Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole. It suggests that structures, perceived as a whole, have specific properties that are different from the sum of their individual parts. Founded by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka in early 20th-century Germany, it helped shape modern ideas about perception, problem-solving, and how we make sense of the world.
Key Takeaways
- Holistic Perception: Gestalt psychology emphasizes that we perceive entire patterns or configurations rather than isolated elements. Our minds naturally organize sensory input into meaningful wholes.
- Foundational Thinkers: The movement was founded by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka in early 20th-century Germany. Their research challenged the idea that perception could be understood by analyzing parts alone.
- Organizing Principles: Gestalt theorists identified key laws of perception—such as proximity, similarity, closure, continuity, and figure-ground—that explain how we group and interpret visual information.
- Practical Applications: Insights from Gestalt psychology influence modern fields like design, visual arts, therapy, and cognitive psychology, guiding how we create and interpret patterns and layouts.
- Enduring Influence: Though developed over a century ago, Gestalt ideas continue to shape how psychologists and designers understand perception, problem-solving, and human experience as unified wholes.
How the Gestalt Approach Formed?
Two of the main philosophical influences of Gestalt are Kantian epistemology and Husserl’s phenomenological method.
Both Kant and Husserls sought to understand human consciousness and perceptions of the world, arguing that those mental processes are not entirely mediated by rational thought (Jorge, 2010).
Similarly, the Gestalt researchers Wertheimer, Koffka and Kohler observed that the human brain tends to automatically organize and interpret visual data through grouping.
They theorized that, because of those “mental shortcuts”, the perception of the whole is different from the sum of individual elements.
This idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts – the central tenet of Gestalt psychology – challenged the then-prevailing theory of Structuralism.
This school of thought defended that mental processes should be broken down into their basic components, to focus on them individually.
Structuralists believed that complex perceptions could be understood by identifying the primitive sensations it caused – such as the points that make a square or particular pitches in a melody.
Gestalt, on the other hand, suggests the opposite path.
It argues that the whole is grasped even before the brain perceives the individual parts – like when, looking at a photograph, we see the image of a face rather than a nose, two eyes, and the shape of a chin.
Therefore, to understand the subjective nature of human perception, we should transcend the specific parts to focus on the whole.
Gestalt Psychologists
Max Wertheimer
The inaugural article of Gestalt Psychology was Max Wertheimer’s Experimental Studies of the Perception of Movement, published in 1912.
Wertheimer, then at the Institute of Psychology in Frankfurt am Main, described a visual illusion called apparent motion in this article.
Apparent motion is the perception of movement that results from viewing a rapid sequence of static images, as happens in the movies or in flip books.
Wertheimer realized that the perception of the whole (the group of figures in a sequence) was radically different from the perception of its components (each static image).
Wolfgang Köhler
Wolfgang Köhler was particularly interested in physics and natural sciences.
He introduced the concept of psychophysical isomorphism – arguing that how a stimulus is received is influenced by the brain’s general state while perceiving it (Shelvock, 2016).
He believed that organic processes tend to evolve to a state of equilibrium – like soap bubbles, that start in various shapes but always change into perfect spheres because that is their minimum energy state.
In the same way, the human brain would “converge” towards a minimum energy state through a process of simplifying perception – a mechanism that he called Pragnanz (Rock & Palmer, 1990).
Kurt Koffka
Koffka contributed to expanding Gestalt applications beyond visual perception.
In his major article, Principles of Gestalt psychology (1935) he detailed the application of the Gestalt Laws to topics such as motor action, learning and memory, personality and society.
He also played a key role in taking the Gestalt Theory to the United States, to where he emigrated after the rise of Nazism in Germany.
Gestalt principles
Gestalt’s principles, or Laws of Perception, were formalized by Wertheimer in a treaty published in 1923, and further elaborated by Köhler, Koffka, and Metzger.
The principles are grounded on the human natural tendency of finding order in disorder – a process that happens in the brain, not in the sensory organs such as the eye.
According to Wertheimer, the mind “makes sense” of stimulus captured by the eyes following a predictable set of principles.
The brain applies these principles to enable individuals to perceive uniform forms rather than simply collections of unconnected images.
Although these principles operate in a predictable way, they are actually mental shortcuts to interpreting information.
As shortcuts, they sometimes make mistakes – and that is why they can lead to incorrect perceptions.
The main Gestalt principles are foundational concepts derived from Gestalt psychology, a school of thought that emphasises how perception is organised. These principles describe the predictable ways the brain organises sensory information into meaningful wholes.
1. Figure-Ground Relationship
- This principle describes the tendency to segment our visual world into the figure and the ground.
- The figure is the object or person that is the focus of the visual field.
- The ground is the background against which the figure rests.
- Our perception can change drastically depending on what we perceive as the figure and what we perceive as the ground.
- For example, an image may be seen as either a vase or a pair of faces, depending on whether the dark or light areas are viewed as the figure.
2. Prägnanz (law of simplicity)
- The law of Prägnanz is also called “law of simplicity” or “law of good figure”. It states that when faced with a set of ambiguous or complex objects, the human brain seeks to make them as simple as possible.
- The “good figure” is an object or image that can easily be perceived as a whole.
- A good example of this process is our perception of the Olympic logo. We tend to see overlapping circles (the simpler version) rather than a series of curved, connected lines (Dresp-Langley, 2015).
3. Similarity
- The principle of similarity asserts that things that are alike tend to be grouped together.
- This law suggests that we tend to group shapes, objects or design elements that share some similarity in terms of color, shape, orientation, texture or size.
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Items that share characteristics, such as colour, shape, or texture, are perceived as being part of a group.
- For instance, when viewing an array of dots, we are likely to perceive alternating rows based on their colours, grouping the like-coloured dots together.
- When watching a sporting event, spectators often group individuals based on the colours of their uniforms to identify the teams.
4. Proximity
- The principle of proximity states that things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together.
- If elements are positioned closely, we perceive them as being grouped as a unit rather than as separate components.
- This concept is evident in how we read, grouping the letters within a word together because they lack internal spaces, and separating words due to the spaces between them.
- This principle can be applied to direct attention to key elements within a design: the closer visual elements are to each other, the more likely they will be perceived as related to each other, and too much negative space between elements serve to isolate them from one another.
5. Common Region
- This law proposes that elements that are located within the same closed region – such as inside a circle or a shape – tend to be perceived as belonging to the same group.
- Those clearly defined boundaries between the inside and the outside of a shape create a stronger connection between elements, and can even overpower the law of Proximity or of Similarity.
6. Continuity
- The law of continuity (also referred to as good continuation) suggests that we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines.
- When lines intersect or overlap, we tend to follow the line’s implied path smoothly.
- For instance, a figure might be perceived as two overlapping lines rather than four lines meeting at a central point.
7. Closure
- The principle of closure states that we organise our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of segments or parts.
- The visual system tends to ignore breaks in figures and instead concentrates on the implied overall complete form.
- This law suggests that the human brain has a natural tendency to visually close gaps in forms, particularly when identifying familiar images.
- When information is missing, our focus goes to what is present and automatically “fills” the missing parts with familiar lines, colors or patterns.
- Once a form has been identified, even if additional gaps are introduced, we still tend to visually complete the form, in order to make them stable.
- IBM’s iconic logo is one example of applied closure – blue horizontal lines are arranged in three stacks that we “close” to form the letterforms (Graham 2008).
The Overriding Principle: Simplicity
In addition to the specific grouping principles, the overarching Gestalt principle is simplicity.
When observing a pattern, we tend to perceive it in the most basic, straightforward manner possible.
If multiple interpretations are possible, the brain generally opts for the simpler one.
