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Restructuring revisited
Author(s) -
OHLSSON STELLAN
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9450.1984.tb01001.x
Subject(s) - restructuring , gestalt psychology , psychology , scrutiny , cognitive restructuring , relation (database) , process (computing) , criticism , epistemology , information processing , set (abstract data type) , cognitive psychology , social psychology , cognition , political science , computer science , law , philosophy , perception , database , neuroscience , operating system , programming language
The Gestalt psychologists proposed that restructuring ( Umstrukturierung ) is an essential process in thinking. This concept has not been integrated into the information processing theory of problem solving. As a preparation for such an integration, the Gestalt writings about restructuring in problem solving are summarized in a set of principles. Critical scrutiny shows that some Gestalt principles are overstated; others have very weak empirical support. But the psychological reality of restructuring is not in doubt, in spite of the recent criticism by Weisberg and Alba (1982 a ). A unified theory of thinking should interpret restructuring in information processing terms, and explain the relation between restructuring and search.