Gestalt - Definition and Overview

Gestalt is a German word referring to the concept where an entity's properties cannot be discovered from the total properties of its parts. The more general English equivalents are synergy, holism, and variations on the phrase the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

In psychology, Gestalt can refer to:

• Gestalt psychology (Gestalt theory), and Gestalt Theoretical Psychotherapy
• Gestalt therapy
• the Gestalt effect

Gestalt was also the name of an environment-query function in Mac OS.