Gestalt Laws Essay

The Law of Figure-Ground This law is to subdivides the image into two parts, one that is clear to the eyes and another one, that is not so clear, sometimes our mind focus so much in one image that can see the other one. This image is a great example, where you can see batman and joker. The Law of Simplicity This law is about that a content of what you see must be simple, otherwise the person that is seeing the image, ads or a website get tired of looking the important information on it. Example of a good usage, advertisement from WWF The law of proximity This law says that the items that are the belong together must stay that way, to avoid misunderstanding and to become clear. For example you can see that is clear that the name of the woman on the front cover of the magazine it’s called Nicole Scherzinger The law of similarity This law is used a lot in the packaging of the products where the people associate color, shapes, forms or typography to a certain brand. A really strong example of that is coca-cola. The Law of Symmetry This law says that the symmetrical images are mo please to our eyes and we associate better parts of the images better if they are symmetrical. A example is this photo of a building that have symmetrical architecture. The Law of Similar Background This law helps grouping information by giving a different background. Such as this image that uses the background color blue to identify the sponsors. The Law of Closure The Law of Closure explains why elements are recognized even if they are incomplete or nonexistent. The Law of Gap-filling The Law of Gap-filling says that our brains fills the gaps in a image. Such as this dalmata that is not complete The law of continuity This law explains that every time that we see a continuous image or a arrow we tend to continue follow that direction. As this image that says to look to the left but our brains follow the arrow.

Isolation in Society Essay

Most people take society for granted, having lived within it their whole lives. They follow rules and social norms almost without thinking or realizing how much these rules affect their lives. It is only when these rules and norms are removed that people realize the significant impact of society on who they are. People assume social roles and when these roles are removed, whether by choice or by accident, they are forced to survive without the benefits or protections of society. Charlotte Perkins Gilman and William Golding are two authors that attempted to show the negative effects of isolation from society. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Gilman Jane is isolated from society and slowly descends into her own world of delusion and insanity; in the Lord of the Flies by Golding, the isolated boys forgo the rules of civilization and revert to a state of savagery and paranoia. In each story, as in real life, isolation from society causes suffering. A large part of staying within society and not being isolated from it is to fulfill an expected social role, whether as a mother, father, doctor, or nurse. Expectations from society are placed on each of these roles, as well as a pressure to conform. Whether people choose to accept them or not, social roles are assigned to everyone who participates in society. According to Gerrig, â€Å"A social role is a socially defined pattern of behavior that is expected of a person when functioning in a given setting or group† (Gerrig and Zimbardo 574). In both â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and Lord of the Flies, pressures of fulfilling social role leads to physical and mental isolation and alienation from society and creates suffering. In the article â€Å"The Outsider,† a genius boy named William James Sidis is described as someone whose intelligence made him isolated from society: â€Å"At eighteen months he could read The New York Times, at two he taught himself Latin, at three he learned Greek. By the time he was an adult he could speak more than forty languages and dialects. He gained entrance to Harvard at eleven, and gave a lecture on four-dimensional bodies to the Harvard Mathematical Club his first year† (Towers 6). His IQ was reported between 250 to 300 points, and his intelligence isolated him from his peers and social norms. This hyper-intelligence distanced him from almost everyone else in the world, creating an isolated, lonely youth who suffered in his alienation. Since he was born, he was constantly fueled by the expectations of others pushing him to excel. It led to his drive to succeed beyond most others in the academic fields, but did not allow for him to ever experience â€Å"normal† life, in social terms. Conforming to the ideas of others that wanted his brain used for noble pursuits, he missed out on simple social interactions or other joys of being human, eventually becoming a forty-six-year-old virgin who was unable to find sexual identity because he never incorporated it into his life. Sidis claims that despite all his intelligence and accomplishments, he is a failure, because he never got to be anything but an outsider. His isolation from normal society not only limited the options in his life, but also added unnecessary suffering. This real life isolation and the suffering it causes is seen in the characters of Gilman’s and Golding’s stories. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and Lord of the Flies, people became isolated from society and suffered because of it. Jane is an intelligent and independent woman, and this makes her an outsider in nineteenth century society, who expect women to be happy mothers and wives. Though all of the stranded boys are isolated from society on the island, Ralph becomes an outsider from their community, after his intelligence and sense clash with the savage behavior the other boys adopt. In Jane’s case, she was an outsider for her rejection of â€Å"normal† society, while Ralph was an outsider because of his acceptance of it. Real life is no different than fiction, and people who think above the typical mentality and social norms often become isolated from society, thus becoming outsiders. For Jane in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† it is the refusal to accept these social roles that makes her an outsider in her own world, combined with the dismissive attitude that she receives from others. In the story, Jane makes the claim that she cannot participate in social activities such as working and visiting family because of her mental illness. This is largely because of her dominant doctor husband who keeps telling her that she is and treating her as if she were helpless. Her husband acts just as any husband of the time, treating her as a helpless woman instead of the intelligent and creative woman she is. He also is the one who will not allow her to write, so she begins her journal until she can work again: â€Å"So I take phosphates or phosphates-whichever it is- and tonics, and air and exercise, and journeys, and am absolutely forbidden to â€Å"work† until I am well again† (Golding 88). What her husband dismisses is Jane’s deep depression, which is made worse by her isolation and sense of helplessness. â€Å"You see, he does not believe I am sick! † (88). He robbed her of writing and being productive in the way she wishes, and offers her little alternatives. At the time, women were expected to keep house and raise the children, while Jane preferred writing and independence. She eventually comes to see domestic life as a prison, directly opposing the societal view of domestic life as the height of existence. Even before her descent into insanity, she is an outsider compared to the nanny and John’s sister who are happy filling their social roles as submissive housewives. Jane is left in her isolated world alone in the house, with her husband gone much of the time on emergencies and serious situations. In her isolation, Jane grows increasingly detached not only from her husband and family, but from reality. By making her an outsider, Jane is unable to get over her depression and the isolation from society only makes her mindset worse. Isolation from society can negatively affect the behavior of people, much like it does to Jane. Many people with mental illness are kept out of â€Å"normal† society, instead locked away like Jane is. This behavior robs people of the ability to interact with each other, almost negating the concept of what a society is supposed to be. This brings up the question of whether societies should be inclusive or if it is okay to create outsiders and exclude them. Nineteenth century society simply did not want to accept a strong independent woman. In Lord of the Flies, the entire definition of society is called into question. In Lord of the Flies, isolation from society is the theme of the work. The boys are isolated on a desert island and are forced to create their own rules, and soon Ralph finds himself isolated from this new society. Ralph initially uses his intelligence and morals to maintain order and establish a democratic society with the conch shell. He is a wise choice as leader and the signal fire displays the hope they have to return to civilization, but fear and paranoia begin to take over. The isolation from society leads Jack and his followers to abandon the rules, and this makes Ralph and his followers outsiders to them. The instance where the boys killed the sow shows how far removed from society they are and by chopping off of its head and offering it to the beast seems to suggest that isolation from society leads to the breakdown of civilized behavior. In their blood lust, the boys chant, â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood† (Golden 168). The boys take pleasure in the destructive power of killing, where they were only recently innocent schoolboys. They savagely murder Simon thinking he is the beast and they, â€Å"Leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit and tore† (000000), like animals and not humans. After the boys kill Simon, the only boy that does not believe in the beast, they in fact become the beast themselves by murdering the person who knows the truth. However barbaric, Jack’s society appeals to most of the boys and even Ralph and Piggy think it is a demented but mostly safe society. For Ralph and his followers, isolation from society did not cause him to revert to a savage state, though tempted by it. Perhaps the author is trying to suggest that all humans possess violent instincts and will revert to them when given the chance, but the truly strong individuals will manage to retain their sense of morality and independence. When the boys are rescued, Ralph realizes that the isolation from society forced all the boys to lose their innocence, though he managed to retain his sense of civilization. Both Jane in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and Ralph in Lord of the Flies are outsiders in their own worlds, isolated physically and by their own beliefs and thoughts. This isolation led to suffering for each. In both stories, frustration and paranoia provokes dark thoughts in the minds of the characters, as the boys on the island become savages, Ralph is forced to hide for his life, and Jane becomes insane. Both authors seem to suggest that isolation from society and its rules leads to only suffering and the breakdown of morality. The good become evil, and the intelligent and independent thinkers lose their minds and sometimes lives. Ralph offers hope that this fate is not always true, but he is also forever changed by his experience. Jane’s position offers little hope, as she continues to deteriorate mentally throughout the story. But, the stories each offer questions about social roles and how they affect the mind, and whether isolation can allow a person to better understand the outside world or forget how to interact in it. The only thing that is certain is that few can escape from the reality of society. Works cited: Gerrig, Richard J. and Zimbardo, Philip G. â€Å"Social Norms. † Psychology and Life. 17th ed. 2005. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper. † The Project Gutenberg. November 1999. 31 January 2007. . Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Berkeley Publishing Group, 1954. Towers, Grady M. â€Å"The Outsiders. † The Prometheus Society. 22 April 1987. 31 January 2007. .

