| Kurt Lewin |
|
| Born |
September 9,1890
|
| Died |
February 12,1947
Newtonville, Massachusetts
|
| Citizenship |
Germany, United States |
| Field |
Psychology |
| Institutions |
Institute for Social Research
Center for Group Dynamics (MIT)
National Training Laboratories
Duke University |
| Alma mater |
University of Berlin |
| Academic advisor |
Carl Stumpf |
| Notable students |
Leon Festinger, Roger Barker,
Bluma Zeigarnik |
| Known for |
Group Dynamics, Action research,
T-groups |
| Influenced |
Fritz Perls, M. Pat Korb, Brian J. Mistler, Eric Trist, David
A. Kolb |
Kurt Zadek Lewin (September 9,1890 -
February 12,1947), a German-born psychologist, is one of the modern pioneers of social,
organizational, and applied psychology. Lewin is often recognized as the "founder of social psychology" and was one of
the first researchers to study group dynamics and organizational development. In an empirical study by Haggbloom et al using six criteria such as
citations and recognition, Lewin was found to be the 18th most eminent psychologist of the 20th Century.[1]
Lewin coined the notion of genidentity,[2] which has gained some importance in various theories of space-time
and related fields. He also proposed Herbert Blumer's interactionist perspective of 1937 as an alternative to the nature versus nurture debate. Lewin suggested that neither nature (inborn tendencies) nor nurture
(how experiences in life shape individuals) alone can
account for individuals' behavior and personalities, but rather that both nature and nurture interact to shape each person. This
idea was presented in the form of Lewin's Equation for behavior B=ƒ(P,E).
Prominent psychologists mentored by Kurt Lewin included Leon Festinger (1919 - 1989), who
became known for his cognitive dissonance theory (1956), environmental psychologist
Roger Barker, and Bluma Zeigarnik.
Biography
In 1890, he was born into a Jewish family in Mogilno,
Poland (then in County of Mogilno, province of
Posen, Prussia). He served in the German army
when World War I began. Due to a war wound, he returned to the University of Berlin to complete his Ph.D., with Carl
Stumpf (1848 - 1936) the supervisor of his doctoral thesis. He died in Newtonville, Massachusetts of a heart-attack in 1947.
He was buried in his home town.
Kurt had originally been involved with schools of behavioral psychology before changing directions in research and undertaking
work wih psychologists of the Gestalt school of psychology, including
Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Kohler. Lewin often
associated with the early Frankfurt School, originated by an influential group of
largely Jewish Marxists at the Institute for
Social Research in Germany. But when Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933 the
Institute members had to disband, moving to England and then to America. In that year, he met with Eric Trist, of the London Tavistock Clinic. Trist was impressed
with his theories and went on to use them in his studies on soldiers during the Second World War.
Lewin emigrated to the United States in August 1933 and became a naturalized citizen in 1940. Lewin worked at Cornell University and for the
Child Welfare Research Station at the University of Iowa. Later, he went on to become director of the Center for Group Dynamics
at MIT. While working with at MIT in 1946, Lewin received a phone
call from the Director of the Connecticut State Inter Racial Commission requesting help to find
an effective way to combat religious and racial prejudices. He set up a workshop to conduct a 'change' experiment, which laid the
foundations for what is now known as sensitivity training. In 1947, this led to the
establishment of the National Training Laboratories, at Bethel, Maine. Carl Rogers believed
that sensitivity training is "perhaps the most significant social invention of this century."
Following WWII Lewin was involved in the psychological rehabilitation of former
occupants of displaced persons camps with Dr. Jacob Fine at Harvard Medical School. When Eric Trist and A T M Wilson wrote to Lewin proposing a journal in partnership with their newly founded Tavistock Institute and his group at MIT, Lewin agreed. The Tavistock journal,
Human Relations, was founded with two early papers by Lewin entitled
"Frontiers in Group Dynamics". Lewin taught for a time at Duke University [1].
Force field analysis
-
'Force field analysis is one of the most influential developments in the field of social science. Force field analysis
provides a framework for looking at the factors (forces) that influence a situation, originally social situations. It
looks at forces that are either driving movement toward a goal (helping forces) or
blocking movement toward a goal (hindering forces). The principle, developed by Kurt Lewin, is a significant contribution to the
fields of social science, psychology,
social psychology, organizational
development, process management, and change management.[3]
Action research
-
Lewin, then a professor at MIT, first coined the term “action research” in about 1944, and it appears in his 1946 paper
“Action Research and Minority Problems”.[4] In that paper,
he described action research as “a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and
research leading to social action” that uses “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and
fact-finding about the result of the action”.
