ived ▁individually , ▁the ▁lights ▁turn ▁off ▁and ▁on ▁at ▁designated ▁times . ▁Another ▁example ▁of ▁this ▁would ▁be ▁a ▁brick ▁house : ▁As ▁a ▁whole , ▁it ▁is ▁viewed ▁as ▁a ▁standing ▁structure . ▁However , ▁it ▁is ▁actually ▁composed ▁of ▁many ▁smaller ▁parts , ▁which ▁are ▁individual ▁br icks . ▁People ▁tend ▁to ▁see ▁things ▁from ▁a ▁hol istic ▁point ▁of ▁view ▁rather ▁than ▁breaking ▁it ▁down ▁into ▁sub ▁units . ▁ ▁In ▁Gest alt ▁theory , ▁psych olog ists ▁say ▁that ▁instead ▁of ▁obtain ing ▁knowledge ▁from ▁what ' s ▁in ▁front ▁of ▁us , ▁we ▁often ▁learn ▁by ▁making ▁sense ▁of ▁the ▁relationship ▁between ▁what ' s ▁new ▁and ▁old . ▁Because ▁we ▁have ▁a ▁unique ▁perspective ▁of ▁the ▁world , ▁humans ▁have ▁the ▁ability ▁to ▁generate ▁their ▁own ▁learning ▁experiences ▁and ▁interpret ▁information ▁that ▁may ▁or ▁may ▁not ▁be ▁the ▁same ▁for ▁someone ▁else . ▁ ▁Gest alt ▁psych olog ists ▁critic ize ▁behavior ists ▁for ▁being ▁too ▁dependent ▁on ▁over t ▁behavior ▁to ▁explain ▁learning . ▁They ▁propose ▁looking ▁at ▁the ▁patterns ▁rather ▁than ▁isolated ▁events . ▁Gest alt ▁views ▁of ▁learning ▁have ▁been ▁incorpor ated ▁into ▁what ▁have ▁come ▁to ▁be ▁l abeled ▁cogn itive ▁theories . ▁Two ▁key ▁assumptions ▁under lie ▁this ▁cogn itive ▁approach : ▁that ▁the ▁memory ▁system ▁is ▁an ▁active ▁organized ▁processor ▁of ▁information ▁and ▁that ▁prior ▁knowledge ▁plays ▁an ▁important ▁role ▁in ▁learning . ▁Gest alt ▁the or ists ▁believe ▁that ▁for ▁learning ▁to ▁occur , ▁prior ▁knowledge ▁must ▁exist ▁on