DOCSLIB.ORG

Gestalt Therapy: Past, Present, Theory, and Research

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Gestalt Therapy: Past, Present, Theory, and Research Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training Copyright 2004 by the Educational Publishing Foundation 2004, Vol. 41, No. 2, 180–189 0033-3204/04/$12.00 DOI 10.1037/0033-3204.41.2.180 GESTALT THERAPY: PAST, PRESENT, THEORY, AND RESEARCH LAURA E. WAGNER-MOORE University of Massachusetts at Boston Orthodox gestalt therapy suffered a Classical Gestalt Theory and rather unfortunate fate; gestalt theory Perls’s Eccentricities has been poorly articulated, and gestalt Fritz Perls has been simultaneously praised for techniques have received minimal his creative exuberance and criticized for aspects of his style that simply defy the term scientifi- empirical validation. These weaknesses cally derived. The “Perlsian” form of gestalt are, in part, a consequence of F. therapy primarily embodies the history and per- Perls’s biographical history, which led sonality of Perls himself, rather than a scientific, to an integration of disparate structured, empirically derived or theoretically theoretical models that were consistent model of psychotherapy. Gestalt theory is an intellectually fascinating, philosoph- exacerbated by F. Perls’s haphazard, ically complex set of diverse but poorly articu- idiosyncratic personal style. However, lated and poorly substantiated beliefs. recent empirical research suggests that Conversely, it is interesting that the actual the 2-chair technique is superior to techniques used by gestalt therapists have been other therapeutic interventions for clearly delineated and have received some em- pirical validation for their effectiveness. This dis- conflict splits, decisional conflict, junction between theory and research makes the marital conflict, and unfinished study of gestalt theory and technique decidedly business and that the 2-chair technique Byzantine and perplexing. This review and cri- is as effective as Rogerian and tique presents the most coherent aspects of gestalt cognitive–behavioral therapies. therapy that are based on principles of Gestalt psychology and provides a review of recent em- Although F. Perls’s techniques may pirical work on gestalt techniques. have been generated largely from his Historical context dictated a nomadic life for idiosyncratic personality Perls, with moves from Berlin (where he was characteristics, these techniques have heavily influenced by psychoanalysis) to Johan- some validity for very specific nesburg in 1933, to New York in 1946, and later psychological dilemmas. to California. Geographic location seemed, in part, to influence Perls’s concepts and practice of psychotherapy, on the basis of his teacher “du jour.” As a result, Perls’s approach to gestalt Laura E. Wagner-Moore, Department of Psychology, Uni- theory and therapy was, at best, eclectic. He bor- versity of Massachusetts at Boston. rowed some ideas from his analysts, like Reich This article represents a modified paper written for a gradu- and Horney (Miller, 1974). As Miller (1974) ate school requirement at the University of Massachusetts at noted, Perls integrated Horney’s notion that “neu- Boston. Assistance was provided by Joan Liem, Ester Sha- rotic behavior is based on manipulation, designed piro, and Don Kalick, University of Massachusetts at Boston. Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to win love” (p. 5-24) and was attracted to “Sar- to Laura E. Wagner-Moore, PhD, who is now at the Center for trean” existentialism’s idea of individual respon- Child and Family Health, Duke University Medical Center, sibility and choice (Miller, 1974). In the wake of 3518 Westgate Drive, Suite 100, Durham, NC 27707. E-mail: the zeitgeist of World War II, which was so heav- [email protected] ily permeated by phenomenological and existen- 180 Gestalt Therapy tial thought, Perls rejected much of his analytic 1997). This process is best encapsulated in the training in favor of the new zeitgeist (Yontef & notion of figure–background gestalt formation Simkin, 1989). From Jan Smuts, the prime min- and destruction. Gestalt psychology suggests that ister of South Africa, Perls borrowed the idea of a mass of unstructured individual data in the en- holism. Ironically, he initially had minimal expo- vironment (i.e., parts) are subjectively structured sure to or understanding of Gestalt psychology by the perceiver into wholes that have both form itself and has been criticized for this on several and structure (Perls, Hefferline, & Goodman, accounts (Wheeler, 1991). Wheeler (1991) noted 1951). The person’s actual experience is deter- that Perls’s early work, titled Ego, Hunger and mined by the gestalt, rather than the raw pieces of Aggression, was simply revised and renamed The data. The way in which multiple data are shaped Beginnings of Gestalt Therapy (renamed at his is based on the individual’s needs, appetites, and wife’s suggestion) with little description of what impulses. Perls meant by Gestalt psychology or therapy. These concepts can be applied to the realm of Perls himself called the book “sketchy,” and psychological needs as well. In theory, a need Wheeler convincingly argued that Perls’s original arises and becomes foreground; if it is satisfied, it text is full of “vague philosophical musings and becomes background as the gestalt is completed. self-aggrandizement in the Freudian manner” Pathology arises when this process is disrupted. (Wheeler, 1991, p. 43). When gestalt formation is The fate of classical gestalt therapy is a sad blocked or rigidified at any stage, when needs are not recog- one, which finds itself without a clear set of bind- nized or expressed, the flexible harmony and flow of the ing theoretical principles and without a prolific organism/environment field is disturbed [and] unmet needs body of literature dedicated to the critical analy- form incomplete gestalten that clamor for attention . and sis and dialogue that could further its develop- interfere with the formation of new gestalten. (Yontef, 1969, ment. Miller, a practicing gestalt therapist and as cited in Simkin, 1976, pp. 223–234) student of Perls, argued that gestalt has “slipped A need may be blocked by an unclear sensation into a middle-aged decline” and is plagued by or a lack of awareness of one’s needs (Greenberg “a persistent intellectual thinness” (Miller, 1974, & Rice, 1997). Therapeutic work focuses on in- p. 21). Perls’s striking “anti-intellectual bias” creasing awareness to bring about change, so that (Miller, 1974) has been transmitted over time. the emerging need may be identified, satisfied, His famous “Lose your mind and come to your and enabled to retreat into the background senses” best embodies his preference for acquir- (Simkin, 1976). Awareness of one’s experience ing knowledge through experiencing and feeling and needs is considered the “royal road to the rather than through empirically validated or ra- cure” (Greenberg & Rice, 1997). tional, logical thought processes. Perls’s similar preference for the idiographic over the nomothet- Experience/Contact Cycle ic makes the systematic study of gestalt quite The processes underlying gestalt formation challenging. Despite these difficulties, neo- and destruction were obtusely described by Perls gestaltists have successfully described Perlsian as the experience/contact, or metabolism, cycle. notions of gestalt therapy linked to classical ge- The cycle consists of four main phases, including stalt psychological theory. The two