Which of the following best describes how Gestalt psychology contributed to the cognitive revolution in psychology?

• A. Gestalt psychology introduced the concept of unconscious drives as the main determinants of behavior.
• B. Gestalt psychology rejected the study of mental processes in favor of observable behavior.
• C. Gestalt psychology focused primarily on reinforcement and punishment as mechanisms of learning.
• D. Gestalt psychology emphasized the holistic processing of perception, challenging behaviorist views and paving the way for cognitive approaches.

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the historical context of Gestalt psychology, which emerged as a reaction against behaviorism by emphasizing the importance of perception and mental processes rather than just observable behavior.
2. Step 2: Recognize that Gestalt psychology introduced the idea that the mind organizes sensory information into meaningful wholes, rather than just processing individual elements separately. This is known as holistic processing.
3. Step 3: Note that this holistic approach challenged the behaviorist focus on stimulus-response relationships and observable behavior, by highlighting internal mental processes that behaviorism largely ignored.
4. Step 4: Connect how Gestalt psychology's emphasis on mental organization and perception helped pave the way for the cognitive revolution, which brought mental processes like thinking, memory, and problem-solving back into the focus of psychological research.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the best description of Gestalt psychology's contribution to the cognitive revolution is its emphasis on holistic perception and mental processes, which challenged behaviorism and influenced the development of cognitive psychology.