The ones above are some of the most commonly cited, but there are others, such as the symmetry principle (symmetrical components will tend to be grouped together) and the common faith principle (elements tend to be perceived as grouped together if they move together).
The way Gestalt principles guide the perception of sensory inputs into predictable patterns is analogous to how schemas operate in cognition.
Schemas are mental constructs or clusters of related concepts used to organise knowledge about the world.
Just as Gestalt principles provide predictable, efficient rules for perceiving sensory information as a coherent whole, schemas provide efficient mental shortcuts for interpreting information (known as top-down processing).
In both cases, the brain uses pre-existing organisational structures (Gestalt laws for sensory grouping, schemas for concepts) to quickly construct a meaningful understanding of the world without necessarily processing every single objective detail.
Applications of Gestalt
Whether helping us see patterns in a visual display, integrate emotion in therapy, or design user-friendly technology, the Gestalt insight—that we naturally seek meaningful wholes – remains one of psychology’s most enduring and versatile contributions.
1. Perception Research and Theory
Gestalt psychology remains highly influential in sensation and perception research.
Early Gestalt theorists such as Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler identified a set of laws of perceptual organisation that describe how the brain constructs meaningful wholes from fragmented sensory input.
A key concept is the figure–ground relationship, which explains how attention separates an object of focus (figure) from its background (ground), shaping perception dynamically.
These laws provide a framework for understanding not only visual perception but also auditory and motor organisation.
Recent research even extends Gestalt principles to the control of motor actions, suggesting that perception and movement are integrated within coherent, goal-directed wholes rather than discrete reactions.
2. Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt psychology also laid the theoretical foundation for Gestalt therapy, developed in the 1940s by Frederick (Fritz) and Laura Perls.
This approach, rooted in the humanistic–existential tradition, views the person as an integrated whole and prioritises awareness, presence, and direct experience over analysis and interpretation.
Gestalt therapy emphasises the “here and now”—helping clients notice what they are feeling and doing in the present moment rather than focusing on the distant past.
It uses experiments (experiential techniques) to increase self-awareness, such as chairwork or the “empty chair” technique, which supports emotional expression and integration.
Empirical findings suggest that Gestalt therapy can:
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Enhance self-awareness, confidence, and presence.
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Promote reflection and narrative integration.
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Reduce experiential avoidance and foster self-compassion.
Gestalt principles also influence other modalities, including Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), pastoral counselling, and equine-assisted therapy, all of which incorporate phenomenological awareness and embodied experience.
Although Gestalt therapy historically resisted empirical validation, emphasising personal growth over symptom reduction, recent studies support its clinical effectiveness in promoting psychological integration.
If structured therapy is like assembling flat-pack furniture by following a list of parts, Gestalt therapy is like intuitively seeing the final form—the “gestalt” of the chair—before beginning, then allowing the parts to come together naturally through awareness and experience.
3. Human Factors and Design
Gestalt principles profoundly shaped human factors psychology (ergonomics) and visual design, guiding how systems, interfaces, and environments are organised for intuitive use.
By applying perceptual laws such as similarity, proximity, and figure–ground contrast, designers ensure that users can rapidly perceive patterns, group related information, and distinguish essential from background details, enhancing efficiency, safety, and satisfaction in human–machine interaction.
Design theorists such as Gregg Berryman (1979) argued that Gestalt factors provide a psychological basis for the spatial organisation of graphic information.
These principles became foundational for 20th-century graphic design, influencing posters, logos, magazine layouts, and later, digital interfaces and UX/UI design (Graham, 2008).
4. Product Development and Marketing
In product design, Gestalt theory informs how consumers perceive a product’s form, colour, and texture as a unified whole.
Designers apply Gestalt laws to anticipate how customers will interpret the overall appearance and meaning of a product, improving usability and emotional appeal (Cziulik & Santos, 2012).
Similarly, in marketing and advertising, Gestalt principles explain how people form holistic impressions of brands and products.
