Theories of Learning (Gestalt Theory) – Flashcards
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Who is founder of Gestalt psychology?
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Max Wertheimer
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What is Phi phenomenon?
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Although psychological experiences result from sensory elements, they are different from the elements themselves, the experience is different from the parts that make it up
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The organism adds organization that is what?
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not contained in the raw sensory data
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Structuralists:
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Interested in studying the mental analogue to sensation
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Functionalists:
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Concerned with how human behavior or thought processes were related to survival
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Behaviorists:
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Attempted to make psychology completely scientific and relied on measurement and only things that could be measured were actually measured
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Gestalt psychologists:
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Believed that experiences should be investigated as whole, meaningful experiences
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What is phenomenology?
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Study of meaningful, intact mental events without dividing them
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What is Molar behavior?
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a large segment of behavior that is goal directed and purposive
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What is Molecular behavior?
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a small segment of behavior (reflex) isolated for analysis
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Gestalt psychology can be thought of as an attempt to apply what?
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field theory from physics to the problems of psychology
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What does the term Field mean?
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dynamic interrelated system, any part of which influences every other part (nothing exists in isolation)
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Psychologists believe that whatever happens to a person influences what?
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everything else about that person
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What did Lewin believe?
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Human behavior at any given time is determined by the total number of psychological facts being experienced at that time
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What are Human facts?
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anything a person is conscious of (hungry, memories, physical location)
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What is Life space?
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the sum of all of these psychological facts, some exert a positive influence on behavior while others exert a negative influence
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Only things consciously experienced can influence behavior, and what else?
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a change in any fact can can rearrange a person's life space
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Behaviorists belief towards Nature v Nurture?
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Viewed the brain as the receiver of sensations that produce responses and human nature is determined by what we experience
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Gestaltists belief toward Nature v Nurture?
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Assigned a more active role to the brain
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Gestaltist believes the brain acts on incoming sensory information to make information more what?
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meaningful and organized (nature of the brain)
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Gestaltist believes what we experience consciously is sensory information after what?
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it has been acted on by force fields in the brain
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Gestaltist believes active brain transforms what?
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sensory information
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What is the Law of Pragnanz?
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Psychological organization will always be as good as the controlling circumstances allow
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The Law of Pragnanz states there is a tendency for every psychological event to be what?
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meaningful, complete, and simple
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What is the Principle of closure?
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We have a tendency to complete incomplete experiences
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What is the Mind-Body problem?
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How can something purely physical cause something purely mental? & How does the external world or patterns of neural activity translate into conscious experience?
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Behaviorists outtake on Mind-body problem:
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Solved the mind-body problem by ignoring it
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Voluntarists outtake on Mind-body problem:
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The mind could willfully arrange the elements of thought into any number of configurations, behavior was instigated by the resultant configurations
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Structuralists outtake on Mind-body problem:
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Body sensations passively give rise to mental images, vary as a function of sensory experiences, and have no causal relationship to behavior
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Based on the Structuralist view, what does Epiphenomenalism mean?
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belief that contents of the mind vary passively as a function of sensory experience
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Gestaltists outtake on Mind-body problem:
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The brain actively transforms sensory stimulation
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Based on the Gestaltists view, what does Isomorphism mean?
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belief that external stimulation causes reactions in the brain, and we experience these reactions as they occur in the brain
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When an organism is confronted with a problem, a state of cognitive disequilibrium is what?
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created and continues until the problem is solved
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Cognitive disequilibrium has motivational properties that cause the organism to what?
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attempt to regain the balance in its mental system
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What is the The presolution period?
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Trial and error learning (cognitive style) runs through a number of hypotheses concerning an effective way to solve a problem
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During the presolution period, the organism runs through these hypotheses until they reach one that will work, and what else?
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then acts on it behaviorally
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During the presolution period, when the correct strategy is discovered, what occurred?
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insight is said to have occurred
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Insightful Learning has _ characteristics.
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4
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The transition from presolution to solution is what?
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sudden and complete
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Performance based on a solution gained by insight is what?
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smooth and free of errors
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A solution to a problem gained by insight is what?
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retained for a considerable length of time
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A principle gained by insight is easily what?
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applied to other problems
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Insight is also believed to be followed by positive affect, a feeling of satisfaction that accompanies an insightful solution, and a sense of certainty or confidence about the solution, this occurs when?
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occurs before the solution is tested or evaluated
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What is Transposition?
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When a principle learned in one problem solving situation is applied to the solution of another problem