Addiction in our brain

Addiction in our brain Over time, the brain adapts in a way that actually makes the activity less enjoyable. Addictions do not only include bodily things we consume, such as drugs or alcohol, but may include virtually anything. The main addictions tend to be alcohol and heroin, and psychological dependence to activities such as gambling, sex, work, running, shopping, or an eating disorder. Signs of drug addiction include changes in personality and behaviour like a lack of enthusiasm, touchiness, bloodshot eyes and frequent bloody noses, or slurred speech. Addiction is well-defined as a chronic relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is measured a brain disease because drugs change the brain they change its structure and how it works. Though everyone’s path to addiction is different whether he or she tries a drug or behaviour because it’s what that person’s parents or peer do, or just out of curiosity what’s common across all substance and behavioural addictions is their stunning ability to increase levels of an important chemical in the brain called dopamine. If you have a blood relative, such as a parent or sibling, with alcohol or drug problems, you’re at greater risk of emerging into a drug addict. Men are more likely to have problems with drugs than women are. However, progression of addictive illnesses is known to be faster in females. Drug use is on the rise in the USA and 23.5 million Americans are addicted to alcohol a nd drugs. That’s approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12 roughly equal to the entire population of Texas. But only 11 per cent of those with an addiction receive conduct. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that between 40 and 60 per cent of recuperating drug addicts will eventually relapse. With heroin, those rates are even higher. Some experts place the rate of relapse for heroin addicts as high as 80 present, which means that the recovery rate may be as low as 20 per cent. Most people overcome addiction to alcohol or drugs on their own, without joining a support group or entering treatment. Alcoholism and other habits are not diseases. There are specific tools anyone can use to help themselves to overcome any addiction with or without professional assistance. The old belief that it took 21 days to change a habit has now been labelled a myth. According to psychologists, while it may take approximately 21 days of mindful and consistent effort to create a new habit, it takes far longer to break an existing habit. In conclusion to this I think that depending on what you do and your daily routine you can become addicted to anything, Some people face completely different addictions to others but the most common one seems to be drug addictions.