Keywords
productive thinking
problem solving
How to Cite
Abstract
This article will focus on two pioneering scientific work on problem solving, or per Gestalt Theory, “productive thinking”. One of them is Köhler’s research on goal-directed tool use and overcoming obstacles in chimpanzees, the other one is Duncker’s studies on problem solving using a “think aloud” technique. In both Köhler’s and Duncker’s work, productive thinking is linked to a restructuring behavior. For example, tearing off a thin and long branch from a tree to serve as a stick or removing the various objects in a matchbox to transform it from a container to a platform on which to mount a candle are examples of such restructuring. In the final section, I will look at how today’s research trends might and should connect to Gestalt Theory. In conclusion, just as in memory, the two main proposals of Gestalt Theory, i.e., figure-ground separation and grouping in figures play a critical role also in thinking. Thus, Gestalt Theory seems to be able to come up with a common way of understanding perception, memory, as well as thinking. To our knowledge there is no other single theory within cognitive psychology that has such broad an explanatory power. This in itself is one more reason why Gestalt Theory in large deserves crucial attention.
References
Ahissar, M. ve Hochstein, S. (2004). The reverse hierarchy theory of visual perceptual learning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(10), 457-464.
Amanatiadis, A., Kaburlasos, V. G. ve Kosmatopoulos, E. B. (2018, October). Understanding deep convolutional networks through Gestalt theory. In IEEE International Conference on Imaging Systems and Techniques (IST), 312-317.
Arnheim, R. (1971). Entropy and art: An essay on disorder and order. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Ashby, F. G., Isen, A. M.ve Turken, A. U. (1999). A neuropsychological theory of positive affect and its influence on cognition. Psychological Review, 106(3), 529–550. DOI:10.1037/0033-295X.106.3.529
Başar, E. (2010). Brain-body-mind in the nebulous cartesian system: A holistic approach by oscillations. New York, Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London: Springer.
Bhatt, R. S.ve Quinn, P. C. (2011). How does learning impact development in infancy? The case of perceptual organization. Infancy, 16(1), 2-38.
Bregman, A. S. (1994). Auditory scene analysis: The perceptual organization of sound. Cambridge, MA: MIT press.
Dillon, M. R. (2020). Rooms without walls: Young children draw objects but not layouts. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Advanced online publication. DOI: 10.1037/xge0000984
Duncker, K. (1945). On problem-solving. Psychological Monographs, No. 270, 58(5), i-113.
Duncker, K. (1935/1966). Zur Psychologie des Produktiven Denkens. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Fayek, H. M., Lech, M. ve Cavedon, L. (2017). Evaluating deep learning architectures for Speech Emotion Recognition. Neural Networks, 92, 60-68.
Fleming, R. W. ve Storrs, K. R. (2019). Learning to see stuff. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 30, 100-108.
Glucksberg, S. ve Weisberg, R. W. (1966). Verbal behavior and problem solving: Some effects of labeling in a functional fixedness problem. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 71(5), 659-664.
Halpern, D. F. (2013). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking. Psychology Press.
Hörhan, M. ve Eidenberger, H. (2020). Gestalt descriptions for deep image understanding. Pattern Analysis and Applications, 1-19.
Hubel, D. H. ve Wiesel, T. N. (1964). Effects of monocular deprivation in kittens. Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Archiv für Experimentelle Pathologie und Pharmakologie, 248(6), 492-497.
Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A.ve Nowicki, G. P. (1987). Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(6), 1122-1131.
Köhler, W. (1921). Intelligenzprüfungen an Menschenaffen. Berlin: Julius Springer.
Köhler, W. (1938). The Place of Value in a World of Facts. New York: Liveright.
