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Kurt Lewin (/ l ɛ ˈ v iː n / lə-VEEN; 9 September 1890 – 12 February 1947) was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology in the United States. [1]
The concept first made its appearance in psychology with roots in the holistic perspective of Gestalt theories. It was developed by Kurt Lewin, a Gestalt psychologist, in the 1940s. Lewin's field theory can be expressed by a formula: B = f(p,e), meaning that behavior (B) is a function of the person (p) and their cultural environment (e). [1]
Kurt Lewin laid the foundations for sensitivity training in a series of workshops he organised in 1946, using his field theory as the conceptual background. [1] His work then contributed to the founding of the National Training Laboratories in Bethel, Maine in 1947 – now part of the National Education Association – and to their development of training groups or T-groups.
But as an articulated educational approach, experiential learning is of much more recent origin. Beginning in the 1970s, David A. Kolb helped develop the modern theory of experiential learning, drawing heavily on the work of John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget. [10] Experiential learning has significant teaching advantages.
Lewin took these same principles and applied them to the analysis of group conflict, learning, adolescence, hatred, morale, German society, etc. This approach allowed him to break down common misconceptions of these social phenomena and to determine their basic elemental constructs.
Kurt Lewin (1943, 1948, 1951) is commonly identified as the founder of the movement to study groups scientifically. He coined the term group dynamics to describe the way groups and individuals act and react to changing circumstances.
Crosby, G. "Planned Change: Why Kurt Lewin's Social Science is Still Best Practice for Business Results, Change Management, and Human Progress." (2021) ISBN 978-0-367-53577-3 Chapter 10 is "The Birth of the T-group." William Schutz, Elements of Encounter, 1973; Gerald Corey, Theory and Practice of Group Counseling, second edition, 1985
Lewin's field theory holds that a number of different and competing forces combine to result in the totality of the situation. A single person's behavior may be different in unique situations, as he or she is acting partly in response to these differential forces and factors (e.g. the environment, or E ):