Deck 10: Gestalt Theory

Question 1

The Gestalt movement was launched when Wertheimer discovered:

A)the writings of Watson
B)Koffka and Kohler
C)the phi phenomenon
D)that perceptual phenomena can be reduced to simple elements

Answer 1

the phi phenomenon

Question 2

Gestalt is a German word meaning:

A)configuration
B)field
C)feeling
D)experience

Answer 2

configuration

Question 3

For Gestalt psychologists, the proper object of study for psychology is:

A)overt behavior
B)habits
C)unconscious experience
D)phenomenological experience

Answer 3

phenomenological experience

Question 4

"Psychological organization will always be as good as the controlling circumstances allow" is a description of:

A)the law of perceptual simplicity
B)the law of Prägnanz
C)the principle of constancies
D)isomorphism

Question 5

If a figure that has a gap in its boundary is presented briefly, the subject tends to perceive the figure with a closed boundary.This exemplifies the:

A)law of transposition
B)principle of closure
C)principle of proximity
D)law of simplicity

Question 6

Gestalt psychologists believed that:

A)for every perception there is a corresponding physiological activity in the brain isomorphic to that perception
B)the brain was a passive receiver and relayer of sensations
C)the "powers of the mind" are empirically determined
D)all of the above

Question 7

The fact that we do not experience loss of vision in our "blind spots" may exemplify:

A)Prägnanz
B)isomorphism
C)phenomenology
D)the phi phenomenon

Question 8

According to Koffka, all of the inhabitants of a particular city can claim that they all live in the same city only in the sense.

A)geographical
B)behavioral
C)subjective
D)psychological

Question 9

Spence's explanation of transposition became more popular than the Gestalt explanation because:

A)it was behavioristic and behaviorism was very popular at the time
B)it accurately predicted the failure of transposition to occur as well as its occurrence
C)it was less complicated, i.e., more parsimonious
D)all of the above

Question 10

According to Wertheimer, which of the following underlies effective problem solving?

A)rote memorization
B)logic
C)behavioristic principles
D)none of the above

Question 11

Learning according to the Gestalt point of view:

A)depends on a good, Gestalt-trained teacher
B)depends on active thinking by the learner
C)is controlled by environmental contingencies
D)requires both drive induction and reduction

Question 12

According to Wertheimer, the best solution to a problem involves seeing the involved in the problem.

A)elements
B)logic
C)principles
D)associations

Question 13

Which kind of reinforcement did Wertheimer emphasize?

A)extrinsic
B)intrinsic
C)primary
D)secondary

Question 14

According to the Gestalt theorists, which of the following is most influential in determining what is remembered from an experience?

A)the experience itself
B)the process triggered by the experience
C)the trace system developed from numerous similar experiences
D)the memory trace of the experience

Question 15

Which of the following constitutes the Gestaltist's explanation as to why we experience a partial circle as a complete circle?

A)our experience is dominated by the trace system of "circleness"
B)unique events are remembered in terms of something familiar
C)the process set up by the incomplete circle dominates the trace system related to circles
D)we do not have a verbal label for incomplete circles so we simply call them "circles"

Question 16

According to Gestalt theorists, the importance of the phi phenomenon was that it:

A)had never been experienced before
B)showed that the whole was equal to the sum of its parts
C)was different from the elements that caused it
D)showed that the experience of motion could be reduced to the experience of individual stimuli

Question 17

According to the Gestaltists, the melody emanating from an orchestra has a(n) which is something different from the various notes being played by the various musicians.

A)Gestalt
B)pleasantness
C)isomorphism
D)transposition

Question 18

The Gestalt psychologists maintained that both the structuralists and the behaviorists made the same basic error in using a(n) approach.

A)holistic
B)elementistic
C)nativistic
D)phenomenological

Question 19

According to Lewin, the total number of "psychological facts" influencing a person at any given moment constitutes that person's:

A)habit family hierarchy
B)trace system
C)operant level
D)life space

Question 20

The law of Prägnanz suggests:

A)a tendency toward cognitive completeness and simplicity
B)the formation of learning sets
C)a tendency toward disorganization
D)an increase in isomorphism

Question 21

Gestalt psychologists insist that the laws of organization apply:

A)only to perception
B)only to learning
C)only to insightful learning
D)equally to perception, learning, and memory

Question 22

Which of the following describes epiphenomenalism?

A)the body influences the mind and the mind influences the body
B)the contents of the mind vary as a function of sensory experience
C)the activities of the brain correspond dynamically to the content of thought
D)consciousness occurs independent of sensory experience

Question 23

The Charles Bonnet syndrome is a condition in which elderly patients

A)do not experience closure
B)experience whole hallucinations in blinded areas of the visual field
C)no longer see Gestalten
D)have scotomas

Question 24

According to the Gestaltists, what provides the learner with the motivation to solve a problem?

A)the orienting reflex
B)cognitive disequilibrium
C)an innate curiosity drive
D)epistemological hunger

Question 25

The Zeigarnik effect is the tendency:

A)to remember incompleted tasks longer than completed ones
B)to remember completed tasks longer than incompleted ones
C)for the whole to be more than the sum of its parts
D)for distortion to result from dissection

Question 26

Which of the following does not characterize insightful learning?

A)the transition from presolution to solution is sudden and complete
B)it is easily applied to other problems
C)it is usually preceded by thinking, i.e., cognitive hypothesis testing
D)it is an incremental process

Question 27

According to Gestalt theory, learning is:

A)incremental
B)due mainly to the rewarding of overt responses
C)insightful
D)all of the above

Question 28

Spence's explanation of transposition relied heavily on which of the following concepts?

A)insightful learning
B)the Law of Prägnanz
C)generalization
D)cognitive disequilibrium

Question 29

Which of the following best describes what Wertheimer felt characterizes a true solution to a problem?

A)understanding
B)a correct response
C)knowing the elements making up a problem
D)the absence of emotional involvement

Question 30

The Gestaltists linked the past with the present through their concept of:

A)insight
B)transposition
C)perceptual constancies
D)memory trace