why we have the "review" part
of the lesson plan. This way, students will
realize that their new lesson actually has
continuity and is related to what they already
know or to the previous lesson.

33. 5. Law of Pragnanz
Pragnanz states that when things are grasped
as wholes, the minimal amount of energy is
exerted in thinking. In short, make your
lesson holistic, complete and most of all
simple.

34. 6. Law of Figure/Ground
For a figure to be perceived, it must stand out
from the background.
Emphasis should be done on important
aspects of the lesson. For example, teachers
should vary the tone of their voice or write
boldly or underline the important key words
of the lesson.

35. References
• Dewey, R. A. (n.d.). Psychology: An
Introduction. Retrieved from
www.intropsych.com.
• key concepts in healthcare education. (2011).
London: SAGE publishers.
• http://www.whatispsychology.biz
• http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu