Question

What is meant by the contention that Gestalt analysis proceeds from the top down rather than from the bottom up? How is the law of Prägnanz involved in perceiving the world in a top down manner?

Answer 1

Gestalt Analysis provides foundation for the modern study of perception. It narrates that anything as a whole is greater than its parts. It further says that attributes of the whole can not be deducible from analysis of parts in isolation. Hence, understanding of whole may lead to the understanding of parts but not vice versa. This approach of proceeding from whole to part is called top-down approach. Bottom-up approach ideally proceeds from parts to whole but it is not applicable in the Gestalt Analysis.

According to law of Pragnanz, also known as Law of Simplicity, people perceive and interpret even the most complex and ambiguous images in a simplified manner. They perceive the image as whole and do not see it in pieces or parts. Thus, Law of Pragnanz perceives an image as whole in a top down manner.