On a class trip to the Art Institute of Chicago, Sami is entranced by the painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte , by Georges-Pierre Seurat. He is amazed that although the painting is constructed of individual dots of color, the objects in the painting are easily recognizable. According to Gestalt psychology, which of the following best explains this phenomenon?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Gestalt psychology suggests that people perceive objects as part of a greater whole and as elements of more complex systems. The principle of proximity states that objects that are close to each other tend to be grouped together, and the principle of similarity states that objects that are similar tend to be perceived as a group. In Seurat's painting, the dots are perceived as coherent shapes due to these principles.

On a Class Trip to the Art Institute of Chicago