Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that emphasizes the holistic nature of perception, arguing that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Originating in early 20th-century Germany with pioneers such as Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka, Gestalt psychology proposed that the mind organizes perceptual experiences into meaningful wholes rather than processing isolated elements. Key principles include figure-ground perception, proximity, similarity, continuity, and closure. Gestalt ideas have influenced modern cognitive psychology, therapy, and design. For example, when looking at a series of dots arranged in a circle, the mind perceives a circle rather than individual dots, illustrating the Gestalt principle of closure.
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