Gestalt theory: A revolution put on pause? Prospects for a paradigm shift in the psychological sciences

Mungan, Esra

doi:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2023.101036

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…One possible explanation could be the Gestalt psychology principle, famously summarized by the Gestalt psychologist Koffka (1935): “The whole is other than the sum of the parts” (p. 176). Although originating from the field of perception research, the ideas put forth by Gestalt theory with regard to how people perceive, process, and organize information have been applied to many other fields, including problem solving and the cognitive sciences (for a recent review, see Mungan, 2023). As shown throughout this article, difference scores do in some sense contain other information than their parts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deconstructing the gender-equality paradox.

Ilmarinen,

Lönnqvist

2024

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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Studies advancing the hypothesis of a "gender-equality paradox" have found that societies with more gender equality demonstrate larger gender differences across a range of phenomena. In doing so, they rely on that practice of predicting an algebraic difference score-calculated from mean scores for men and women across a set of countries-with an index of gender equality or some related concept. We argue that direct difference score predictions of this type are impossible to interpret because very different combinations of constituents-mean scores of men and women and properties of these means-can produce identical direct difference score predictions. We reanalyzed three large cross-cultural data sets with 15 variables from three different domains-attitudes toward science and technology, economic preferences, and personality traitsto showcase our method of deconstructing difference score predictions and to investigate to what extent the rhetoric of the gender-equality paradox describes a real phenomenon. The results were highly heterogeneous. For some characteristics, men's and women's country-level means varied identically as a function of country-level gender equality (no paradox). For other characteristics, there were differences in how men's and women's means varied. Whether these differences could be described in the rhetoric of the paradox varied. More pertinent is the necessity of deconstructing difference score predictions into their constituent components before attempting to answer questions regarding a paradox. It is in the terminology of these components and their properties that future hypotheses should be tested.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deconstructing the gender-equality paradox.

Ilmarinen,

Lönnqvist

2024

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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“…"the whole is other than the sum of the parts" (p. 176). Although originating from the field of perception research, the ideas put forth by Gestalt theory with regards to how people perceive, process and organize information have been applied to many other fields, including problem-solving and the cognitive sciences (for a recent review, see Mungan, 2023). As shown throughout this paper, difference scores do in some sense contain other information than their parts.…”

Section: Based On Messy and Contradictory Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Deconstructing the Gender-Equality Paradox

Ilmarinen,

Lönnqvist

2024

Preprint

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Studies advancing the hypothesis of a “gender-equality paradox” have found that societies with more gender equality demonstrate larger gender differences across a range of phenomena. In doing so, they rely on that practice of predicting an algebraic difference score—calculated from mean scores for men and women across a set of countries—with an index of gender equality, or some related concept. We argue that direct difference score predictions of this type are impossible to interpret because very different combinations of constituents—mean scores of men and women and properties of these means—can produce identical direct difference score predictions. We reanalyzed three large cross-cultural datasets with fifteen variables from three different domains—attitudes towards science and technology, economic preferences, and personality traits—to showcase our method of deconstructing difference score predictions and to investigate to what extent the rhetoric of the gender-equality paradox describes a real phenomenon. The results were highly heterogeneous. For some characteristics, men’s and women’s country-level means varied identically as a function of country-level gender equality (no paradox). For other characteristics, there were differences in how men’s and women’s means varied. Whether these differences could be described in the rhetoric of the paradox varied. More pertinent is the necessity of deconstructing difference score predictions into their constituent components before attempting to answer questions regarding a paradox. It is in the terminology of these components and their properties that future hypotheses should be tested.

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“…Los principios gestálticos sugieren que la cognición social -cómo las personas comprenden, interpretan y recuerdan información sobre ellos mismos y los demás-podría beneficiarse significativamente de un enfoque más integrado (Mungan, 2023). La investigación futura podría explorar cómo la percepción holística influye en la formación de impresiones, la atribución de motivos y el recuerdo de eventos sociales, desafiando los modelos existentes que a menudo fragmentan estos procesos.…”

Section: Apuestas Futuras De Investigación En El áReaunclassified

Integrating perspectives: contributions of Gestalt Theory to the understanding of Social Psychology

Gamboa,

Egües

2023

AWARI

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This article provides a comprehensive review of the significant contributions of Gestalt Theory to Social Psychology. It highlights how this perspective enriches the understanding of perception, cognition and social interaction. Originating in the field of perceptual psychology, Gestalt Theory postulates that individuals perceive visual and social elements as integrated parts of a whole, rather than sums of isolated components. This holistic principle is explored through its application in Social Psychology. How it influences impression formation, problem solving, decision making and group dynamics is examined. Key concepts such as insight thinking, figure background in social perception, and the importance of patterns and structures in interpreting social contexts are discussed. In addition, the impact of Gestalt Theory on research methods and social therapies is evaluated from a unique perspective on human interaction and group behavior. Finally, future research areas are suggested that could benefit from a deeper integration of Gestalt principles into Social Psychology, promoting a more holistic and dynamic approach to understanding the mind and social behavior.

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Gestalt theory: A revolution put on pause? Prospects for a paradigm shift in the psychological sciences

Cited by 10 publications

References 57 publications

Deconstructing the gender-equality paradox.

Deconstructing the gender-equality paradox.

Deconstructing the Gender-Equality Paradox

Integrating perspectives: contributions of Gestalt Theory to the understanding of Social Psychology

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