Gestalt psychology

7.0

A theory that studies how people see whole patterns rather than separate parts

noun
/ɡəˈʃtɑlt saɪˈkɑlədʒi/

Specialized

: psicología de la Gestalt

Many therapists use Gestalt psychology in their practice.

Examples

Many principles from Gestalt psychology are applied in modern design to enhance user experience.
Her professor recommended several texts on Gestalt psychology for deeper understanding of human cognition.
The study of perception is greatly influenced by Gestalt psychology and its holistic approach.
Have you studied Gestalt psychology in your psychology course?
The theory of Gestalt psychology emphasizes that our perception is based on whole structures rather than their individual components.
According to Gestalt psychology, our minds naturally fill in gaps to create a complete picture from partial information.
In Gestalt psychology, understanding how we perceive a whole is essential for grasping human behavior.

Synonyms

configurationism

vsGestalt psychology

Specialized

9.9

A theory in psychology saying people see whole patterns before parts

is the same theory but uses a different technical name

Surface Forms

Gestalt psychology singular

Gestalt psychologies plural

Morphology

gestalt + psychology

The compound denotes the branch of psychology concerned with 'gestalt' (wholes) and so its meaning is directly composed from 'gestalt' + 'psychology' — i.e., the study of whole perceptual structures rather than parts. This compositional logic is transparent (and reinforced by the loanword's presence in many languages), so a learner who already knows both constituent words can infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Gestalt psychology comes from the German word Gestalt, meaning 'shape' or 'whole'. Imagine seeing a face in the clouds: you notice the whole picture before the small parts, so Gestalt psychology is the study of how we perceive whole patterns rather than separate parts.