concepts ex- awareness, excitement, action, and contact. In plained most completely involve (a) figure– gestalt theory, the term contact does not equate background gestalt formation and destruction and with the popular definition meaning closeness. (b) the contact/experience cycle, as they related Gestalt theory uses the word contact as an ab- to the etiology of psychopathology in gestalt stract, formal concept that refers to the exchange theory. between an individual person and the surround- ing environment (Miller, 1994). If the boundary Figure–Background Gestalt Formation between the self and the environment (or other) Perls, in keeping with other humanistic ap- becomes unclear or lost, then there is a distur- proaches, believed in the self-actualizing poten- bance of contact and awareness (Yontef & tial of the individual, which assumes that an or- Simkin, 1989). When the cycle is functioning ganism ultimately knows what is best for its self- smoothly, awareness of internal or external regulation and actualization (Greenberg & Rice, stimuli leads to excitement, which potentiates an 181 Wagner-Moore action tendency; the action tendency leads to ure, against a background, rather than focusing need satisfaction (optimally) and contact (Green- on the entire field. Second, the model is criticized berg & Rice, 1997). Dysfunction is considered for assuming cycle disturbances can always be the interruption of the cycle at any stage (Green- traced back to a problem in awareness itself. The berg & Rice, 1997), and resistances to contact model suggests that if an individual has aware- account for these disruptions. ness of a goal and attempts to act on that impulse Perls retained the traditional psychoanalytic but ultimately fails in that action, the failure is notion of defenses to explain additional disrup- due to misunderstanding the need or not empow- tions in the contact cycle including retroflection, ering the need from the very beginning. Wheeler introjection, projection, and deflection. For in- (1991) has noted that failing to meet a goal may stance, a break in the cycle between excitement not solely be attributed to a
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy: the Case of Stan and Lecturettes
    chapter 8 Gestalt Therapy introduction t 5IF3PMFPG$POGSPOUBUJPO key concepts t (FTUBMU5IFSBQZ*OUFSWFOUJPOT t "QQMJDBUJPOUP(SPVQ$PVOTFMJOH t 7JFXPG)VNBO/BUVSF gestalt therapy from a t 4PNF1SJODJQMFTPG(FTUBMU5IFSBQZ5IFPSZ multicultural perspective t 5IF/PX t 6OmOJTIFE#VTJOFTT t 4USFOHUIT'SPNB%JWFSTJUZ1FSTQFDUJWF t $POUBDUBOE3FTJTUBODFTUP $POUBDU t 4IPSUDPNJOHT'SPNB%JWFSTJUZ1FSTQFDUJWF t &OFSHZ BOE#MPDLTUP&OFSHZ gestalt therapy applied the therapeutic process to the case of stan t 5IFSBQFVUJD(PBMT summary and evaluation t 5IFSBQJTUT'VODUJPOBOE3PMF t 4VNNBSZ t $MJFOUT&YQFSJFODFJO5IFSBQZ t $POUSJCVUJPOTPG(FTUBMU5IFSBQZ t 3FMBUJPOTIJQ#FUXFFO5IFSBQJTUBOE$MJFOU5IFS t -JNJUBUJPOTBOE$SJUJDJTNTPG(FTUBMU5IFSBQZ application: therapeutictherape where to go from here techniques and proceduresproc t 3FDPNNFOEFE4VQQMFNFOUBSZ3FBEJOHT tt 5IF&YQFSJNFOUJO(FTUBMU5IFSBQZ5 IF &YQFSJNFO t 3FGFSFODFTBOE4VHHFTUFE3FBEJOHT tt 1SFQBSJO1SFQBSJOH$MJFOUTGPS(FTUBMU&YQFSJNFOUT$MJFOUT GPS (FTUBMU &Y 210 Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Fritz Perls / LAURA PERLS FREDERICK S. (“FRITZ”) PERLS, MD, PhD Perls and several of his colleagues established (1893–1970), was the main originator and devel- the New York Institute for Gestalt Therapy in 1952. oper of Gestalt therapy. Born in Berlin, Germany, Eventually Fritz left New York and settled in Big into a lower-middle-class Jewish family, he later Sur, California, where he conducted workshops and identified himself as a source of much trouble for seminars at the Esalen Institute, carving out his his parents.
