gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychologists were responsible for carrying out some of the earliest research into the area of problem solving in the 1920s. Originating in Germany in the early twentieth century, the Gestalt school of psychology, founded by Wertheimer, Kohler, and Koffka developed hypotheses about higher-order cognitive processeswhich emphasized the organizational
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Problem solving techniques in cognitive science 225 principles involved in the perception of objects and problems (Posner 1989). Primarily concerned with theories of perception, the Gestalt psychologists viewed perception of objects and forms in terms of the whole being more than the sum of the parts, and when an object or form is perceived there is a tendency towards a perception that has ‘good form’, or ‘good gestalt’. With regard to perception, Wertheimer formulated the Laws of Gestalt Forms. The six laws state that objects viewed as a whole may be made up of elements that are: near to each other; similar to each other; contain continuity in their contour; have uniform direction; have a tendency to enclose each other; have unity through experience. This concern with perception formed the basis for the Gestalt school’s work on problem solving, which was primarily concerned with the perception of the relations among the elements of a problem and the new perception needed in order to realise a solution. Successful problem solving required creating a cognitive representation for the perception of the objects involved in a problem then reorganizing this representation to form a new representation that permits a solution to be determined. This new perception was termed ‘insight’; often occurring just before a solution is realised (Goldstein 2005; Hunt and Ellis 2004).
The Gestalt approach distinguished between learning and problem solving through its focus on productive, rather than reproductive, thought processes. The use of prior experience in problem solving was considered as ‘learning’
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Problem solving techniques in cognitive science 225 principles involved in the perception of objects and problems (Posner 1989). Primarily concerned with theories of perception, the Gestalt psychologists viewed perception of objects and forms in terms of the whole being more than the sum of the parts, and when an object or form is perceived there is a tendency towards a perception that has ‘good form’, or ‘good gestalt’. With regard to perception, Wertheimer formulated the Laws of Gestalt Forms. The six laws state that objects viewed as a whole may be made up of elements that are: near to each other; similar to each other; contain continuity in their contour; have uniform direction; have a tendency to enclose each other; have unity through experience. This concern with perception formed the basis for the Gestalt school’s work on problem solving, which was primarily concerned with the perception of the relations among the elements of a problem and the new perception needed in order to realise a solution. Successful problem solving required creating a cognitive representation for the perception of the objects involved in a problem then reorganizing this representation to form a new representation that permits a solution to be determined. This new perception was termed ‘insight’; often occurring just before a solution is realised (Goldstein 2005; Hunt and Ellis 2004).
The Gestalt approach distinguished between learning and problem solving through its focus on productive, rather than reproductive, thought processes. The use of prior experience in problem solving was considered as ‘learning’