Prägnanz in visual perception

Eline Van Geert

doi:10.3758/s13423-023-02344-9

2023-10-03

Eline Van Geert *

Johan Wagemans

DOI：10.3758/s13423-023-02344-9

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摘要

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How do we perceptually and cognitively organize incoming stimulation? A century ago, Gestalt psychologists posited the law of Pragnanz: psychological organization will always be as 'good' as possible given the prevailing conditions. To make the Pragnanz law a useful statement, it needs to be specified further (a) what a 'good' psychological organization entails, (b) how the Pragnanz tendency can be realized, and (c) which conditions need to be taken into account. Although the Gestalt school did provide answers to these questions, modern-day mentions of Pragnanz or good Gestalt often lack these clarifications. The concept of Pragnanz has been (mis)understood in many different ways, and by looking back on the rich history of the concept, we will attempt to present a more fine-grained view and promote a renewed understanding of the central role of Pragnanz in visual perception and beyond. We review Gestalt psychology's answers to the questions listed above, and also discuss the four main uses of the Pragnanz concept in more detail: (a) a Pragnanz tendency in each organizational process, (b) Pragnanz as a property of a Gestalt, (c) Pragnanz steps as internal reference points, and (d) Pragnanz in relation to aesthetic appreciation. As a key takeaway, Pragnanz is a multifaceted Gestalt psychological concept indicating the goodness of an experienced organization. Both the removal of unnecessary details and the emphasis on characteristic features of the overall organization compared to a reference organization can contribute to the emergence of a 'better' Gestalt. The stimulus constellation is not the only factor in determining the goodness of an organization, also the stimulus' interaction with an individual in a specific spatial and temporal context plays a role. Taking the ideas on Pragnanz as a generative framework and keeping the original Gestalt psychological context in mind, future research on perceptual organization can improve our understanding of the principles underlying psychological organization by further specifying how different organizational principles interact in concrete situations. Public significance statement: This paper reviews what a 'good' psychological organization entails, and how the incoming stimulation is clarified in human perception to achieve the best possible psychological organization. The review debunks common misconceptions on the meaning of goodness and synthesizes the most important perspectives and developments on goodness from its conception until now.

Keyword:

Good Gestalt

Gestalt psychology

Perceptual organization

Figural goodness

Simplicity