    [Show full text]
  • The Historical Roots of Gestalt Therapy Theory
    The Historical Roots of Gestalt Therapy Theory Rosemarie Wulf The theory of Gestalt therapy is itself a new Gestalt, though it does not contain many new thoughts. What its founders, Fritz and Laura Perls and Paul Goodman, did was to weave a new synthesis out of existing concepts. The background of this new Gestalt is composed of concepts and elements from different bodies of knowledge and disciplines. I would like to give you an idea of the cultural and historical situation that is the Zeitgeist (the spirit of the time) that prevailed during the lifetimes of the founders of Gestalt therapy. What kind of theories and traditions did Fritz and Laura come into contact with? Where did they find ideas that were in line with their own, what other ideas did they reject in their search for answers to the fundamental questions that are either implicitly or explicitly contained in every theory of psychotherapy? What is a human being? How does he or she function? Why do we exist? Is there a reason to exist? How should we behave toward each other? How does psychological illness develop? Firstly the background: the wider field, an overview of the Zeitgeist. In the second part, I will present the various contacts Fritz and Laura Perls had with specific persons and their ideas or theoretical models. The beginning of the 20th century was characterized by an explosive development of science and technology. The era of automation and cybernetics had begun. The rise of nuclear and quantum physics led to radical revolutionary change. Biology, chemistry and medicine also began to make rapid progress.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards a More Deeply Embodied Approach in Gestalt Therapy 1
    Studies in Gestalt Therapy 2(2), 43-56 James I. Kepner Towards a More Deeply Embodied Approach in Gestalt Therapy 1 This article critiques and assesses the development of body-oriented work in gestalt therapy. Strengths of the gestalt therapy approach are highlighted as work with the "actual," and holding an integral viewpoint. The author criti­ ques limitations in the field involving a narrow epistemology of the founding perspective, the inadequacy of awareness alone for psychophysical change, the inclusion of structural concepts, and the need for physical methodology including touch and movement and other somatic methods. A brief model is offered for appreciating the multi-level complexity of a more fully embodied approach. Key words: Body-oriented work, gestalt therapy, epistemology, gestalt therapy training, non-dualistic approach, self, organism/ environment field, figure/ ground, structured ground, awareness, patterns and organization, developmental theory. Borfy Process: A Gestalt Approach to Working With the Borfy in P.rychotherapy (Kepner, 1987) was published 21 years ago. The book was my attempt to articulate a fuller body-oriented psychotherapy from the gestalt therapy ap­ proach. Gestalt therapy certainly had interest in body process and experience but, up to that time, the actual methodology for body-oriented practice was very limited. I found the ways in which gestalt therapists utilized more inten­ sive body therapeutic techniques to be a kind of grafting of often incompati­ ble methods or approaches onto gestalt therapy technique. This often re­ sulted in an unintegrated hodge-podge. As a "Young Turk" at the brash age of 34, I also had the motivation to "correct" my elders and teachers in the gestalt therapy world who, I thought, did not go far enough in working with the body.
    [Show full text]
  • Introspecting in the Twentieth Century Maja Spener (University of Birmingham)
    Introspecting in the Twentieth Century Maja Spener (University of Birmingham) Forthcoming in Philosophy of Mind in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries, A. Kind (ed.), Routledge. This version of the paper is only a draft. For quotation please consult the published version. Introspection in the 20th century is a vast topic. Discussions involving introspection figured in the relatively new discipline of experimental psychology, as well as in various debates in philosophy of mind and epistemology. Introspection has been a focus of interest as a method of investigation and as a psychological and epistemic capacity itself. Over the course of the century, these theoretical interests did not always connect well, although they have intersected and influenced each other at different points. But there is no helpful sense in which one might talk of ‘the history’ of introspection in the 20th century if by that one means a straight line of development across ten or so decades of psychological and philosophical theorizing with, and about, introspection. Instead, there is a criss-crossing pattern of various storylines and what I shall do here is track a couple of different strands in the overall pattern to the exclusion of many others.1 In particular, I shall concentrate on philosophers’ and psychologists’ use of introspection, and the discussions surrounding such use. A story we are often told is that during the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, experimental psychology was synonymous with introspectionism, exemplified by the work of Wilhelm Wundt and E. B. Titchener. According to the story, these early psychologists took the subject-matter of psychology to be conscious states only and their main method of investigation was introspection.
