Kurt Koffka
A co-founder of Gestalt psychology, who applied Gestalt principles to developmental psychology and the study of perception.
Quotes by Kurt Koffka
The 'Gestalt' is a primary datum of experience, not a secondary construction.
The 'whole' determines the properties of its parts, not the other way around.
The 'organization' of experience is not arbitrary, but follows certain universal laws.
The 'problem-solving' process involves a reorganization of the perceptual field.
The 'learning curve' does not adequately capture the nature of insightful learning.
The 'psychophysical problem' cannot be solved by reducing mind to matter, or vice versa.
The 'experience' of the world is always structured and meaningful.
The 'laws of organization' are not merely descriptive, but explanatory.
The 'Gestalt' approach emphasizes the dynamic and interactive nature of psychological processes.
The 'future of psychology' lies in understanding the holistic nature of experience and behavior.
The 'mind' is not a passive recipient of information, but an active organizer of experience.
Perception is not a passive reception of stimuli, but an active organization of the perceptual field.
In psychology, as in the physical sciences, the method of analysis must be supplemented by synthesis.
The perceptual world is a structured whole, not a collection of isolated sensations.
True understanding comes from seeing the Gestalt, the organized totality.
Memory is not a storehouse of fixed traces, but a dynamic reconstruction.
The behavior of the organism must be studied as a whole, not dissected into parts.
In the perceptual field, figure and ground are inseparable; one defines the other.
Psychology should concern itself with the real problems of the real world.
The child’s mind develops not by accumulation, but by reorganization of experience.