Gestalt Psychology

Gestalt Psychology is a school of Psychology developed by Kurt Koffka, Max Wertheimer, and Wolfgang Kohler in the early 20th century. (The other schools of Psychology were Behaviorism and Psychoanalysis.) The name was derived from the German word "gestalt," which means "form" and "configuration."

Gestalt Psychology states that perception is the relationship of the parts of sensory stimuli. It was careful to note that sensory stimuli or its parts themselves do not produce perception; rather, it was the relationship of the parts that lead to perception. That is why Gestalt Psychology was famously known for its dictum: "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Research on Gestalt Psychology naturally gravitated towards identifying the principles that govern the relationship between sensory stimuli. These gestalt principles were found to be automatic and subconscious, characteristics that further enriched the subject of mental processes. As such, research on gestalt principles spearheaded the development of the cognitive perspective in Psychology. Gestalt principles were further applied in the study of social relationships, a precursor to the development of the social perspective in Psychology.