Kohler'S Theory of Learning

KOHLER’S THEORY
OF LEARNING
THEORY OF INSIGHT LEARNING
This theory was developed by a psychologist known as

Wolfgang Kohler, who belonged to Gestalt school of
psychology. Insight refers to sudden flash in the mind
about the solution of the problem. Learning by
perceiving the relationship in the scene and
understanding the situation is insightful learning.
According to this theory—perception of a situation as a

‘whole’ gives better understanding than sum total of its
parts. That is, the situation viewed as a whole will
definitely look different from that, viewed through its
parts.
KOHLER’S EXPERIMENTS
1) In one experiment, Kohler put the chimpanzee, “Sultan” inside a cage

and a banana was hung from the roof of a cage. A box was placed inside the
cage. The chimpanzee tried to reach the banana by jumping but could not
succeed. Suddenly he got an idea and used the box as a jumping platform
by placing it just below the hanging banana.
2) In another experiment Kohler made this problem complicated that two or

three boxes were required to reach the banana.
3) In a more complicated experiment, a banana was kept far outside
the cage and two sticks – one larger than the other- were kept inside
the box. When failed to reach the banana by one stick, with a
sudden bright idea the chimpanzee tried to reach the banana by
joining the two sticks.
These experiments demonstrated the role of intelligence and

STEPS IN INSIGHT LEARNING
1) Identifying the problem - The learner recognizes the
presence of an intervening obstacles on his way to the goal.
2) Understanding the Problem - The learner observes the

problematic situation, analyze it and perceive the relation
between the goal and the obstacles.
3) Incubation of Ideas - After analyzing the total situation he

reaches in conclusions by means of hesitation, pause,
concentrated attention etc.
4) Trail of Mode of Response - The learner makes initial efforts

in the form of a simple trial and error mechanism.
5) Sustained Attention - The learner maintains frequently
recurrent attention to the goal and motivation.
6) Insight Development - In a certain moment there is a sudden

perception of the relationship in the total situation and the
organism directly performs the required acts.
7) Steady Repetition of Adaptive Behaviour - After getting an

insightful solution, the individual tries to implement it in
another situation.
8) Comprehension of Ability - The learner reaches the ability to

understand the relevant parts of the situation and overlooking
the irrelevant ones.
LAWS OF LEARNING
There are four important laws
regarding insight learning. They are
as follows :-
1) Law of Similarity
2) Law of Proximity
3) Law of Closure
4) Law of Continuity
Law of Similarity
The law of similarity states that “when there are different sets
of objects on view then they are perceived as groups rather
than individual objects”. This law leads us to link together
parts of the visual field that are similar in color, lightness,
texture, shape, or any other quality.
OOVVVVVVVVVVVVOO
VOOVVVVVVVVVVOOV
VVOOVVVVVVVVOOVV
VVVOOVVVVVVOOVVV
VVVVOOVVVVOOVVVV
VVVVVOOVVOOVVVVV
VVVVVVVOVOVVVVVV
VVVVVVVVOVVVVVVV
Instead of perceiving this as group of V’s and O’s, we identify
this as besides group of V’s the O’s are formed as a big V
shape.
Law of Proximity
The law of proximity states that “objects which
are close together are likely to be seen as a
group”. For example, look at the following line.
III II IIII I
You are likely to perceive this as four separate
groups, comprising three, two, four and one
members respectively, rather than to view it as a
line of ten I s. This doesn't only apply to visual
perception, think for example of music, perceived
as a melody rather than a procession of single
notes.
Law of Closure
According to the law of closure, we prefer complete forms to
incomplete forms.
When the outline of an object is left unfinished, as long as the
gap is less than half the total circumference then the object is
identified and perceived as whole rather than as a different
shape. Thus, in the drawing below, we mentally close the gaps
and perceive it as I B M. This tendency allows us to perceive
whole objects from incomplete and imperfect forms.
Law of Continuity
The law states that “we link individual

elements of a configuration so that they form
continuous pattern that makes sense to us”.
That is, we tend to perceive the components of
a perceptual filed as smoothly flowing rather
than discontinuous forms.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
1) From Whole to Parts - The teacher should present the subject
matter as a whole to facilitate insight learning.
2) Integrated Approach - While planning curriculum, gestalt

principles should be given due consideration. A particular subject
should not be treated as the mere collection of isolated facts. It
should be closely integrated into a whole.
3) Importance of Motivation - the teacher should arouse the

child’s curiosity, interest and motivation. He should gain full
attention of the whole class before teaching.
4) Emphasis on Understanding - It has made learning an

intelligent task requiring mental abilities than a stimulus - response
association. So the learner must be given opportunities for using his
mental abilities.
5) Problem Solving Approach - This theory emphasis that as the
learner is able to solve problems by his insight, meaningful
learning, learning by understanding, reasoning, etc. must be
encouraged in the school.
6) Checking of Previous Experiences - As insight depends upon

the previous experiences of the learner, the teacher must check the
previous experiences of the child and relate them with the new
learning situation.
7) Goal Orientation - As learning is a purposeful and goal oriented

task, the learner has to be well acquainted with these objectives.
He should be fully familiar with the goals and purposes of every
task.
THANK YOU

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KOHLER’S THEORY

This theory was developed by a psychologist known as

According to this theory—perception of a situation as a

1) In one experiment, Kohler put the chimpanzee, “Sultan” inside a cage

2) In another experiment Kohler made this problem complicated that two or

These experiments demonstrated the role of intelligence and

2) Understanding the Problem - The learner observes the

3) Incubation of Ideas - After analyzing the total situation he

4) Trail of Mode of Response - The learner makes initial efforts

6) Insight Development - In a certain moment there is a sudden

7) Steady Repetition of Adaptive Behaviour - After getting an

8) Comprehension of Ability - The learner reaches the ability to

The law states that “we link individual

2) Integrated Approach - While planning curriculum, gestalt

3) Importance of Motivation - the teacher should arouse the

4) Emphasis on Understanding - It has made learning an

6) Checking of Previous Experiences - As insight depends upon

7) Goal Orientation - As learning is a purposeful and goal oriented

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