Understanding Gestalt Psychology: Principles, Therapy, and Applications

The German word “Gestalt” refers to configuration, whole, or structure. t makes a reference to the way individual components are structured by our perception as a psychical whole (Wulf, 1996). Changes in organization, spacing, and timing can significantly impact how information is received and processed, and this structure offers a scientific explanation for why. 

Background of Gestalt Approach 

The major philosophical influences of Gestalt are Kantian epistemology and Husserl’s phenomenological approach/ method. In their attempt to understand human consciousness and perception of the outer world, Husserls and Kant both argued that rational thought does not fully mediate these mental processes (Jorge,2010). 

In a similar vein, Gestalt researchers Max Wertheimer, Koffka, and Kohler observed that the human brain has the ability to categorize and interpret visual information innately. 

They hypothesized that the perception of the whole differs from the sum of its parts due to those” mental shortcuts”. This idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts is the core tent of Gestalt psychology – challenged structuralism, which was the prevailing framework during that time. 

This school of thought believed that in order to focus on each mental function separately, it is necessary to dissect it into its most fundamental parts. 

For structuralists, one may comprehend complicated experiences by recognizing the basic feelings they elicited, such as points that form a square or certain pitches in a symphony. Gestalt, however, points in a different direction. Accordingly, in this approach, the brain understands the whole even before it recognizes the pieces for example. When we look at a photo, we see the image of a person rather than its human facial parts. 

To understand the subjective nature of human perception, we should go beyond on the concentration of totality. 

Gestalt Principles

Gestalt principles, or Laws of Perception, were further developed by Kohler, Koffka, and Metzger after Wertheimer formalized them in the treaty that was published in 1923. The fundamental concepts stem from people’s innate propensity to see order in chaos; this process takes place in the brain, not in the sense organs like the eyes. Wertheimer asserts that the mind uses a consistent set of rules to “make sense” of the stimuli that the eyes record. These concepts are used by the brain to allow people to see consistent shapes instead of just random pictures. These are actually mental shortcuts to information interpretation, even if they work in a predictable manner. Because they are shortcuts they can occasionally result in errors, which can cause false impressions.  

Law of Closure 

• According to this concept, the human brain is predisposed to visually fill in form gaps, especially when recognizing familiar pictures.  
• Our attention naturally shifts to the information that is there and “fills” in the blanks with recognizable lines, colors, or patterns when information is absent. 
• We prefer to visually complete forms once they have been detected, even if they contain new gaps, in order to stabilize them.  
• One well-known example of applied closure is seen in the IBM logo, which consists of three stacks of blue horizontal lines that we “close” to create the letterforms (Graham 2008). 

Law of Proximity 

• According to the rule of proximity, forms, objects, or design components that are close to one another are more likely to be interpreted as a group. On the other hand, objects that are positioned at random are often seen as solitary. 
• This idea may be used to draw attention to important components within a design: visual elements that are placed in close proximity to one another are more likely to be understood as connected to one another, while elements that have an excessive amount of negative space between them are more likely to be isolated from one another. 

Law of Continuity 

• According to this law, items, forms, or design elements arranged so as to imply planes, curves, or lines will be interpreted as such rather than as separate components.  
• The components come together perceptually to create a continuous picture.  
• For example, a filliping motion movie book is nothing but a bunch of pictures grouped in a way that makes it seem like a moving picture. 

Law of Pragnanz 

• The “law of simplicity” or the “law of good figure” are additional titles for the Prägnanz law. It says that the human brain attempts to simplify things when it is presented with a group of unclear or complicated objects.  
• An item or picture that is easily interpreted as a whole is known as the “good figure.” 
• Our view of the Olympic emblem is an excellent representation of this process. Instead of a sequence of curved, linked lines, we typically observe overlapping circles (the simpler variant) (Dresp-Langley, 2015). 

Law of Similarity 

• This law suggests human brain groups an object into patterns when resembles in some way like shape or colour. Our basic instinct is to look for similarities and group things together based on shared attributes. This may be used to organize elements inside a design and group them together.   

 Common Region 

• This law proposes that elements that are located in a outlined space may be viewed as part of same group.  
• Forming a definite focus has the capacity to prevail over other Gestalt principles like, proximity and similarity. 

