LEARNING BY INSIGHT: KOHLER

I. Introduction

Max Wertheimer is the father of Gestalt Theory. Later on, Wertheimer’s theory was further refined and developed by Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler. C.V.Good defines gestalt-configration, total structure, form or shape, a term designating an undivided articulate as a whole that cannot be made by the more addition of independent elements, the nature of each element depending on its relationship to the whole. The term ‘gestalt’ means a whole, a total composition. According to this theory, an individual learns an object as a whole, a single entity, not in parts or bits. In other words, an individual’s understanding of an object comprehends the whole object, not merely parts or bits of the object. This theory can be summed up in the succinct statement: ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’

II. Life sketch of Kohler

Kohler was born on 21^st January, 1887 in the port city of Reval (now Tallinn), Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire. His family was of German origin, and shortly after his birth they moved back to that country. There raised in a setting of teachers, nurses and other scholars he developed lifelong interests in the science as well as the arts and especially in music. In the course of his University Education he studied at the University of Tubingen (1905-06), the University of Bonn (1906-07) and the University of Berlin (1907-09). In completing his Ph.D. for which his dissertation addressed certain aspects of psychoacoustics. In 1910-13, he was an assistant at the Psychological Institute in Franfurt in which he worked with fellow psychologists; Max Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka. He immigrated to U S in 1935. And he died on 11^th June 1967 in Enfield, New Hampshire.

III. Kohler’s Experiments

In order to establish the existence of insight, Kohler conducted a number of experiments on a chimpanzee named Sultan. Although he conducted a number of other experiments on dogs, hens, and other creatures, his experiments with Sultan were the most noteworthy. Kohler divided his experiment in to four steps.

1. Experiment- Sultan was placed in a cage. A stick was placed in the cage and a banana just outside the cage, but outside Sultans direct reach. Sultan made many attempts to obtain the banana but it failed. It sat down in despair. But, after sometime it suddenly got up, lifted the stick and used it to draw the banana towards itself.

2. Experiment- In the second stage, Kohler placed inside the cage two sticks which could be joined to each other. This time the banana was so placed that it could not be drown by the chimpanzee towards itself with a single stick. After numerous attempts, Sultan joined the two sticks together and succeeded in obtaining the banana.

3. Experiment- In the third step, Kohler hung the banana from the roof of the cage of such a height as to ensure that Sultan could not reach it even by jumping upwards. A box was also placed inside the cage. After many attempts, Sultan climbed up on the box and obtained the bananas.

4. Experiment- In the final step, Kohler placed two boxes at one place in the cage the banana was placed at an even high level. At first, Sultan kept on trying to reach the banana by standing up on one box, but after numerous failures, it placed one box upon the other and claiming quit obtained the banana.

IV. Factors Influencing Insight

Many experiments have thrown light upon and established the various factors which influence insight. Some of them are mentioned below;

1. Experience - Past experiences help in the insightful solution of the problems. A child cannot solve the problems of Modern Mathematics unless he is well acquainted with its symbolic language.

2. Intelligence – Insightful solution depends upon the basic intelligence of the learner. The more intelligent the individual is the greater will be his insight.

3. Learning Situation – How insightfully the organism will react depends upon the situation in which he has to act. Some situations are more favorable than the others for insightful solution. As a common observation, insight occurs when the learning situation is so arranged that all the necessary aspects are open for observation.

4. Initial Efforts or Trial and Error – Insightful learning has to pass through the process of trial and error. Whatever an activity may be, attempts or efforts or trials always lie at its root. This opens the way for insightful learning.

5. Repetition and Generalization – After having an insightful solution of a particular type of problem, the organism tries to repeat it in another situation, demanding similar type of solution. The way found in one situation helps him to react insightfully in the other identical situations.

V. Characteristics of Insight

The above mentioned experiments make it quite obvious that learning by insight has certain characteristics of its own. They are briefly as follows;

1. Insight is sudden.

2. Insight alters perception.

3. Old objects appear in new patterns and organization by virtue of insight.

4. Insight is relative to the intellectual level. The higher species of animals including human beings have more insight than the members of lower species.

5. In insight, understanding is more useful than dexterity of hands.

6. Previous experience is of assistance in insight. An organized perception is an essential factor in learning.

7. Maturity also affects insight as evidenced by the smoother working of insight in older age than in adolescence.

8. If the pieces essential for the solution of the puzzle are present together when perceived, insight comes about earlier.

9. Learning by insight is associative learning. Insight appears suddenly after the manipulation of thoughts or objects for a small, through significant length of time.

10. The insight gained in particular circumstances is of assistance in other circumstances.

VI. Principles Involved in Insightful Learning

There are principles involved in perceptual organization or insightful learning. Some of the basic laws propounded by Gestalt psychologists are as follows;

1. Law of figure ground: Everything is perceived in the context of its background. Thus, close relationship is there between figure and ground. For example, we try to solve a sum by using the means that closed areas are more stable and satisfying than the unclosed ones. Closed areas form groups very easily. This law is also called law of closure.

2. Law of pragnanz: An organism is motivated to learn when there is tension or disequilibrium of forces in the psychological field. Learning is the removal of this tension. When we perceive an object, we find some gaps in our perceptions. These gaps are filled by the perceiver and a whole figure is prepared.

