A Gestalt perspective on computer simulations of cognitive processes

摘要

Impressive computer simulations of the thinking processes of novices confronting problems and powerful programs displaying artificial intelligence in the solution of problems in highly limited domains are among the recent achievements in the application of the modern computer to issues in cognitive psychology. Missing in such work is the crucial step of understanding, that is, grasping both what is crucial in any given problem and why it is crucial. Classical Gestalt analyses of productive thought emphasized precisely this phenomenon of insight. This article summarizes some of the Gestalt concepts and principles in the psychology of problem solving and creative thinking. Modern cognitive psychology has largely ignored, or has found intractable, the phenomenon of achieving an appropriate representation (an understanding) of a problem domain, and, until a more adequate theory of insight is developed, computer models of genuine human thinking and problem solving will remain incomplete. It is proposed that re-examination of the classical Gestalt literature on problem solving and productive thinking may help guide psychologists in fruitful directions in their effort to improve the simulation of complex human cognitive processes, particularly in the domain of problem solving.