A formal approach to Gestalt theory

Abstract

A strange finding underlies this booklet. Looking
for a formal expression of Gestalt theory the
result was a relation between two completely
different phenomena in cognition and
perception research.
Gestalt theory emphasizes that it is the observer
who creates the experienced structures. The
theory does not deny that there are structures
outside. However, the human brain is not an
information processing mechanism that projects
the outside structures into the inside. It builds its
own structures in sufficient harmony with its
surroundings. For a researcher the interesting
question is how this happens. An answer could
give insight in how we learn language, how we
interpret sound, how we perceive figures, and so
on.
There are rules and formal models that describe
the outside conditions for inside experience, but
these do not answer the question. This booklet is
an attempt to give such an answer. Its result
shows why these rules and formal models are
successful in predicting experiences.
But there is another result related to phenomena
that at first sight has nothing to do with Gestalt
theory. In cognitive psychology and language
research one regularly notices that humans can
process 5, 6 or 7 items in one event. In
perception research one finds that subjects use
two interpretations, one of which dominates.
The first phenomenon is known as “seven minus
two”, the second one as duality. In this study
both phenomena appear to be strongly related.
Combining the formal approach with the notion
of associative memory leads to remarks on brain
research, individual differences, and learning and
forgetting.