Restructuring revisited : I. Summary and critique of the Gestalt theory of problem solving

✍ Scribed by STELLAN OHLSSON

• Book ID: 118713110
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1984
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 1019 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0036-5564
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.1984.tb01001.x

✦ Synopsis

The Gestalt psychologists proposed that restructuring (Umstrukriirieriing) is an essential process in thinking. This concept has not been integrated into the information processing theory of problem solving. As a preparation for such an integration. the Gestalt writings about restructuring in problem solving are summarized in a set of principles. Critical scrutiny shows that some Gestalt principles are overstated; others have very weak empirical support. But the psychological reality of restructuring is not in doubt, in spite of the recent criticism by Weisberg and Alba ( 1 9 8 2 ~) . A unified theory of thinking should interpret restructuring in information processing terms, and explain the relation between restructuring and search.