Gestalt Theory of Perception (Laws of Perceptual Organisation
☆ Gestalt Theory of Perception (Laws of Perceptual Organisation)
In this world, for an organism there are three main perceptual questions and answers to these are key to it’s survival. What is it? Where is it? What is it doing? Gestalt psychologists, first of all, studied perceptual organisation systematically and attempted to answer such questions. The process by which we structure the input from our sensory receptors is called perceptual organisation.
Gestalt psychologists advocated that we have tendency to perceive sensory patterns as well organised wholes rather than as separate isolated parts. Perceptual organisation is known as figure- background relationship. It means that we tend to divide the world around us into two parts : figure, which has a definite shape and location in space, and ground, which has no shape, seems to continue behind the figure, and has no definite location. The segregation of figure and background can easily be seen in two dimensional pictures.
The figure-background relationship helps clarify the distinction between sensation and perception. Gestalt psychologists described some of the principles on which we group items together perceptually. These principles are known as the laws of groupings. This shows as to how perception is organised in daily life. Wertheimer(1923) regarded these laws as the laws of perceptual organisations. Some of these are :
1. Laws of proximity :-
We have tendency to perceive objects located together as a group. The Gestalt law of proximity states that "objects or shapes that are close to one another appear to form groups". Even if the shapes, sizes, and objects are radically different, they will appear as a group if they are close.
2. Law of similarity :-
We have a tendency to group figures according to their similarity. Here, similar items as a group is perceived. This way, we organise different objects around us on the basis of similarity of physical or psychological properties. The principle of similarity states that, all else being equal, perception lends itself to seeing stimuli that physically resemble each other as part of the same object, and stimuli that are different as part of a different object. This allows for people to distinguish between adjacent and overlapping objects based on their visual texture and resemblance. Other stimuli that have different features are generally not perceived as part of the object. Our brain uses similarity to distinguish between objects which might lie adjacent to or overlap with each other based upon their visual texture. An example of this is a large area of land used by numerous independent farmers to grow crops. Each farmer may use a unique planting style which distinguishes his field from another. Another example is a field of flowers which differ only by colour.
3. Law of good continuation :-
The tendency to perceive stimuli as a part of continuous pattern is known as law of good continuation. Our visual system normally prefers contours that continue smoothly along their original course. Good continuation is a powerful organisational factor which prevails even when pitted against prior experience. In military setting, camouflage is achieved by using this law.
4. Law of closure :-
The principle of closure refers to the mind’s tendency to see complete figures or forms even if a picture is incomplete, partially hidden by other objects, or if part of the information needed to make a complete picture in our minds is missing. For example, if part of a shape’s border is missing people still tend to see the shape as completely enclosed by the border and ignore the gaps. This reaction stems from our mind’s natural tendency to recognize patterns that are familiar to us and thus fill in any information that may be missing.
In this world, for an organism there are three main perceptual questions and answers to these are key to it’s survival. What is it? Where is it? What is it doing? Gestalt psychologists, first of all, studied perceptual organisation systematically and attempted to answer such questions. The process by which we structure the input from our sensory receptors is called perceptual organisation.
Gestalt psychologists advocated that we have tendency to perceive sensory patterns as well organised wholes rather than as separate isolated parts. Perceptual organisation is known as figure- background relationship. It means that we tend to divide the world around us into two parts : figure, which has a definite shape and location in space, and ground, which has no shape, seems to continue behind the figure, and has no definite location. The segregation of figure and background can easily be seen in two dimensional pictures.
The figure-background relationship helps clarify the distinction between sensation and perception. Gestalt psychologists described some of the principles on which we group items together perceptually. These principles are known as the laws of groupings. This shows as to how perception is organised in daily life. Wertheimer(1923) regarded these laws as the laws of perceptual organisations. Some of these are :
1. Laws of proximity :-
We have tendency to perceive objects located together as a group. The Gestalt law of proximity states that "objects or shapes that are close to one another appear to form groups". Even if the shapes, sizes, and objects are radically different, they will appear as a group if they are close.
2. Law of similarity :-
We have a tendency to group figures according to their similarity. Here, similar items as a group is perceived. This way, we organise different objects around us on the basis of similarity of physical or psychological properties. The principle of similarity states that, all else being equal, perception lends itself to seeing stimuli that physically resemble each other as part of the same object, and stimuli that are different as part of a different object. This allows for people to distinguish between adjacent and overlapping objects based on their visual texture and resemblance. Other stimuli that have different features are generally not perceived as part of the object. Our brain uses similarity to distinguish between objects which might lie adjacent to or overlap with each other based upon their visual texture. An example of this is a large area of land used by numerous independent farmers to grow crops. Each farmer may use a unique planting style which distinguishes his field from another. Another example is a field of flowers which differ only by colour.
3. Law of good continuation :-
The tendency to perceive stimuli as a part of continuous pattern is known as law of good continuation. Our visual system normally prefers contours that continue smoothly along their original course. Good continuation is a powerful organisational factor which prevails even when pitted against prior experience. In military setting, camouflage is achieved by using this law.
4. Law of closure :-
The principle of closure refers to the mind’s tendency to see complete figures or forms even if a picture is incomplete, partially hidden by other objects, or if part of the information needed to make a complete picture in our minds is missing. For example, if part of a shape’s border is missing people still tend to see the shape as completely enclosed by the border and ignore the gaps. This reaction stems from our mind’s natural tendency to recognize patterns that are familiar to us and thus fill in any information that may be missing.
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