law of similarity

American  

[law uhv sim-uh-lar-i-tee] / ˈlɔ əv ˌsɪm əˈlær ɪ ti /

Or Law of Similarity

noun

1. Psychology. (in Gestalt psychology) the idea that things that are similar tend to be perceived as a unit.

   The law of similarity can be evoked with color, shape, size, texture, or almost any other attribute.

2. the idea that things or actions that are similar have a connection to each other or can affect each other without a perceptible means of doing so.

   The ritual operates on the basis of the magical law of similarity, according to which the imitation of an action causes it to happen.

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Etymology

Origin of law of similarity

First recorded in 1845–50

Example Sentences

A second is the law of similarity, or “Things that appear similar are similar. Appearance equals reality.”

From New York Times • Dec. 27, 2021

Paul Rozin, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that these studies demonstrate the magical law of similarity.

From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2014

The replica’s appeal is related to another form of thinking called the law of similarity, Dr. Newman said.

From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2011

Here again the taboo is clearly derived from the law of similarity.

From The Golden Bough by Frazer, James George, Sir

On the first point the English School appeals to a law that it calls the law of similarity or faculty of identifying the like in the different.

From The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, October 1879 by Various