Consumers integrate discrete visual and verbal cues into an overall perceptual gestalt (Zimmer & Golden, 1988).
Modern research applies these insights to online shopping environments, where site architecture and visual hierarchy influence engagement and trust (Demangeot, 2010).
5. Education and Learning
In education, Gestalt theory emerged as a reaction to behaviorism, rejecting the idea that learning could be reduced to stimulus–response chains.
Instead, it emphasised understanding relationships between parts and wholes.
Effective teaching, according to Gestalt principles, begins by presenting the whole learning goal or problem, allowing students to perceive meaning before analysing components.
This approach supports problem-based learning, where students engage with complete, authentic problems and then explore their internal structure to develop independent, integrated solutions (Çeliköz et al., 2019).
Such methods encourage insight, creativity, and a deeper grasp of conceptual relationships.
Gestalt Legacy
Most psychologists consider that the Gestalt School, as a theoretical field of study, died with its founding fathers in the 1940s.
Two main reasons may have contributed to that decline.
The first reason are institutional and personal constraints: after they left Germany, Wetheimer, Koffka and Köhler obtained positions in which they could conduct research, but could not train PhDs.
At the same time, most of the students and researchers that had remained in Germany broadened the scope of their research beyond Gestalt topics.
The second reason for the decline of Gestalt Psychology were empirical findings dismantling Köhler’s electrical field theory that sought to explain the brain’s functioning.
Neuroscience and cognitive science emerged in the 1960s as stronger frameworks for explaining the functioning of the brain.
Still, nearly all psychology students can expect to find at least one chapter dedicated to Gestalt Psychology in their textbooks.
Similarly, fundamental questions about the subjective nature of perception and awareness are still addressed in contemporary scientific research – with the perks of counting on advanced methods that were not available for the Gestaltists in the first half of the XX Century (Wagemans et al, 2012).
References
Berryman, G. (1979). Notes on Graphic Design and Visual Communication. Los Altos. William Kaufmann. Inc., t979.
Cziulik, C., & dos Santos, F. L. (2011). An approach to define formal requirements into product development according to Gestalt principles. Product: Management and Development, 9(2), 89-100.
Çeliköz, N., Erisen, Y., & Sahin, M. (2019). Cognitive Learning Theories with Emphasis on Latent Learning, Gestalt and Information Processing Theories. Online Submission, 9(3), 18-33.
Demangeot, C., & Broderick, A. J. (2010). Consumer perceptions of online shopping environments: A gestalt approach. Psychology & Marketing, 27(2), 117-140.
Dresp-Langley, B. (2015). Principles of perceptual grouping: Implications for image-guided surgery. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1565.
Graham, L. (2008). Gestalt theory in interactive media design. Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, 2(1).
Jorge, MLM. (2010) Implicaciones epistemológicas de la noción de forma en la psicología de la Gestalt. Revista de Historia de la Psicología. vol. 31, núm. 4 (diciembre)
O”Connor, Z. (2015). Colour, contrast and gestalt theories of perception: The impact in contemporary visual communications design. Color Research & Application, 40(1), 85-92.
Rock, I., & Palmer, S. (1990). The legacy of Gestalt psychology . Scientific American, 263(6), 84-91.
Shelvock, M. T. (2016). Gestalt theory and mixing audio. Innovation in Music II, 1-14.
Wagemans, J., Elder, J. H., Kubovy, M., Palmer, S. E., Peterson, M. A., Singh, M., & von der Heydt, R. (2012). A century of Gestalt psychology in visual perception : I. Perceptual grouping and figure–ground organization. Psychological bulletin, 138(6), 1172.
Yontef, G., & Simkin, J. (1993). Gestalt therapy: An introduction. Gestalt Journal Press.
Zimmer, M. R., & Golden, L. L. (1988). Impressions of retail stores: A content analysis of consume. Journal of retailing, 64(3), 265.
