{"id":318,"date":"2023-03-01T15:05:58","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T15:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/chapter\/1-1-5-learn-it-the-history-of-psychology-gestalt-psychology\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T19:31:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T19:31:59","slug":"1-1-5-learn-it-the-history-of-psychology-gestalt-psychology","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/chapter\/1-1-5-learn-it-the-history-of-psychology-gestalt-psychology\/","title":{"raw":"Early Psychology: Learn It 6\u2014Gestalt Psychology","rendered":"Early Psychology: Learn It 6\u2014Gestalt Psychology"},"content":{"raw":"[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"246\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/902\/2015\/02\/23224443\/CNX_Psych_01_03_DuckRabbit.jpg\" alt=\"An ambiguous drawing looks like a duck facing to the left but also looks like a rabbit facing to the right.\" width=\"246\" height=\"166\" \/> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. When you look at this image, you may see a duck or a rabbit. The sensory information remains the same, but your perception can vary dramatically.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<h2>Gestalt Psychology<\/h2>\r\n<p data-start=\"375\" data-end=\"713\">In the early 20th century, psychology was expanding across Europe and America, with different schools of thought emerging. One of the most influential was <strong data-start=\"530\" data-end=\"552\">Gestalt psychology<\/strong>, founded in Germany by <strong data-start=\"576\" data-end=\"606\">Max Wertheimer (1880\u20131943)<\/strong> along with <strong data-start=\"618\" data-end=\"645\">Kurt Koffka (1886\u20131941)<\/strong>, <strong data-start=\"647\" data-end=\"678\">Wolfgang K\u00f6hler (1887\u20131967)<\/strong>, and <strong data-start=\"684\" data-end=\"710\">Kurt Lewin (1890\u20131947)<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n<p data-start=\"715\" data-end=\"892\">Gestalt psychologists opposed the narrow focus of Wundt\u2019s structuralism. Instead, they argued that <strong data-start=\"814\" data-end=\"857\">experience should be studied as a whole<\/strong>, not as a sum of separate parts.<\/p>\r\n<section class=\"textbox keyTakeaway\" aria-label=\"Key Takeaway\">\r\n<h3>gestalt psychology<\/h3>\r\n<p>Gestalt psychology is an early school of psychology founded in Germany that emphasized studying the mind and behavior as a whole rather than breaking experience into parts.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li data-start=\"917\" data-end=\"1023\">The famous phrase <strong data-start=\"935\" data-end=\"987\">\u201cthe whole is other than the sum of its parts\u201d<\/strong> captures the Gestalt perspective.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li data-start=\"1026\" data-end=\"1164\">Example: A song is not just notes and instruments\u2014it is perceived through the melody, rhythm, and harmony created by combining them.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li data-start=\"1167\" data-end=\"1266\">Similarly, when looking at an image, we perceive a whole picture, not just individual pixels.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\u00a0<\/div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1659\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"226\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/855\/2016\/10\/05194658\/300px-Kanizsa_triangle.svg_.png\"><img class=\" wp-image-1659\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/855\/2016\/10\/05194658\/300px-Kanizsa_triangle.svg_.png\" alt=\"Gestalt image of showing a triangle with gaps in the middle of each side. On the exterior of the triangle, three circles leave out a small piece, making it appear as though there is a second triangle superimposed on the first, although it is really just the negative space. \" width=\"226\" height=\"241\" \/><\/a> <strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. The \"invisible\" triangle you see here is an example of gestalt perception.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<p data-start=\"1345\" data-end=\"1619\">Gestalt psychologists also studied learning and thinking, showing that the mind often processes information simultaneously rather than step by step. Their work directly challenged structuralism and helped lay the groundwork for <strong data-start=\"1581\" data-end=\"1605\">cognitive psychology<\/strong> in America.<\/p>\r\n<p data-start=\"1621\" data-end=\"1820\">Because many Gestalt psychologists were Jewish, they fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s. In the U.S., they introduced new ideas about perception, learning, and problem-solving that reshaped psychology.<\/p>\r\n<section>\r\n<figure><\/figure>\r\n<section class=\"textbox tryIt\">[ohm2_question height=\"300\"]3858[\/ohm2_question]<\/section>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<h3>Psychology Spreads Around the World<\/h3>\r\n<p>Although the establishment of psychology\u2019s scientific roots occurred first in Europe and the United States, it did not take much time until researchers from around the world began to establish their own laboratories and research programs. Out of Germany, the study of psychology spread to France, Great Britain, Switzerland, and beyond. The field eventualy spread globally, where it is practiced worldwide today:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Argentina<\/strong>: In the late 1890s, <strong data-start=\"2031\" data-end=\"2061\">Horatio Pi\u00f1ero (1869\u20131919)<\/strong> established some of South America\u2019s first psychology labs in Buenos Aires.