Gestalt psychology, is a school and a theory of perception that emphasises the processing of entire patterns and configurations, and not merely individual components.
Gestalt psychology is often associated with, âThe whole is greater than the sum of its partsâ.
In Gestalt theory, information is perceived as wholes rather than disparate parts.
the German word Gestalt - meaning âformâ is interpreted as âpatternâ or âconfigurationâ
The six Gestalt principles or laws are:
- Law of similarity
- Law of prägnanz
- Law of proximity
- Law of continuity
- Law of closure
- Law of common region
Law of Similarity
The law of similarity states that similar things tend to appear grouped together. Grouping can occur in both auditory and visual stimuli.
In the image at the top of this page, for example, you probably see two separate groupings of colored circles as rows rather than just a collection of dots.
Law of Prägnanz
The law of prägnanz is sometimes called the law of simplicity. This law holds that when youâre presented with a set of ambiguous or complex objects, your brain will make them appear as simple as possible.3
An example of this can be experienced with the Olympic logo. When you look at the logo, you see overlapping circles rather than an assortment of curved, connected lines.
This Gestalt principle is also sometimes referred to as the law of good figure as the word prägnanz is a German term meaning âgood figure.â
Closure Similarity Symetry Emergence Common Region Continuity Proximity Multistability Figure / Ground Common Fate Invariance Pragnanz
Law of Proximity
According to the law of proximity, things that are close together seem more related than things that are spaced farther apart.4Â Put another way, when objects are close to each other, we also tend to group them together.
To see this Gestalt principle in action, look at the image at the top of the page. The circles on the left appear to be part of one grouping while those on the right appear to be part of another. This is due to the law of proximity.
Law of Continuity
The law of continuity holds that points that are connected by straight or curving lines are seen in a way that follows the smoothest path. In other words, elements in a line or curve seem more related to one another than those positioned randomly.
Law of Closure
According to the law of closure, we perceive elements as belonging to the same group if they seem to complete some entity.5 Our brains often ignore contradictory information and fill in gaps in information.
In the image at the top of the page, you probably see the shape of a diamond. This is because, according to this Gestalt principle, your brain fills in the missing gaps in order to create a meaningful image.
Law of Common Region
The Gestalt law of common region says that when elements are located in the same closed region, we perceive them as belonging to the same group.6Â What does this mean?
Look at the last image at the top of the page. The circles are right next to each other so that the dot at the end of one circle is actually closer to the dot at the end of the neighboring circle. Despite how close those two dots are, we see the dots inside the circles as belonging together.
Creating a clearly defined boundary can overpower other Gestalt laws such as the law of proximity.