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Lewin, a social psychologist, believed the "field" to be a Gestalt psychological environment existing in an individual's (or in the collective group) mind at a certain point in time that can be mathematically described in a topological constellation of constructs. The "field" is very dynamic, changing with time and experience.
This model of change, developed by Lewin, was a simplistic view of the process to change. This original model "developed in the 1920s and fully articulated in Lewin's (1936a) book Principles of Topological Psychology" [8] paved the way for other change models to be developed in the future.
An early model of change developed by Lewin described change as a three-stage process. [15] The first stage he called "unfreezing". It involved overcoming inertia and dismantling the existing "mind set". It must be part of surviving. Defense mechanisms have to be bypassed. In the second stage the change occurs.
Major adjustments and reevaluations would return the OD project to the first or planning stage for basic changes in the program. The action-research model shown in Figure 1 closely follows Lewin's repetitive cycle of planning, action, and measuring results. It also illustrates other aspects of Lewin's general model of change.
When Lewin moved to the USA, he had become more involved with real world issues and the need to understand and change human behavior. His desire and personal involvement with gestalt psychology led to the development of his field theory. [1] Lewin's field theory emphasized interpersonal conflict, individual personalities, and situational variables.
Although he died before the TIHR was formally established, Kurt Lewin was an important influence on the work of the Tavistock: he was a notable influence on Trist, and contributed an article to the first issue of Human Relations. [23] [24] Many of the members of the Tavistock Institute went on to play major roles in psychology.
The Harwood Experiment was part of Lewin's continuing exploration of participatory action research. [6] The Harwood studies can be divided into three time frames: the Lewin years, 1939 to 1947; the post-Lewin years, 1947 to 1962; and the Weldon years (after Harwood took over the Weldon Manufacturing Corporation), 1962 onward. [7]
Lewin's emphasis on the present state of the life space did not preclude the idea that an individual's past may impact the present state of the life space: "[The] influence of the previous history is to be thought of as indirect in dynamic psychology: From the point of view of systematic causation, past events cannot influence present events.