    [Show full text]
  • Benefits, Limitations, and Potential Harm in Psychodrama
    Benefits, Limitations, and Potential Harm in Psychodrama (Training) © Copyright 2005, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2016 Rob Pramann, PhD, ABPP (Group Psychology) CCCU Training in Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy This article began in 2005 in response to a new question posed by the Utah chapter of NASW on their application for CEU endorsement. “If any speaker or session is presenting a fairly new, non-traditional or alternative approach, please describe the limitations, risks and/or benefits of the methods taught.” After documenting how Psychodrama is not a fairly new, non-traditional or alternative approach I wrote the following. I have made minor updates to it several times since. As a result of the encouragement, endorsement, and submission of it by a colleague it is listed in the online bibliography of psychodrama http://pdbib.org/. It is relevant to my approach to the education/training/supervision of Group Psychologists and the delivery of Group Psychology services. It is not a surprise that questions would be raised about the benefits, limitations, and potential harm of Psychodrama. J.L. Moreno (1989 – 1974) first conducted a psychodramatic session on April 1, 1921. It was but the next step in the evolution of his philosophical and theological interests. His approach continued to evolve during his lifetime. To him, creativity and (responsible) spontaneity were central. He never wrote a systematic overview of his approach and often mixed autobiographical and poetic material in with his discussion of his approach. He was a colorful figure and not afraid of controversy (Blatner, 2000). He was a prolific writer and seminal thinker.
    [Show full text]
  • WHAT IS GESTALT THERAPY Violet Oaklander, Ph.D
    WHAT IS GESTALT THERAPY Violet Oaklander, Ph.D. Basically, Gestalt therapy is a process-oriented mode of therapy that focuses attention on the healthy, integrated functioning of the total organism comprised of the senses, the body, the emotions and the intellect. It was originally developed by Frederick (Fritz) and Laura Perls in the 1940’s and has at its base principles from psychoanalytic theory, Gestalt psychology, various humanistic theories, as well as aspects of phenomenology, existentialism and Reichian body therapy. From these sources, and others, a large body of theoretical concepts and principles have evolved underlying the practice of Gestalt therapy. A major focus is to help clients become aware of what they are doing, how they are doing it, and how they can change themselves, and at the same time, to learn to accept and value themselves. It focuses more on process than content ( though content may be used as examples of one’s process.) What is directly perceived, felt and experienced is considered more relevant than explanations and interpretations. A famous misconception is that Gestalt therapy is the empty chair technique. It is not uncommon to hear someone say, “I use Gestalt therapy all the time,” referring to this technique. It would seem ludicrous to think that I, for example, trained to be a Gestalt therapist for more than three years at the Los Angeles Gestalt Therapy Institute to learn this technique and nothing else. Moreover, there exist at this time scores of books and articles discussing the principles and concepts of Gestalt therapy. Because of the extensive, comprehensive nature of this therapy, a short summary as this could not describe the basic concepts involved.
    [Show full text]
  • Gestalt Therapy Allen Richard Barlow University of Wollongong
    University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 1983 The derivation of a psychological theory: Gestalt therapy Allen Richard Barlow University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Barlow, Allen Richard, The derivation of a psychological theory: Gestalt therapy, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Department of Psychology, University of Wollongong, 1983. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/1685 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] THE DERIVATION OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY : GESTALT THERAPY A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of » DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY from THE UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG by ALLEN RICHARD BARLOW, B.A. (Hons.l) DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY (1983) -i- TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables xiv Acknowledgements xv xvi Abstract xvii CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1.1 The aim of this dissertation 1 1.2 Principles of Gestalt therapy 7 CHAPTER 2: Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis 2.1 Biography 12 2.2 Difficulties in comparing Freud's and Perls' works 13 2. 3 Freud ' s influence on Perls 16 2.4 Structure of the personality 20 2.4.1 Relationship between the three subsystems 22 2.5 Conscious/unconscious 24 2.6 Instincts 28 2. 7 Defence mechanism; 30 2.7.1 Regression 31 2.7.2 Repression 32 2.7.3 Reaction-formation 33 2.7.4 Introj ection 34 2.7.5 Proj ection , 35 2.7.6 Turning against the self (retroflection) 36 2.7.7 Rationalization 37 2.7.8 Denial 37 2.7.9 Identification 38 2.
