Name three laws of Gestalt Theory and provide examples to illustrate your point.
The three laws of Gestalt theory are closure, proximity and similarity. These three laws are part of the basic fundamentals of the Gestalt theory.
The law of closure states that there is a tendency to identify a complete or incomplete part in order to maximize stability or symmetry in the entire configuration (King and Wertheimer, 2007). The purpose of the law of closure is either to create subtle effects or alter perception. An example of this can be seen below.
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| FedEx's hidden arrow |
The law of closure can be used to find an arrow within the FedEx logo. The arrow can be seen in between the letter 'E' and 'X'. This an example where the law of closure is used to create a subtle effect.
The law of proximity explains that there is a tendency ti group items that are similar together as a group (Boeree, 2000). The purpose of the law of proximity is to create an emphasis towards a particular focus. The picture below is an example of this law.
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| Lego bricks |
The law of similarity states that there is a tendency to group items that are similar together in order to form a larger form of gestalt (Goldstein, 2010). The purpose of this is to allow an emphasis of the message which in this case is the visual image. An example can be found below.
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| Debug screen |
References:
- Boeree, C. G. (2000). Gestalt psychology. Assessed on 19th September 2012 from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/gestalt.html.
- Goldstein, E., B. (2010). Visual attention. In J. D. Hague and J. A. Perkin (Eds.) Sensation and Perception (pp 100 -120). USA: Wadsworth.
- King, D., B. & Wertheimer, M. (2007). Max Wertheimer & Gestalt Theory. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
This post is a little odd. You have a good command of what the terms mean and also the concepts. But your examples are difficult to grasp and adds an unnecessary complexity. For example, the image of the debug screen does show the law of similarity but it does not clearly exemplify the term. Items are grouped together through their colour codes but the law is meant to make things easier to understand not more difficult. The example you used does not seem to make it easier to understand that the items are group together. Again, the same situation with the lego blocks. The proximity of the hole like objects are supposed to make each block stand out but, in your example, it is the colour codes again which make each block stand out, not the holes. In the future, use simpler and more accurate images to exemplify to avoid mistakes and ambiguities.
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