Gestalt Principles: Perception

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Here at My Organisational Bahviour we want to try and provide as much up-to-date information on the subject of Organisational Behaviour as we can. However, there is nothing better than having a book to sit down in a quiet place and read. We recommend the following books.

Organizational Behaviour (Buchanan and Huczynski)

Management and Organisational Behaviour (Mullins)

The Gestalt School of Psychology was led by Max Wertheimer in Germany. This school was set up to help develop theories which could be used to make visual perceptions. Gestalt is German for ‘Unified Whole’. The theories which were developed within the school were made to try and show how people visualise elements and put them into certain groups.

Figure and Ground

This theory shows that people focus on certain aspects of a situation, therefore missing out other important parts. Take a look at some examples of this on Google.

Reification

This theory proves to us that we interpret situations using experience, not just what we are seeing at that moment in time. For example, if we see each corner of a circle, but don’t actually see the circle, we will still interpret it as a circle. Take a look at some examples of this on Google.

Continuation

When looking at images our eyes naturally follow the line, or curve, therefore leading us to something else. This can be used on organisations and management because it shows direction, creating images that the organisation is moving forward. Take a look at some examples of this on Google.

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