    [Show full text]
  • GESTALT THEORY an International Multidisciplinary Journal Journal of the Society for Gestalt Theory and Its Applications (GTA)
    GESTALT THEORY An International Multidisciplinary Journal Journal of the Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA) Volume 43 • Number 1 • March 2021 Editorial Gerhard Stemberger Psychotherapy: The Challenge and Power of Consistency This issue of Gestalt Theory presents coherently compiled some essential basic concepts of Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy for the first time in English and thus beyond the German-speaking circle1. A side effect of such a systematic pre- sentation might be that it also helps to avoid the frequent confusion with Gestalt therapy, which has a similar sounding name, but most of its forms differ substan- tially in its basic concepts. A brief history of Gestalt theoretical psychotherapy is given at the end of this introductory article. In view of the elementary role of cognitive processes for human experience and behavior, the first paper in this issue highlights the epistemological orientation of Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy, which underlies all sub-concepts of the meth- od from personality theory to praxeology: “Critical Realism: The Epistemic Posi- tion of Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy,” by Katharina Sternek. The second contribution of Bernadette Lindorfer’ deals with a core component of personality theory in Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy: “Personality Theory in Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy: Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory and his Theory of Systems in Tension Revisited”. This contribution is complemented by a critical synopsis of the views on ego and self in Gestalt theory and their heuristic poten- tial for psychotherapy: “Ego and Self in Gestalt theory” (G. Stemberger). 1 Up to now, there have only been scattered publications on individual aspects from the field of Gestalt The- oretical Psychotherapy in English: H.-.J.
    [Show full text]
  • GESTALT Play Therapy
    GESTALT Play Therapy | FELICIA CARROLL, LMFT, RPT-S & VALENTE OROZCO, LCSW, PPS, RPT-S n the 1970s, Violet Oaklander, PhD, was a classroom teacher Organismic Regulation of emotionally disturbed children while she trained to Humans are organisms that strive for life and connection. The become a Gestalt therapist. She used creative modalities organism, using the functions of contact (e.g., senses, movement, Iwith her students, including clay, puppets, sand tray, drawing, to emotion, and problem solving), directs its awareness towards support greater awareness and integration. One of many originators identifying a need/want. With adequate self-support and of Gestalt Therapy, Frederick Perls, MD (1975), wrote, “The criterion environmental support, the need/want can be satisfied within given of a successful treatment is the achievement of that amount of conditions. Yet, the child can interrupt this natural process to adapt integration that leads to its own development” (pp. 52-53). In healthy to the demands of socialization, which can result in symptoms. growth and development, the child’s behavior is purposeful, balanced, The therapist attends to the child’s adaptations of somatic states, flowing from one experience to another. That is, it is integrated. emotional expression, and problem-solving skills. She provides support for him to re-experience his process of organismic regulation. Oaklander, like many child therapists before her, applied theoretical As the therapy progresses, the child becomes more integrated with a and clinical concepts to the endeavor of therapy with children (Carroll, greater sense of well-being and aliveness (Oaklander, 1978, 2006). 2009a). In her book, Windows to our Children: A Gestalt Therapy Approach to Children and Adolescents, Oaklander (1978) presented Dialogic Process the Gestalt approach to therapy with children and has inspired child Gestalt play therapy is a mutually engaging relationship.
    [Show full text]
  • Fundamentals of the Gestalt Approach to Counselling
    2 Fundamentals of the Gestalt Approach to Counselling The therapeutic relationship Gestalt practitioners affirm the primary values of the living existential encounter between two real human beings, both of whom are risking themselves in the dialogue of the healing process. The central focus is the moment-by-moment process of the relationship between the client and the counsellor. In this encounter, the goal is a full and complete authen- tic meeting between these two people. (Naturally such a meeting may include each experiencing existential separation and essential aloneness.) The development of the capacity for genuine relationship forms the core of the healing process and has been described by Hycner (1985) as a rela- tionship basically characterised by dialogue – a dialogic relationship. As they work through the many stage-posts of their journey, the client gains emotional resources, security and freedom, and the counsellor comes to be seen more and more as a ‘real’ person. No longer is the counsellor experienced merely as a projective substitute for figures from the past, and no longer are past patterns habitually used in the present. Laura Perls has mentioned ‘that she was profoundly influenced by a personal meeting with Martin Buber, and that the true essence of Gestalt therapy was the relationship formed between therapist and client’ (Hycner, 1985: 27). Buber described this ‘I–Thou’ (‘Ich und Du’ in German) relationship as a genuine meeting between two unique people in which both openly respect the essential humanity of the other. Buber (1958/1984) 02-Clarkson with Cavicchia_Ch-02.indd 19 9/18/2013 11:58:42 AM 20 Gestalt Counselling in Action writes that there are two primary human attitudes, the ‘I–Thou’ relation- ship and the ‘I–It’ relationship.