3. Law of continuity: Objects having continuity are learnt easily because they can easily make a whole.

4. Law of similarity: this law makes the individual to grasp things which are similar. They are picked out as they were from the total context. Similar ideas and experiences get associated. An object revives another object which resembles or looks similar to it. For example, seeing a man and remembering an intimate friend by some resemblance though never saw them together in the past.

5. Law of proximity: this law states the proximate or near together things are picked up first and learnt easily than distant things. In other words, perceptual grounds are favoured according to the nearness of their respective parts. Items tend to form groups if they are spaced together. For instance, a triangle or a circle is understood in this way.

VII. Educational Implications

1. Subject matter (learning material) should be presented in Gestalt form. The plant or flower as a whole be presented before the students and later on the parts should be emphasized.

2. In the organization of the syllabus and planning of the curriculum, the Gestalt principle should be given due consideration. A particular subject should not be treated as the mere collection of isolated facts or topics. It should be closely integrated into a whole. Similarly the curriculum should reflect unity and cohesiveness.

 3. This theory has brought motivation in the fore-front by assigning purpose and motive, the central role in learning process. It is goal oriented. Purpose or goals of learning should be made clear to the students, before the teacher starts teaching.

4.  The greater contribution of the insight theory of learning is that it has made learning an intelligent task requiring mental abilities. It has called a halt to the age old mechanical memorization, drill and practice work which lack in basic understanding and use of thinking, reasoning and creative mental powers.

5. It emphasizes that the learner must be given opportunities for using his mental abilities. Instead of telling him, how to do a work or solve a problem, he should be placed in the position of an independent enquirer and discoverer. He should himself collect the information and discover the knowledge. The teacher should not engage himself in spoon-feeding but help the children in acquiring knowledge and skill through their own attempts by using their mental powers. Scientific and progressive methods like Heuristic method, analytic and problem solving, which advocate the learning by insight, should be made more popular. 

6. If the teacher believes in the theory of insight learning he seeks, to overcome impatience as the moment of insight is unpredictable and sudden. He must give his students a chance to fumble and search for the solution. This fumbling and search is more than trial and error procedure. It is purposeful experimentation. It is a goal directed activity.

7. The teacher must realize the necessity of preliminary steps of experimentation and purposeful search so that the child may become capable of understanding or perceiving cause and effect relationships.

8. As an arrangement of the elements in the situation conditions insight, the teacher determines the methods and order of presentation that will prove most helpful.

9. As insight depends upon capacity, all pupils are not able to use insight in an equal measure. The teacher recognizes differences in capacity and age and understands classroom implications of readiness.

10. The teacher will have build up insight step by step; be it History, Geometry or Language, some insight is sudden but the learner always has partial (glimpses) insight of the total.

11. The function of the teacher is the teaching learning situation to help the child to perceive the goal and the intervening obstacles. If the goal is too difficult in terms of the pupil’s present development, it must be made easier or its pursuit may be delayed. In a situation, where an obstacle blocks the perception or achievement of the goal the teacher may take the following three steps-

a)      Allow the pupil to grow by waiting or by providing preparatory experiences and knowledge that will increase his power.

b)      Make the problem less difficult. Get easier text-books. Use more immediate goals. Find more concrete problems.

c)      Give the pupil some help, offer suggestions, hints, clues, show him how to take specific steps and arrange sequential approach.

12. If the goal is too difficult to reach and the child is forced to achieve it, without making it easier or without delaying its achievement, so the child will develop the tendency to escape. By making the task easier, there shall be partial insights which mean relief from tension.

13. If insight is to be achieved, school-tasks must not be too difficult to perform. They must be appropriate to the understanding of the child on the part of the student and there are more failures in examination, when the work is too difficult for the pupils to achieve insight, or when explanations by the teacher or by the text books are no sufficiently clear. The theory of insight learning lays especial emphasis upon understanding to achieve success.

14.  The teacher should not be frustrated if in spite of his hard labour, pupils show progress and do not understand a particular problem. The progress of growth is always slow.

15. Insight lays emphasis on maturation. If the child is not mature enough let him grow by waiting. Maturation is an important factor in the ability to perceive clearly the relationship in the total situation and thus achieve insight.

16. Development of insight is possible when goal are clearly defined. When the learner accepts the goal, he will exert energy to achieve the goal. The student should be led to discuss both the immediate and ultimate goals of learning. The teacher should preview the activities involved and the problems to be faced. In this way, he should lead the pupil to see the total situation at the beginning. For examples; teaching a novel and teaching Chemistry where preview is needed.

17. The theory helps the learner to develop reasoning, thinking and imagination powers and thus their creative potentials are always encouraged.

VIII. Criticism

Some of the main objections against the gestalt theory are the following;

1. Gestalt is a composite of Psychology and Philosophy of Education.

2. Every kind of learning for example; reading, writing, speaking etc., cannot be satisfactorily explained by the laws of Gestalt.

3. Some scholars opine that the insight inherent in gestalt cannot be ascribed to children and animals because they lack power of thought. However it is often observed in daily life that even very young infants display insight in many of their activities.

4. Trial and error is an essential element in gestalt at one stage or the other.

References

1. Advanced Educational Psychology by SURESH BHATNAGAR and ANAMIKA SAXENA (page nos. 168-174).

2. Educational Psychology by S. K. MANGAL (page nos. 148-152)

3. Psychology of Teaching and Learning by A. B. BHATNAGAR MEENAKSHI BHTNAGAR ANURAG BHATNAGAR (page nos. 166-175)