Structuralism is a general theory that describes how the world is organized. It states that the world has a central axis, a middle circle, and an outer ring. These circlesrepresent the major systems of society such as government, family, religion, and personal life.
The middle circle represents what is outside of the system, and the outer ring represents what is inside of the system. These two sides of things don’t always mix, and that is where structuralism comes in.
The system knows something isn’t being exposed or recognized enough, so it decides to integrate these parts into one large package. This creates a awareness of these parts as separate elements, which can lead to growth or development.
This awareness can lead to change, which is why structuralism applies to both social and individual levels.
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology is the theory that our minds perceive and understand whole, complex things in a way that is instinctive and logical. This perception happens automatically and seamlessly, which is why it is referred to as a “ Perception ” (a word you probably don’t associate with ” Logic “).
In his book The Gestalt Phenomenon, the late elementary-school psychology professor Erich Fromm (1907–1980) described how we use automatic, intuitive processes in our thinking to resolve conflict and justify actions.
For instance, when we think about something that excited us in the past, we may feel drawn to that thing out of habit or because we expect the same feeling or effects to happen again. We also tend to assume these attitudes and attitudes are true because we have heard them before or read about them before.
These habits are called cognitive stereotypes.
Freudian slips
When people speak or write, they often use words that are the same but have different meanings. We all know this to be true: we can easily determine which word is meant to go in a sentence by the meaning.
We can also see this when language is odd or quite explicit. For example, while reading The Stranger, I could immediately tell that the author was referring to something very specific as the text stated that it “suddenly struck [her]” how good it was.
Yet, when she wrote that it suddenly struck her how good it was, she probably used more neutral words like attractive, pleasant, and pleasing to describe what she felt when reading it.
This is called a slip of the tongue and it can be very embarrassing! Luckily, though, we can prevent this by being aware of their hidden meanings.
Unconscious influences
There’s a whole field of psychology called unconscious influence. It focuses on how we accept information from around us and how that information guides our decisions.
In his book The Gestalt Principle at the University of Massachusetts, psychologist Ervinreason explains that our decisions are influenced by many factors, all of which are invisible to us.
These “factoric” influences include everything from advertisements we see to the games we play on mobile devices. For example, I remember watching an interesting movie a few months ago called Snatch that featured a man trying to get a woman to stay at his apartment for the night.
It was an interesting concept and one that I would consider worth trying out if I were in hotel room alone. The idea is that when you stay at someone’s apartment, you get involved in their lifestyle and may be inclined to make similar choices in bed and outside of it.
The here and now
Both structuralism and gestalt psychology were introduced as ways to understand the unknown in the human experience. Despite their differences, these two theories seek to answer the same questions: What is happening now, and what will happen in the future.
Both structuralism and gestalt psychology focus on patterns or elements in a situation that are beyond your comprehension. For instance, according to structuralism, there is a law governing everything from food to fashion to money.
As opposed to discovering patterns within facts or data, seeing beyond what is apparent is considered looking at an aspect of things that are greater than the individual.
In terms of how this awareness can impact you, both Gestalt Psychology and Sigmund Freud believed it had an effect on creativity and innovation.
What does this all mean?
It may sound weird, but looking at a map of the mind can help you understand yourself. For example, studying the places where you feel emotions such as joy, love, and sadness can help guide your psychological health and wellbeing.
Similarly, studying how we think and how we get things done in the world of today can help you understand what kind of mental health you may need to add to your life.
For example, people who use technology extensively may need to look at how much time they spend with it. Those who use it regularly may need to take a look at their motivation.
And those who frequently take a break from technology but those who are particularly “technophiles” may need to look at their motivations for constantly using technology.
How can you use this information?
The previous lines of thinking that you should know about?idgeology, gestalt psychology, and sigmund freud all have in common the understanding that we make choices about our lives based on unconscious motivations.
That means you can choose to accept or change your behavior, or even how you think, by changing how you respond to your internal and external motivators.
This can be a powerful way to change how you think and act, as it reveals parts of yourself that are hidden before when specific motivators do not apply.
However, this doesn’t mean that it is easy to understand! It can take a while to catch up on what happened during your time off to see if you changed any more than before.
If you did, then there are ways to enhance the effect of the internal and external motivators on behavior and internal thought.
How can you become the best version of yourself?
You can’t buy happiness, but you can learn how to achieve the second step toward happiness in your everyday life.
In fact, there are many things we can do every day to help us move forward in our goals and take a step toward what you want in life.
And one of the most important things we can do is to realize that we don’t have to be happy all the time, which is a good thing.
We all need times of low stress and rest to repair our bodies and brains, and developing an ability to recognize when you need a break is a good thing we can practice.
What do you know about psycho-analysis?
While there are many theories about how a psycho-analyst diagnoses a person’s psychological issues, one thing they do is seek to understand the context in which an individual finds themselves.
This means that although the user of psycho-analysis does not necessarily share their personal life information, the analyst knows what kind of information is common in life and what would be unusual.
For instance, people who find themselves frequently discussing money or love with friends and family members often have serious issues that need to be addressed.
An oddity of psycho-analysis is how little it costs. Most professional users charge between $80 and $200 for a session that lasts about an hour and a half.