Köhler, W. (1950). Psychology and evolution. Acta Psychologica, 7, 288–297. DOI: 10.1016/0001- 6918(50)90020-5
Köhler, W. (1959). Gestalt psychology today. American Psychologist, 14(12), 727–734. DOI: 10.1037/h0042492
Lubarsky, S. ve Thomas, A. (2020). Thinking inside the box: Using old tools to solve new problems in virtual learning. Medical Education, 00(1-4). DOI: 10.1111/medu.14388
Mungan, E. (2020). Geştalt Kuramı: Bir “Nazariye”nin mazisi, akameti ve akıbeti. Nesne, 8(18), 585-618.
Mungan, E. (2021). Geştalt kuramının az bilinen çalışmaları: Bellek, Nesne, 9(19), 147-175. DOI: 10.7816/nesne-09-19-12
Neisser, U. (1976). Cognition and reality: Principles and implications of Cognitive Psychology. New York: Freeman
Premack, D. ve Woodruff, G. (1978). Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(4), 515–526. DOI:10.1017/S0140525X00076512
Quinn, P. C., Bhatt, R. S. ve Hayden, A. (2008). Young infants readily use proximity to organize visual pattern information. Acta Psychologica, 127(2), 289-298.
Rock, I. (1972). Foreward. In E. Goldmeier, Similarity in visually perceived forms. Psychological Issues, VIII, 1, Mon. 29.
Rubin, E. (1915). Visuell Wahrgenommene Figuren: Studien in Psychologischer Analyse. Kopenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel.
Sayim, B., Westheimer, G. ve Herzog, M. H. (2010). Gestalt factors modulate basic spatial vision. Psychological Science, 21(5), 641-644.
Schnall, S. (1999). Life as the problem: Karl Duncker's context. From Past to Future: The Drama of Karl Duncker, 1(2), 13-28.
Simon, H. A. (1999). Karl Duncker and cognitive science. From Past to Future: The Drama of Karl Duncker, 1(2), 1-11.
Spelke, E. S., Breinlinger, K., Jacobson, K. ve Phillips, A. (1993). Gestalt relations and object perception: A developmental study. Perception, 22(12), 1483-1501. DOI: 10.1068/p221483
Von Gioi, R. G., Delon, J. ve Morel, J. M. (2012). The collaboration of grouping laws in vision. Journal of Physiology-Paris, 106(5-6), 266-283.
Wagemans, J., Elder, J. H., Kubovy, M., Palmer, S. E., Peterson, M. A., Singh, M. ve von der Heydt, R. (2012). A century of Gestalt Psychology in visual perception: I. Perceptual grouping and figure– ground organization. Psychological Bulletin, 138(6), 1172–1217. DOI: 10.1037/a0029333
Wagemans, J., Feldman, J., Gepshtein, S., Kimchi, R., Pomerantz, J. R., Van der Helm, P. A. ve Van Leeuwen, C. (2012). A century of Gestalt Psychology in visual perception: II. Conceptual and theoretical foundations. Psychological Bulletin, 138(6), 1218-1252.
Weisberg, R. ve Suls, J. M. (1973). An information-processing model of Duncker's candle problem. Cognitive Psychology, 4(2), 255-276.
Wertheimer, M. (1912). Über das Denken der Naturvölker I. Zahlen und Zahlgebilde [On the thinking of aboriginal peoples I. Numbers and numerical structures]. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 60, 321-378.
Wertheimer, M. (1934). On truth. Social Research, 135-146.
Wertheimer, M. (1935). Some problems in the theory of ethics. Social Research, 353-367.
Wertheimer, M. (1937/1961). On the concept of democracy. M. Henle (Ed.) Documents of Gestalt psychology içinde (s. 42-51). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Wertheimer, M. (1940/1961). A story of three days. M. Henle (Ed.) Documents of Gestalt psychology içinde (s. 52-64). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Wertheimer, M. (1945). Productive Thinking. New York: Harper.
Yuste, R. (2015). From the neuron doctrine to neural networks. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(8), 487- 497.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2021 Nesne Psikoloji Dergisi