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Understanding the Law of Proximity

Travis Hartin, Chevette Alston, Maria Airth
  • Author
    Travis Hartin

    Travis has taught college-level statistics, research methods, and psychology courses for eight years. Travis has a Master’s degree and PhD in experimental psychology from Kent State University with a focus on student learning and cognitive research.

  • Instructor
    Chevette Alston

    Dr. Alston has taught intro psychology, child psychology, and developmental psychology at 2-year and 4-year schools.

  • Expert Contributor
    Maria Airth

    Maria has taught University level psychology and mathematics courses for over 20 years. They have a Doctorate in Education from Nova Southeastern University, a Master of Arts in Human Factors Psychology from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Flagler College.

Explore the concept of the Law of Proximity and Gestalt psychology, learn about how the law is used, and understand several Law of Proximity examples. Updated: 02/11/2022

The Law of Proximity: Definition

Gestalt psychology is a subfield of psychology that focuses on human perception. Psychologists from this school of thought theorize and describe how people organize and interpret visual stimuli. The term itself means unified whole, and the phrase "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" is a famous expression used to illustrate some of the basic Gestalt ideas and principles. The general Gestalt view is that people perceive individual pieces of visual information (e.g., shapes, symbols) in relation to one another depending on the ways in which they are organized or configured. There are several laws of perceptual organization that describe these effects, and they were introduced by Max Wertheimer.

One example of a Gestalt principle is the law of proximity, which is also known as grouping or the grouping principle. According to this principle, objects that are close together are often perceived as belonging together as a group. For example, take a moment to look at Figure 1.

Figure 1 - The lines that are close together can be perceived as columns.

Lines as columns

Since the lines in Figure 1 are close together, people often view them as columns.

Figure 2 - These are often viewed as a series of lines.

Series of lines

In contrast, the lines in Figure 2 are often viewed simply as a series of lines since they are not grouped in a way that affects perception.

The Phi Phenomenon and Proximity Perception

The phi phenomenon is a type of optical illusion in which stationary objects or pictures appear to be moving when they are placed side-by-side and then rapidly illuminated in succession. For example, movie theaters and casinos often use this method on signs or advertisements to create the sense that the sign is moving. This is possible because the illuminated objects are close together and arranged in a specific pattern. Older styles of animation are another example of the phi phenomenon. Older cartoons are made of a series of still drawings that are presented rapidly to give the viewers the sense that the drawings are moving. This only occurs when the individual images are presented in a close enough proximity of each other; the sense of motion diminishes if their presentation is too slow or far apart in time.


Casino signs often use the phi phenomenon to give the perception of motion.

Casino


Definition of the Law of Proximity

The Law of Proximity states that objects that are near or 'proximate' to each other tend to be grouped together. It is part of the Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization and Gestalt psychology, which was founded by Max Wertheimer. Wertheimer noted that rapid sequences of events create the illusion of motion. An example of this would be movies or motion pictures. Movies are actually a rapid succession of still images that create a seamless visual experience. This is also known as the phi phenomenon.

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The Law of Proximity: How it Works

  • The law of proximity is about the physical distance between objects or things.
  • Things or objects that are close together are perceived as a group or unit.
  • Things or objects that are not close together are not perceived as belonging together.
  • The closer together the things or objects, the more likely they will be perceived as a group. In other words, the bigger the physical space between objects, the less likely they will be grouped or associated based on proximity.

Uses and Functions

The law of proximity can be used to teach children new concepts or categories of objects. For example, some species of animals live and travel together in groups. Seeing a group of new animals can help children learn important facts about them, such as the features and behaviors that are typical of the type of animal. Also, seeing different types of animals in groups that are separated by proximity can help them understand the important differences between them, such as learning the differences between lions and hyenas.

The law of proximity is also used to categorize sports teams. Members of the same team often stay within proximity of each other to keep themselves distinct from members of an opposing team. For example, football players often huddle together between plays, and they often group together on the same side and area of the football field at the beginning of a play.

The Law of Proximity: Psychology Examples

There are several examples of the law of proximity occurring in the real-world, even though most people probably aren't aware of Gestalt psychology.

Example 1

Marching bands often use the law of proximity during various performances, such as during half-time shows of football games. The individual band members often group together in ways that are perceived as shapes, letters, and even words. For example, marching bands often group together to give the perception of their school's initials. They also often group together to give the perception of shapes, like stars, squares, or pyramids.

