<P> Gestalt psychology or gestaltism ( German : Gestalt ( ɡəˈʃtalt ) `` shape , form '' ) is a philosophy of mind of the Berlin School of experimental psychology . Gestalt psychology is an attempt to understand the laws behind the ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions in an apparently chaotic world . The central principle of gestalt psychology is that the mind forms a global whole with self - organizing tendencies . The assumed physiological mechanisms on which Gestalt theory rests are poorly defined and support for their existence is lacking . The Gestalt theory of perception has been criticized as being descriptive of the end products of perception without providing much insight into the processes that lead to perception . In the introduction to a 2016 special issue of the journal Vision Research on Gestalt perception , the authors concluded that `` even though they study the same phenomena as earlier Gestaltists , there is little theoretical coherence . What happened to the Gestalt school that always aspired to provide a unified vision of psychology ? Perhaps there is , in fact , little that holds the classic phenomena of Gestalt psychology together . '' </P>
today gestalt psychology ideas are part of which branch of psychology
the Berlin School of experimental psychology