AP PSYCHOLOGY Unit 3: Gestalt Psychology

• gestalt psych definition


  - the type of psychology that studies whole, intact segments of behavior and cognitive experience

  - was intended to be a complete school of psychology, not just a branch specialized for the study of perception
• spatial forms (pattern, form, configuration)


  a diverse collection of circles would cause completely different patterns of stimulation on the retina and, consequently, completely different sensations - nonetheless, they are all perceived as circles
• temporal forms


  a melody is recognizable as the same no matter what key or tempo it is played in, this would activate receptor cells of the ear differently and generate different sensations - nonetheless, the same melody would be perceived in each case
• spatial and temporal form meanings

  - a wide variety of sensory elements can give rise to the same perception, therefore, some perceptions are independent of any particular cluster of sensory elements

  - the whole is more than the sum of its parts
• phi phenomenon


  - "phi phenomenon" paper published in 1912 (Max Wertheimer)

  - formal beginning of the school of gestalt psychology

  - phi phenomenon = apparent motion

  - all movement in TV, movies, and computers is illusory
• apparent movement discovery - Wertheimer

  in 1910 Wertheimer, on a train, had an idea that our perceptions are different from the sensations that comprise them; he bought a stroboscope and conducted flashing lights experiment in a hotel room
• phi phenomenon - Wundt explanation


  - first your eyes fixate on the left position then on the right position; the kinesthetic sensation during the eye movement is similar to movement sensations of real motion

  - the whole does equal the sum of the parts
• Wundt explanation - Wertheimer response

  - apparent motion can go in two directions at the same time and eye movements cannot

  - experiment showing bar that appears to split in two parts fallings to the left and right

  - 220 years to falsify theory
• perceptual organization


  - the way we respond to objects as if they are the same, even though the actual stimulation our senses receive may vary (objects and background)

  - the coarsest level of organization divides the perceptual field into two parts, figure and ground
• figure-ground relationship


  - figure is the object you are paying attention to that is clear and unified

  - ground is the background and consists of everything that is not being attended to
• figure-ground segregation


  - figure object and background can be changed by shifting attention

  - partly under voluntary control

  - vase/face figure
• gestalt laws of perceptual organization - law of proximity


  - features that are near to one another tend to be grouped together, they tend to be seen as a unit

  - ex. II II II
• gestalt laws of perceptual organization - law of similarity

  - features that are similar to one another tend to be grouped together, they tend to be seen as a unit

  - ex. O O O O

  X X X X

  O O O O

  X X X X
• gestalt laws of perceptual organization - law of good continuation


  - features that form a line or a curve tend to be grouped together, they tend to be seen as a unit
• gestalt laws of perceptual organization - law of closure

  - if a figure has a gap, we tend to close the gap and not notice it
• gestalt laws of perceptual organization - law of common fate


  - features that move together, tend to be grouped together, they tend to be seen as a unit
• concept of force fields in physics

  - electricity and magnetism expanded on gravitational forces of brain that influence stimulus information sent from sense organs

  - made to look more scientific than really was (bullshit)
• introspection - examination of subjective experiences


  - introspection should be supplemented by objective measures (e.g., RT, EEG)

  - impossible to resolve conflicts when different labs produce contradictory results using introspection alone
• avoidance-avoidance conflict


  this kind of conflict occurs when you have two options, both of which are unpleasant
• approach-approach conflict


  in this case, you have a choice between two options, both of which you find attractive
• approach-avoidance conflict


  this kind of conflict occurs when you have mixed feelings about both of your options
• associative learning

  learning that certain events occur together
• classical conditioning

  a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neutral stimulus that signals an unconditioned stimulus (US) begins to produce a response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus. Also called Pavlovian or respondent conditioning.
• learning

  relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience
• behaviorism

  the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
• unconditioned response

  in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
• unconditioned stimulus

  in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally-naturally and automatically triggers a response
• conditioned response

  in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
• conditioned stimulus

  in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response
• acquisition

  The initial stage in classical conditioning; the phase associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.
• extinction

  the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.
• spontaneous recovery

  the reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished conditioned response
• generalization

  the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses
• discrimination

  in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus
• associative learning

  learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).
• operant conditioning


  a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
• respondent behavior

  behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus; Skinner's term for behavior learned through classical conditioning.
• operant behavior


  behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.
• law of effect

  Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely
• operant chamber

  a chamber also known as a Skinner box, containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer, with attached devices to record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking. Used in operant conditioning research. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 327)