Gestalt psychology, from a perception viewpoint, states that the whole is more t

Question

Gestalt psychology, from a perception viewpoint, states that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. How our brain groups things together to make sense of an object based on prior knowledge and memory is the basis of Gestalt psychology. Sometimes, we perceive something differently from what it really is, experiencing an optical illusion.

Explain the five laws of Gestalt perception. Find some examples of optical illusions on the Internet. (Hint: Google the keywords “Grand Illusion: Optical Illusions” to view several examples of optical illusions.) Select at least two examples of optical illusions and explain how those illusions work on the basis of Gestalt psychology and its laws of perception.

Explanation / Answer

Answer:

Five laws of Gestalt psychology :

1) Continuity :Describes our tendency to perceive objects that seem to have a relationship to each other as being continuous. For example, we perceive the pattern below as two lines crossing rather than as two angles joined at their apexes (Pettersson, 1989)

2) Closure :Closure describes our tendency to look for unity in objects and to see lines as a single unit. Therefore, given the mere suggestion of an object, we will tend to fill in the details. For exmple, it is likely that you perceive the series of disconnected lines represened below as a square, and the series of disconnected dots as forming a single circle.

3) Proximity :Proximity describes the tendency to perceive objects that are close to one another as being grouped together in a meaningful way

4) Similarity :The similarity principle claims that elements tend to be integrated into groups if they are similar to each other

5) Simplicity:

An optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality. The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source.

There are three main types: literal optical illusions that create images that are different from the objects that make them, physiological illusions that are the effects of excessive stimulation of a specific type (brightness, colour, size, position, tilt, movement), andcognitive illusions, the result of unconscious inferences. Pathological visual illusions arise from a pathological exaggeration in physiologicalvisual perception mechanisms causing the aforementioned types of illusions.

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