Application of Gestalt 

Gestalt Therapy

Introduced by German researchers Fritz (Fedrick S.) Perls and Laura Perls; further influenced by the likes of Kurt Lewin and Kurt Goldstein.  

The German word “Gestalt” denotes to a “whole, configuration, integration, pattern or form.”  

According to Perls, individuals are not composed of separate components, that is, mind, body and soul rather human beings function as a whole. 

Gestalt therapy is a type of approach to psychotherapy that assists clients to focus on the present, to understand what is actually happening in their lives at this moment, and how it makes them feel in the moment, rather than what they may assume to be happening based on past experience. It is one of the major types of humanistic therapy, along with person- centered and existential therapy. 

Key Concepts of Gestalt Therapy  

• Wholeness & Integration  

1. Wholeness refers to the whole person or the individual’s mind and body as a unit rather than as separate parts 
2. Integration refers to how these parts fit together and how the individual integrates into the environment.  
3. Increasing person’s awareness 
4. Focusing on present situation rather than past experiences. 

• Awareness 

• Three ways people may achieve awareness through therapy: 

1. Contact with the environment: This is through looking, listening, touching, talking, moving, smelling, and tasting. This allows the individual to grow in their surroundings, enabling them to develop in it. 
2. Here and now: Rather than worrying about the past or the future, individual is to live in present and be conscious, the person should live in and be aware of the present. 
3. Responsibility:  It implies that a person takes accountability for their own life instead of placing blame elsewhere. 

• Energy & Block to Energy 

1. Gestalt therapists main focus is on where energy is in the body is stored, how it is used, and how it may be causing a blockage.   
2. Blocking energy can take the shape of resistance, like such as tense muscles in the body, shallow breathing or avoiding eye contact. 

• Unfinished Business 

1. Unfinished business refers to people who do not finish things in their lives and is often related to people with a “growth disorder”  
2. People with unfinished business often resent the past and because of this are unable to focus on the here and now.  

Goal of the therapy 

• The fact that Gestalt therapists do not seek to alter their clients is the main objective of Gestalt therapy. It is the therapist’s responsibility to assist patients become more conscious of who they are right now. 
• “The therapist’s job is to invite clients into an active partnership where they can learn about themselves by adopting an experiential attitude toward life in which they try out new behaviors and notice what happens” (Perls, Hefferline and Goodman, 1954, in Corey, 2005). 
• Developing self-awareness. 
• Taking responsibility. 

Techniques of Gestalt Therapy 

• Empty chair 
• Topdog/Underdog 
• Dramatization 
• “I” Statements. 
• Dream Work 
• Confrontation 

Gestalt Therapy with Psychological Disorders 

• Depression 
• Anxiety 
• Self- esteem issues. 
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTDS). 

Gestalt therapists often design experiments for their patients to undertake, making it possible to think of gestalt therapy as a very experimental approach. But these individualistic trials don’t really lend themselves to. As Perls et al. (1951, p. 8) say, “We must, for instance, face the fact that we blandly commit what to the experimentalist is the most unpardonable of sins: we include the experimenter in the experiment!”. There aren’t a lot of published, credible research available in this field but still if one wish to know can go and look at Gestalt International Study Center and the British Journal of Gestalt Therapy. 

Product Development  

Customers are strongly influenced by the shape of the product as well as other perceptual characteristics like colour and texture when making purchasing decisions. 

Gestalt Laws have been included into product development methodologies, taking into account the intended customer’s perception of the finished product.  
The product developer may better comprehend the possible hazards, ambiguities, and meanings of the product they are working on by taking these perspectives into account (Cziulik & Santos 2012). 

 Takeaway 

Gestalt psychology explains us that in terms of how human brains see a thing, the whole thing matters more than any one of its constituent parts. Early in the 20th century, this idea first emerged in the psychology community. Gestalt meaning in psychology describes a thing’s form. Gestalt therapy is employed in the modern world to carry out various marketing strategies aimed at drawing in the target demographic. 

Ritika Sen

Content creator at PsychOnPoint, Ritika is a psychologist with an M.A. in Clinical Psychology and a diploma in Counselling and Guidance from Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar. She is an analytical thinker, keen observer, and effective communicator, deeply passionate about psychology. Ritika enjoys reading self-help books and is a trained classical dancer. She believes that mental health professionals are like Avengers in disguise, battling the "Thanos" that resides in our minds.

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