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Gestalt_psychology (including recent related patents.)
Gestalt psychologyGestalt psychology (also: Gestalt theory of the Berlin School) is a psychological theory which provides a framework for a wide variety of psychological phenomena, processes, and applications. Human beings are viewed as open systems in active interaction with their environment. It is especially suited for the understanding of order and structure in psychological events. According to Gestalt psychology, people naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns. Although Max Wertheimer is to be credited as the founder of the movement, the concept of Gestalt was first introduced in contemporary philosophy and psychology by Christian von Ehrenfels (a member of the School of Brentano). The idea of Gestalt has its roots in theories by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Ernst Mach. Both von Ehrenfels and Edmund Husserl seem to have been inspired by Mach's work "Beiträge zur Analyse der Empfindungen" (Contributions to the Analysis of the Sensations, 1886) to formulate their very similar concepts of Gestalt and Figural Moment respectively. Early 20th century theorists, such as Kurt Koffka, Max Wertheimer, and Wolfgang Köhler saw objects as perceived within an environment according to all of their elements taken together as a global construct. This 'gestalt', or 'whole form' approach sought to isolate principles of perception; seemingly innate mental 'laws', which determined the way in which objects were perceived. These laws took several forms, such as the grouping of similar, or proximate objects together, within this global process. Although it has been criticised for being merely descriptive, it has formed the basis of much further research into the perception of patterns and objects (ref: Carlson, Buskist & Martin, 2000) and of research into behavior, thinking, problem solving and psychopathology. Examples of the Gestalt experience include the perception of an incomplete circle as a whole or a pattern of dots as a shape- the mind completes the missing pieces. Studies also indicate that simple elements/ compositions where the meaning is directly perceived do not offer as much a challenge to the mind as complex ones and hence the latter are preferred over the former. Gestalt psychology should not be confused with the Gestalt therapy of Fritz Perls which is only peripherally linked to Gestalt psychology. A strictly Gestalt psychology based therapeutic method is Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy, developed by the German Gestalt psychologist and psychotherapist Hans-Juergen Walter.See also: Gestalt theory, Wolfgang Metzger, Solomon Asch, Fritz Perls, Gestalt therapy, structural information theory, Gestalt effect, James Tenney External Links
This article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License Born to Win: Transactional Analysis With Gestalt Experiments by Muriel James Perception and Imaging, Second Edition by Richard D. Zakia Gestalt Therapy Integrated : Contours of Theory & Practice by Erving Polster The Gestalt Approach and Eye Witness to Therapy, by Frederick S. Perls Windows to Our Children: A Gestalt Therapy Approach to Children and Adolescents by Violet Oaklander Gestalt Psychology in German Culture, 1890-1967 : Holism and the Quest for Objectivity by Mitchell G. Ash Born to Win: Transactional Analysis With Gestalt Experiments by Muriel James Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality by Frederick S. Perls Creative Process Gestalt Therapy by Joseph Zinker Gestalt Therapy Verbatim by Frederick S. Perls Peeling the Onion : A Gestalt Therapy Manual for Clients by Bud Feder Gestalt Approaches in Counseling by William R. Passons Windows to Our Children: A Gestalt Therapy Approach to Children and Adolescents by Violet Oaklander Ego Hunger and Aggression by F S Perls Organizational Consulting : A Gestalt Approach (Gestalt Instituteof Cleveland Press Book Series) by Edwin C. Nevis Recent Gestalt_psychology related patents From USPTO: 5901247: Visual cluster analysis and pattern recognition template and methods 5696981: Personality analyzer 5315668: Offline text recognition without intraword character segmentation based on two-dimensional low frequency discrete Fourier transforms |