Example 2

Fruits and vegetables are often grouped together at markets and grocery stores. Even similar varieties of fruit tend to be located within close proximity of each other. For example, different varieties of apples are typically grouped close together, and apples are often positioned near other similar fruit (e.g., pears). The same is typically true of citrus fruit, such as oranges, lemons, and grapefruit. In fact, food items are typically organized this way in general.

Example 3

Similar species of animals are typically close in proximity in zoos. For example, zoos often have reptile exhibits that include a wide variety of reptiles, like snakes and lizards. Aquariums contain different varieties of fish. And primate exhibits often group chimpanzees, orangutans, and rhesus monkeys close together in proximity. In fact, the law of proximity can often be observed in nature, such as in the case of flower fields and forests; flowers and trees of the same variety tend to grow together in close proximity.

Laws of Perceptual Organization

The law of proximity is just one of the laws of perceptual organization found in Gestalt psychology. Here are some of the other laws:

Perceptual Organization

The Laws of Perceptual Organization are a set of perceptual organization principles that explain how our minds group smaller objects together to form large objects. Likewise, the Law of Proximity is a visual and perceptual organization concept that states that when movement and grouping happen visually, our minds fill in any missing information. 'The whole is greater than a sum of its individual parts' has influenced the discovery of phenomena that often occur during the visual perception of things we see.

Basically, the Law of Proximity states that the brain more closely associates objects close to each other than it does when objects are spaced far apart. It is thought this kind of clustering occurs because humans often have a natural inclination to want to group and organize things in a neat and organized manner. In the example below, the blue circles on the left present as a group of vertical circles. The blue circles on the right appear to be grouped in two horizontal rows.

Law of Proximity

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Video Transcript

Definition of the Law of Proximity

The Law of Proximity states that objects that are near or 'proximate' to each other tend to be grouped together. It is part of the Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization and Gestalt psychology, which was founded by Max Wertheimer. Wertheimer noted that rapid sequences of events create the illusion of motion. An example of this would be movies or motion pictures. Movies are actually a rapid succession of still images that create a seamless visual experience. This is also known as the phi phenomenon.

Perceptual Organization

The Laws of Perceptual Organization are a set of perceptual organization principles that explain how our minds group smaller objects together to form large objects. Likewise, the Law of Proximity is a visual and perceptual organization concept that states that when movement and grouping happen visually, our minds fill in any missing information. 'The whole is greater than a sum of its individual parts' has influenced the discovery of phenomena that often occur during the visual perception of things we see.

Basically, the Law of Proximity states that the brain more closely associates objects close to each other than it does when objects are spaced far apart. It is thought this kind of clustering occurs because humans often have a natural inclination to want to group and organize things in a neat and organized manner. In the example below, the blue circles on the left present as a group of vertical circles. The blue circles on the right appear to be grouped in two horizontal rows.

Law of Proximity

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  • Activities
  • FAQs

Real World Example

Text-based examples are a great way to help students begin to understand a concept, but when they can find examples of that concept for themselves in the real world, their understanding becomes very strong. This activity is designed to help students develop a deep understanding of the Law of Proximity by finding examples of this phenomenon in the real world.

Materials

  • Students will need a notepad and/or electronic device for taking notes and drawing pictures of examples found in the real world.
  • Access to research material (such as the internet or a library) for further research if necessary.

Instructions

  • Students should review the lesson until they have a strong grasp on the concept of the Law of Proximity. If desired, students can research the Gestalt principles of grouping further before starting this project.
  • Students should look around for examples of the Law of Proximity in Perceptual Organization in their environments. They might focus on:
    • A nearby park
    • A room in the house
    • A library
    • Anywhere that the student frequents
  • Students should find between 3 and 5 examples (to be determined by student skill level) of the concept.
  • For each example the student should:
    • Describe where the example was found.
    • Explain what the object of the example is.
    • Discuss why it represents the Law of Proximity and how it shows perceptual organization in the environment.
    • Draw the object in the environment to illustrate how the law applies.

Example

  • A student might notice that a set of books on a bookshelf represents the Law of Proximity and group well. To write the report, the student might say:
    • Books were observed on the shelf of a bookcase in the library.
    • Five books were seen pressed tightly together with a bookend ensuring that they stayed pressed together. A space was observed on the shelf between the five books and other books.
    • The five books pressed together present as a group and can be assumed to be a grouping of some type because of their enforced proximity to each other.
    • {The student would also include a picture of the example.}

What is an example of the Gestalt principle of proximity?

The law of proximity is used in marketing and advertising. For example, the NBC peacock logo is a collection of separate images that appear to make a whole based on proximity.

What is the law of proximity?

The law of proximity is also known as grouping or the grouping principle. According to this law, objects that are close together are often perceived as belonging together as a group.

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