The Theories Of Gestalt Psychology

In “How We Listen To Music” Aaron Copeland describes the three components to which we all listen to music. We listen to music in a sensuous way, a expressive way, and a musical way. We listen to music with a combination of all these components, but don’t even realize we listen with these components. Splitting up these components shows us a view that we've never seen of the ways that we listen to music without knowing. Everyone who listens to music listens to a different combination of these components. I have my own mixture of components when I listen to music depending on when I am listening to music.

According to Laurence O’Donnell, “Music is thought to link all of the emotional, spiritual, and physical elements of the universe.” This proves that music is more than a simple class teaching random notes. It is a common denominator

According to (Pastorino, E. & Doyle-Portillo, 2012), psychology is defined as “the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.” (pg. 3). Scientific study is done by using the scientific method. The Scientific method is defined as “a systematic process used by psychologists for testing hypotheses about behavior.” Behavior is the way a person responses to an experience. This can be a physical or an emotional response. The mental processes of people are studied by psychologists to try and understand the mental reasoning behind the behavior of a person does after an experience.

The school of thought is what Gestalt psychology theory is about. Gestalt believes that all things and scenes are observed in the simplest forms. Also known as the 'Law of Simplicity,' the meaning behind the theory is that the whole of an object or scene is more important than its individual parts. When you observe everything as a whole it allows us to us find order in disorder and unity among outwardly unrelated parts and pieces of information (Cherry, 2015).  Gestalt theories have implications for education focusing more meaningful learning and true understanding of principles, over the traditional structured approaches

Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behaviour, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective which is someone’s view about human behaviour, there can be many different theories within an approach, however they all piece together the same assumptions. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behaviour. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to achieve through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis of each perspective which consists of the psychodynamic,

Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behavior, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective (view) about human behavior, there may be several different theories within an approach, but they all share these common assumptions and principles. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behavior. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to do through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis for each perspective which consist of the psychodynamic, humanist, cognitive and behavioral approaches where I will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each approach separately.

Culture and experience establish some of one's tonal sensitivities also. Hence, somebody like Sacks may perceive the diatonic scale more “natural” and more orienting than the twenty-two-note scales of Hindu music. Yet, there does not appear to be any intrinsic neurological inclination for specific sorts of music, any more than there are for particular languages. The main imperative components of music are discrete tones and rhythmic organization.

Gestalt therapy, which was founded by Fritz and Laura Perls in the 1940s, teaches the therapists and their clients the phenomenological awareness method, where feeling, perceiving and acting are differentiated from interpreting and rearranging the pre-existing attitudes. Gestalt therapists and clients’ dialogue, thus communicating their phenomenological perspectives, and their differences in perceptions form the basis and focus of experimentation and continued dialogue. The desired outcome of the therapy process is for the client to become aware of their actions, how they are acting, and the ways they can change their actions and learn to accept and appreciate themselves. Here, the emphasis is mainly on the process rather

Author, Kevin Carley, discusses the evolution of the human brain and how the history affects the unconscious use of our brain when one makes decisions. This article emphasizes on Gestalts principals of awareness, senses, and the technique in which the human brain aligns with these principals. Correspondingly, Carley, expresses the links between Gestalts principals, evolutionary biology, and cultural psychology (Carley, 2014, p. 80).

When a person hears music, the impression is experienced first in the astral body. Then, the tones are consciously sent to the etheric body, and man overcomes the tones already there. This is the basis both of the pleasure of listening to music and of musical creativity.

In the article, “Music, the food of neuroscience?” Robert Zattore, a cognitive neuroscientist, suggested that we should consider music, art, and culture in a biological perspective (312). There is a well-known quote by Friedrich Nietzsche that speaks out to many people and states, “Without music, life would be a mistake”. This article by Zattore makes a reader consider if music has a bigger meaning in our lives than we think. The author argues that we can learn about neuroscience through music as these musical products of human cognition may give us valuable scientific insights. Furthermore, the author supported this claim by explaining how we know little about neuroscience of music research, the relationship between speech and music, and

The gestaltists argued that understanding mind and behavior could not be achieved by trying to dissect conscious experience into its sensory elements, or by reducing complex behavior to elementary stimulus-response units. Rather, their emphasis was on phenomenologically whole experiences, and before long their movement came to be identified with this catch phrase: The whole of an experience is greater than the sum of its individual parts.

I chose Gestalt Psychology for my first perspective, it is how people experience objects and perceive things as a whole. Gestalt allows us to look at everyday objects and distinguish them from their surroundings. Without the Gestalt Theory people would see every atom that made up a whole object. As I look at my computer screen, I do not see every little atom, I see the screen as a whole. From this perspective, learning objects as a whole instead of each individual part is beneficial because it allows us to open our minds for new learning experiences. However, there may be things in life that do not provide enough visual clues to determine what it is supposed to be.

Gestalt therapy is a type of therapy used to deepen our awareness of ourselves. According to O’Connor and Braverman, (2009) “Gestalt" implies wholeness. Gestalt can also be considered as the essence, or shape of a complete form. A theoretical opposite of structuralism, the entity constitutes more than the sum of its parts. Gestalt therapy is comprised of a complex psychological system that stresses the development of client self-awareness and personal responsibility through a process-oriented, experiential and phenomenological modality that addresses the totality of an individual in terms of senses, body, emotions and intellect.” In an active process, suppressed feelings can be explored in depth and through understanding of the how

The Gestalt psychology movement was fascinating within the time frame in which it started to develop. While other psychological movements strived to boil down psychology in almost simplistic, scientific terms, Gestalt psychology embraced complexities within the consciousness. Gestalt psychologists argued “that when we look out a window we really see trees and sky, not individual sensory elements such as brightness and hue” (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). There is more to what we experience and see that just the simple elements that make these things and experiences up.