PSYB57H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Functional Fixedness, Gestalt Psychology, General Problem Solver
Document Summary
Insight problems and the gestalt theory of thinking: Gestalt psychology states that consciousness tends to be organized into a coherent whole (gestalt) you can see one organization or the other as a whole at one time but never both at the same time (eg: bi-stable figures) Gestalt switch: a sudden change in the way information is organized eg: the experience you have when an ambiguous bi-stable figure suddenly changes from one stable configuration to another. Kohler studied the process of problem-solving among chimpanzees a chimpanzee named sultan showed insight by carefully studying a situation after failing many times to get a banana placed outside, then coming to a competent solution. Insight: the ability to understand how the parts of a situation are related to one another occurs spontaneously and suddenly involves perceptual restructuring of the situation. At some times, superficial learning (knowing a lot) interferes with the ability to see what might be obvious to someone more na ve.
