Gestalt Laws

In his classic history of perceptual psychology Boring lists fourteen Gestalt laws, most of which "specify dimensions in respect of which forms vary": 1. Naturalness of Form A field tends to become organized and to take on form. Groups tend to form structures, and disconnected units become connected. 2. Figure and Ground A form tends to be a figure set upon a ground, and the figureground dichotomy is fundamental to all perception. Edgar Rubin published a paper on this phenomenon in 1915, prior to the official formation of the Gestalt movement. Rubin characterized the phenomenological difference by distinguishing the object character (Dingcharakter) of the figure from the substance character (Stoffcharakter) of the ground. 3. Articulation Forms vary from simple to complex in the degree of articulation or differentiation they possess. 4. Good and Poor Forms A good form is well articulated and as such tends to impress itself upon the observer, to persist and recur. A circle is the paradigm "good form". 5. Strong and Weak Forms A strong form coheres and resists disintegration by analysis into parts or by fusion with another form. 6. Open and Closed Forms An open form tends to change toward a certain good form. When a form has assumed a stable equilibrium it has achieved closure. Thus a nearly circular series of dots may achieve closure by being perceived as a circle. 7. Dynamic Basis of Form A form is a dynamic system or is based upon a dynamic system. Since the dynamic principles operate within the organism, a strong form is that which depends more upon the dynamic properties of the organism than upon the properties of the stimulus. 8. Persistence of Form A form once perceived tends to persist, and to recur when the stimulus situation recurs. The recurrence of part of a previously perceived form tends to reinstate the whole. 9. Constancy of Form A form tends to preserve its proper shape, size, and color. This is the well known constancy phenomenon. 10. Symmetry of Form A form tends toward symmetry, balance and proportion. 11. Integration of Similars and Adjacents Units similar in size, shape and color tend to combine to make better articulated forms. Near units also combine more readily than far. 12. Meaningfulness of Forms A form tends to be meaningful and to have objectivity. The more meaningful the form, the stronger it is, the more easily it is perceived, and the longer it tends to persist. 13. Fusion of Forms Two forms can fuse, giving rise to a new form; or, in combination, the stronger one may actually persist, eliminating the weaker. Simple, poorly articulated forms fuse more easily than complex, good forms. A more meaningful form tends to predominate over a less meaningful one. 14. Transposition of Form A form exists independently of its constituent elements and may thus be transposed without change to other elements. A shape is independent of the quality and size of the lines that constitute it.

Source:

Boring, E.G. ( 1942) Sensation and perception in the history of experimental psychology, Appleton-Century-Crofts.