Leadership climates
Lewin often characterized organizational management styles and cultures in terms of leadership climates defined by (1) authoritarian, (2) democratic and (3) laissez-faire work environments. Authoritarian environments are characterized where the leader determines
policy with techniques and steps for work tasks dictated by the leader in the division of
labor. The leader is not necessarily hostile but is aloof from participation in work and commonly offers personal praise and criticism for the work
done. Democratic climates are characterized where policy is determined through collective processes with decisions assisted by
the leader. Before accomplishing tasks, perspectives are gained from group discussion and technical advice from a leader. Members
are given choices and collectively decide the division of
labor. Praise and criticism in such an environment are
objective, fact minded and given by a group member without necessarily having participated
extensively in the actual work. Laissez faire environments give freedom to the group for policy determination without any
participation from the leader. The leader remains uninvolved in work decisions unless asked, does not participate in the division
of labor, and very infrequently gives praise. (Miner 2005: 39-40) [5]
Change process
-
An early model of change developed by Lewin described change as a three-stage process. The first stage he called "unfreezing".
It involved overcoming inertia and dismantling the existing "mind set". Defense mechanisms have to be bypassed. In the second
stage the change occurs. This is typically a period of confusion and transition. We are aware that the old ways are being
challenged but we do not have a clear picture to replace them with yet. The third and final stage he called "freezing". The new
mindset is crystallizing and one's comfort level is returning to previous levels. This is often misquoted as "refreezing" (see
Lewin K (1947) Frontiers in Group Dynamics).
Lewin's equation
-
Lewin's Equation, B=ƒ(P,E), is a psychological equation of behavior developed by Kurt Lewin. It states that behavior is a
function of the person and his or her
environment [6].
The equation is the psychologist's most well known formula in social psychology, of
which Lewin was a modern pioneer. When first presented in Lewin's book Principles of Topological Psychological, published
in 1936, it contradicted most popular theories in that it gave importance to a person's momentary
situation in understanding his or her behavior, rather than relying entirely on the past. [7]
References
- ^ Haggbloom, S.J. et al. (2002). The 100 Most Eminent Psychologists of the
20th Century. Review of General Psychology. Vol. 6, No. 2, 139–15. Haggbloom et al combined 3 quantitative variables:
citations in professional journals, citations in textbooks, and nominations in a survey given to members of the Association for Psychological Science, with 3 qualitative variables (converted to
quantitative scores): National Academy of Science (NAS)
membership, American Psychological Association (APA) President and/or recipient of the APA Distinguished Scientific Contributions
Award, and surname used as an eponym. Then the list was rank ordered.
- ^ Lewin, K. (1922). Der Begriff der Genese in Physik, Biologie und
Entwicklungsgeschichte. (Lewin's Habilitationsschrift)
- ^ Lewin K. (1943). Defining the "Field at a Given Time." Psychological
Review. 50: 292-310. Republished in Resolving Social Conflicts & Field Theory in Social Science, Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association, 1997.
- ^ Lewin, K. (1946) Action research and minority problems. J Soc. Issues 2(4):
34-46
- ^ Miner, J. B. (2005). Organizational Behavior: Behavior 1: Essential Theories of Motivation and
Leadership. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe.
- ^ Sansone, C.; C. C. Morf, A. T. Panter (2003). The Sage Handbook of Methods in Social Psychology. Sage. ISBN
076192535X.
- ^ Balkenius, C. (1995). Natural
Intelligence in Artificial Creatures. Lund University Cognitive Studies, 37. ISBN 91-628-1599-7.
Bibliography
- Marrow, Alfred J. The Practical Theorist: The Life and Work of Kurt Lewin (1969, 1984) ISBN 0-934698-22-8 (Marrow
studied as one of Lewin's students)
- White, Ralph K., and Ronald O. Lippitt, Autocracy and Democracy (1960, 1972) ISBN 0-8371-5710-2 (White and Lippitt
carried out the research described here under Lewin as their thesis-advisor; Marrow's book also briefly describes the same work
in chapter 12.)
- Weisbord, Marvin R., Productive Workplaces Revisited (2004) ISBN 0-7879-7117-0 (Chapters 4: Lewin: the Practical
Theorist, Chapter 5: The Learning Organization: Lewin's Legacy to Management.)
See also
External links
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