<\/li>\r\n\t<li data-start=\"2151\" data-end=\"2435\">\r\n<p data-start=\"2153\" data-end=\"2435\"><strong data-start=\"2153\" data-end=\"2162\">Japan<\/strong>: After studying with G. Stanley Hall, <strong data-start=\"2201\" data-end=\"2230\">Motora Yuzero (1858\u20131912)<\/strong> opened Japan\u2019s first psychology lab in 1903 at Tokyo Imperial University. By the mid-20th century, Japan had developed strong programs in educational, clinical, and industrial-organizational psychology.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li data-start=\"2436\" data-end=\"2656\">\r\n<p data-start=\"2438\" data-end=\"2656\"><strong data-start=\"2438\" data-end=\"2447\">China<\/strong>: Psychology emerged in the early 20th century, but political upheavals\u2014including the Cultural Revolution (1966\u20131976)\u2014interrupted progress. Afterward, psychology revived and expanded into many subfields.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li data-start=\"2657\" data-end=\"3006\">\r\n<p data-start=\"2659\" data-end=\"3006\"><strong data-start=\"2659\" data-end=\"2668\">India<\/strong>: Drawing on both traditional philosophy and Western psychology, Indian scholars developed an <strong data-start=\"2766\" data-end=\"2791\">Indigenous psychology<\/strong>. Pioneers like <strong data-start=\"2807\" data-end=\"2846\">Narendra Nath Sen Gupta (1889\u20131944)<\/strong> at the University of Calcutta and <strong data-start=\"2881\" data-end=\"2918\">Gunamudian David Boaz (1908\u20131965)<\/strong> at the University of Madras established the first independent psychology departments.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p data-start=\"2659\" data-end=\"3006\">Across Asia and Latin America, psychology developed in conversation with local culture, identity, and modernization, blending global theories with regional traditions.<\/p>","rendered":"<figure style=\"width: 246px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/902\/2015\/02\/23224443\/CNX_Psych_01_03_DuckRabbit.jpg\" alt=\"An ambiguous drawing looks like a duck facing to the left but also looks like a rabbit facing to the right.\" width=\"246\" height=\"166\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. When you look at this image, you may see a duck or a rabbit. The sensory information remains the same, but your perception can vary dramatically.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Gestalt Psychology<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"375\" data-end=\"713\">In the early 20th century, psychology was expanding across Europe and America, with different schools of thought emerging. One of the most influential was <strong data-start=\"530\" data-end=\"552\">Gestalt psychology<\/strong>, founded in Germany by <strong data-start=\"576\" data-end=\"606\">Max Wertheimer (1880\u20131943)<\/strong> along with <strong data-start=\"618\" data-end=\"645\">Kurt Koffka (1886\u20131941)<\/strong>, <strong data-start=\"647\" data-end=\"678\">Wolfgang K\u00f6hler (1887\u20131967)<\/strong>, and <strong data-start=\"684\" data-end=\"710\">Kurt Lewin (1890\u20131947)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"715\" data-end=\"892\">Gestalt psychologists opposed the narrow focus of Wundt\u2019s structuralism. Instead, they argued that <strong data-start=\"814\" data-end=\"857\">experience should be studied as a whole<\/strong>, not as a sum of separate parts.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox keyTakeaway\" aria-label=\"Key Takeaway\">\n<h3>gestalt psychology<\/h3>\n<p>Gestalt psychology is an early school of psychology founded in Germany that emphasized studying the mind and behavior as a whole rather than breaking experience into parts.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"917\" data-end=\"1023\">The famous phrase <strong data-start=\"935\" data-end=\"987\">\u201cthe whole is other than the sum of its parts\u201d<\/strong> captures the Gestalt perspective.\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"1026\" data-end=\"1164\">Example: A song is not just notes and instruments\u2014it is perceived through the melody, rhythm, and harmony created by combining them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1167\" data-end=\"1266\">Similarly, when looking at an image, we perceive a whole picture, not just individual pixels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1659\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1659\" style=\"width: 226px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/855\/2016\/10\/05194658\/300px-Kanizsa_triangle.svg_.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1659\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/855\/2016\/10\/05194658\/300px-Kanizsa_triangle.svg_.png\" alt=\"Gestalt image of showing a triangle with gaps in the middle of each side. On the exterior of the triangle, three circles leave out a small piece, making it appear as though there is a second triangle superimposed on the first, although it is really just the negative space.\" width=\"226\" height=\"241\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1659\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. The &#8220;invisible&#8221; triangle you see here is an example of gestalt perception.