    [Show full text]
  • AP Psychology Crib Notes People: Wundt
    A.P. Psychology Crib Notes People: Wundt- "Father of Psychology": Introspection Wertheimer- Gestalt Psychology Titchner- Structuralism James- Functionalism Watson- Behaviorism; "Little Albert Study" Freud- Psychoanalytic; dream analysis; free association; structure of personality; stages of development; defense mechanisms Milgram- Obedience; Ethics Broca- left frontal lobe: associated with expressive language Wernike- left frontal lobe: receptive language Pavlov- Classical conditioning: dogs Thorndike- Instrumental learning: cats; law of effect Skinner- Operant conditioning: rats and pigeons; Behaviorist Tolman- Latent learning; cognitive maps Bandura- Observational learning: Bobo Dolls, Social-Cognitive Theory Ebbinghaus- Forgetting: Decay Model Chornsky- (Native Theorist) Inherent Existence of sets of cognitive structures Whorf- Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis Washoe, Sara and Koko- Ape language studies Jung- Collective unconscious; archetypes; Psychoanalytic Horney- Basic childhood anxiety; Psychoanalytic Erickson- Life crisis; psycho-social development; Psychoanalytic Adler- Inferiority Complex; Psychoanalytic Piaget- Stages of Cognitive Development; Cognitive theorist Rogers- Client-centered; unconditional positive regard; transactional Analysis Albert Ellis- Rational Emotive Therapy; Cognitive Theorist Abraham Maslow- Hierarchy of Needs; Humanistic Sheldon- Somatotyping: endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph Binet- I.Q. Eysenck- Biological model of Personality; Trait-type hierarchy Harlow- Monkey Studies; Attachment Lorenz- "Survival
    [Show full text]
  • Gestalt Relations and Object Perception: a Developmental Study
    Perception, 1993. volume 22, pages 1483-1501 Gestalt relations and object perception: a developmental study Elizabeth S Spelke, Karen Breinlinger, Kristen Jacobson, Ann Phillips Department of Psychology, Cornell University,Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY14853, USA Received 14 January 1993, in revised form 22 May 1993 Abstract. We in\"estigated whether adults and infants aged 3, 5, and 9 months perceive the unity and boundaries of visible objects in accord with the Gestalt relations of color and texture similarity, good continuation, or good form. Adults and infants were presented with simple but unfamiliar displays in which all three Gestalt relations specified either one object or two objects-perception of the objects was assessed by a verbal rating method in the adults and by a preferential looking method in the infants. The Gestalt relations appeared to influence the adults' perceptions strongly. However, the relations appeared to have no effect on the percep- tions of 3-month-old infants and weak effects on the perceptions of 5-month-old and 9-month-old infants. The findings support the suggestion that developmental changes in object perception occur slowly. These changes, and the organizational phenomena to which Gestalt psychology called attention. may depend in part on the child's developing ability to recognize objects of particular kinds. 1 Introduction 1.1 Gestalt relations and object perception in infancy Research on object perception suggests a notable difference between the perceptions of young infants and those of older children and adults. Adults perceive the unity and boundaries of objects, in part, by analyzing the colors, textures, and shapes of surfaces so as to form units that are maximally simple and homogeneous (eg Koffka 1935; Wertheimer 1923/1958).
    [Show full text]