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-start=\"1345\" data-end=\"1619\">Gestalt psychologists also studied learning and thinking, showing that the mind often processes information simultaneously rather than step by step. Their work directly challenged structuralism and helped lay the groundwork for <strong data-start=\"1581\" data-end=\"1605\">cognitive psychology<\/strong> in America.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1621\" data-end=\"1820\">Because many Gestalt psychologists were Jewish, they fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s. In the U.S., they introduced new ideas about perception, learning, and problem-solving that reshaped psychology.<\/p>\n<section>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<section class=\"textbox tryIt\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"ohm3858\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/ohm.one.lumenlearning.com\/multiembedq.php?id=3858&theme=lumen&iframe_resize_id=ohm3858&source=tnh&show_question_numbers\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/section>\n<\/section>\n<h3>Psychology Spreads Around the World<\/h3>\n<p>Although the establishment of psychology\u2019s scientific roots occurred first in Europe and the United States, it did not take much time until researchers from around the world began to establish their own laboratories and research programs. Out of Germany, the study of psychology spread to France, Great Britain, Switzerland, and beyond. The field eventualy spread globally, where it is practiced worldwide today:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Argentina<\/strong>: In the late 1890s, <strong data-start=\"2031\" data-end=\"2061\">Horatio Pi\u00f1ero (1869\u20131919)<\/strong> established some of South America\u2019s first psychology labs in Buenos Aires.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2151\" data-end=\"2435\">\n<p data-start=\"2153\" data-end=\"2435\"><strong data-start=\"2153\" data-end=\"2162\">Japan<\/strong>: After studying with G. Stanley Hall, <strong data-start=\"2201\" data-end=\"2230\">Motora Yuzero (1858\u20131912)<\/strong> opened Japan\u2019s first psychology lab in 1903 at Tokyo Imperial University. By the mid-20th century, Japan had developed strong programs in educational, clinical, and industrial-organizational psychology.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2436\" data-end=\"2656\">\n<p data-start=\"2438\" data-end=\"2656\"><strong data-start=\"2438\" data-end=\"2447\">China<\/strong>: Psychology emerged in the early 20th century, but political upheavals\u2014including the Cultural Revolution (1966\u20131976)\u2014interrupted progress. Afterward, psychology revived and expanded into many subfields.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2657\" data-end=\"3006\">\n<p data-start=\"2659\" data-end=\"3006\"><strong data-start=\"2659\" data-end=\"2668\">India<\/strong>: Drawing on both traditional philosophy and Western psychology, Indian scholars developed an <strong data-start=\"2766\" data-end=\"2791\">Indigenous psychology<\/strong>. Pioneers like <strong data-start=\"2807\" data-end=\"2846\">Narendra Nath Sen Gupta (1889\u20131944)<\/strong> at the University of Calcutta and <strong data-start=\"2881\" data-end=\"2918\">Gunamudian David Boaz (1908\u20131965)<\/strong> at the University of Madras established the first independent psychology departments.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2659\" data-end=\"3006\">Across Asia and Latin America, psychology developed in conversation with local culture, identity, and modernization, blending global theories with regional traditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"menu_order":9,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"History of Psychology\",\"author\":\"OpenStax College\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/openstax.org\/books\/psychology-2e\/pages\/1-2-history-of-psychology\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"Download for free at https:\/\/openstax.org\/books\/psychology-2e\/pages\/1-introduction\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"History of Psychology\",\"author\":\"David B. Baker and Heather Sperry \",\"organization\":\"The University of Akron\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nobaproject.com\/modules\/history-of-psychology\",\"project\":\"The Noba Project\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":335,"module-header":"learn_it","content_attributions":[{"type":"cc","description":"History of Psychology","author":"OpenStax College","organization":"","url":"https:\/\/openstax.org\/books\/psychology-2e\/pages\/1-2-history-of-psychology","project":"","license":"cc-by","license_terms":"Download for free at https:\/\/openstax.org\/books\/psychology-2e\/pages\/1-introduction"},{"type":"cc","description":"History of Psychology","author":"David B. Baker and Heather Sperry ","organization":"The University of Akron","url":"https:\/\/nobaproject.com\/modules\/history-of-psychology","project":"The Noba Project","license":"cc-by-nc-sa","license_terms":""}],"internal_book_links":[],"video_content":null,"cc_video_embed_content":{"cc_scripts":"","media_targets":[]},"try_it_collection":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7407,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/318\/revisions\/7407"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/335"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/318\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=318"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=318"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontopsychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}