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Kurt Lewin

Born September 9, 1890
Died February 12, 1947
Newtonville, Massachusetts
Citizenship Germany, United States
Fields Psychology
Institutions Institute for Social Research
Center for Group Dynamics (MIT)
National Training Laboratories
Duke University
Alma mater University of Berlin
Doctoral advisor Carl Stumpf
Doctoral students Leon Festinger, Roger Barker,
Bluma Zeigarnik
Known for Group Dynamics, Action research, T-groups
Influenced Fritz Perls, Abraham Maslow,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. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Newtonville is a Village of Newton Massachusetts.Located in Newtonville is Newton North High School, one of the city's two high schools The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and The Institute for Social Research ( German: Institut für Sozialforschung) is a research organization covering topics such as Sociology Kurt Lewin founded the National Training Laboratories, known as NTL, an American Non-profit Behavioral psychology center in 1947 Duke University is a private Research University located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval A doctorate is an Academic degree that indicates the highest level of academic achievement Carl Stumpf (21 April 1848 &ndash 25 December 1936 was a German philosopher and psychologist. Leon Festinger (pronounced Feh-sting-er ( New York City, May 8, 1919 – New York City, February 11, 1989) a prominent Roger Garlock Barker (1903 Macksburg Iowa - 1990 was a Social scientist, a founder of Environmental psychology and a leading figure in the field for Bluma Wulfovna Zeigarnik (Блюма Вульфовна Зейгарник 9 November, 1900 − 24 February, 1988) was a Soviet Group dynamics is the study of groups and also a general term for group processes Action research is a Reflective process of progressive Problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a " Community of practice In 1947 the Office of Naval Research and the National Education Association created the National Training Laboratories Institute in Bethel Maine. Friedrich (Frederick Salomon Perls ( July 8 1893 Berlin – March 14 1970, Chicago better known as Fritz Perls, was a noted German Abraham Harold Maslow ( April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist. Margaret "Pat" Korb is co-founder and director of The Gestalt Center of Gainesville Inc Brian J Mistler, BA BS MA ( University of Bradford) is an American born Philosopher and Writer. Eric Trist (Sept 1909 – June 4, 1993) was an British scientist and leading figure in the field of Organizational development (OD David A Kolb (born 1939 is an American educational theorist whose interests and publications focus on Experiential learning, the individual and social change Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Social psychology is the study of how people and groups interact Industrial and Organizational Psychology (also known as I/O psychology, work psychology, work and organizational psychology, occupational 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. Group dynamics is the study of groups and also a general term for group processes Organization development (OD is the process through which an organization develops the internal capacity to most efficiently and effectively provide its mission work and to sustain itself 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. The concept of genidentity, introduced by Kurt Lewin in his 1922 Habilitationsschrift "Der Begriff der Genese in Physik Biologie und Entwicklungsgeschichte" SpaceTime is a patent-pending three dimensional graphical user interface that allows end users to search their content such as Google Google Images Yahoo! YouTube eBay Amazon and RSS He also proposed Herbert Blumer's interactionist perspective of 1937 as an alternative to the nature versus nurture debate. Personal History Herbert Blumer was born March 7, 1900 in St Louis Missouri. Symbolic interactionism is a major sociological perspective that is influential in many areas of the discipline The nature versus nurture debates concern the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature" i 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. Experience as a general concept comprises Knowledge of or skill in or Observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or Personal life (or everyday life or human existence) is the course of an individual Human 's life especially when viewed as the sum of personal choices This idea was presented in the form of Lewin's Equation for behavior B=ƒ(P,E). Lewin's Equation, B=ƒ(PE is not actually a mathematical equation representing quantifiable relationships but rather a Heuristic designed by Psychologist Kurt Prominent psychologists mentored by Kurt Lewin included Leon Festinger (1919 - 1989), who became known for his cognitive dissonance theory (1956), environmental psychologist Roger Barker, Bluma Zeigarnik, and Morton Deutsch, the founder of modern conflict resolution theory and practice. Leon Festinger (pronounced Feh-sting-er ( New York City, May 8, 1919 – New York City, February 11, 1989) a prominent In Psychology, cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling or stress caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously Roger Garlock Barker (1903 Macksburg Iowa - 1990 was a Social scientist, a founder of Environmental psychology and a leading figure in the field for Bluma Wulfovna Zeigarnik (Блюма Вульфовна Зейгарник 9 November, 1900 − 24 February, 1988) was a Soviet Morton Deutsch (b February 4, 1920) is a social Psychologist and researcher in Conflict resolution.

Contents

Biography

In 1890, he was born into a Jewish family in Mogilno, Poland (then in County of Mogilno, province of Posen, Prussia). PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Mogilno is a town in central Poland, situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999 previously in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship (1975-1998 Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Kreis Mogilno was one of many Kreise (counties in the northern administrative district of Bromberg, in the Prussian Province of Posen. The Province of Posen (Provinz Posen Prowincja Poznańska was a province of Prussia from 1848-1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918 the whole Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state He served in the German army when World War I began. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All 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. Carl Stumpf (21 April 1848 &ndash 25 December 1936 was a German philosopher and psychologist. He died in Newtonville, Massachusetts of a heart-attack in 1947. Newtonville is a Village of Newton Massachusetts.Located in Newtonville is Newton North High School, one of the city's two high schools The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. He was buried in his home town.

Lewin had originally been involved with schools of behavioral psychology before changing directions in research and undertaking work with psychologists of the Gestalt school of psychology, including Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Kohler. Gestalt psychology (also Gestalt of the Berlin School) is a theory of mind and brain that proposes that the operational principle of the brain is holistic Max Wertheimer (April 15 1880 – October 12 1943 was a Czech -born Jewish teacher who was one of the three founders of Gestalt psychology, 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. The Frankfurt School is a school of neo-Marxist Critical theory, Social research, and Philosophy. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The Institute for Social Research ( German: Institut für Sozialforschung) is a research organization covering topics such as Sociology But when Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933 the Institute members had to disband, moving to England and then to America. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately In that year, he met with Eric Trist, of the London Tavistock Clinic. Eric Trist (Sept 1909 – June 4, 1993) was an British scientist and leading figure in the field of Organizational development (OD See Tavistock Institute for the independent charity focussing on group relations 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. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Naturalization is the acquisition of Citizenship or Nationality by somebody who was not a citizen or national of that country when he or she was born Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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. Sensitivity Training is a form of training that claims to make people more aware of their own prejudices and more sensitive to others In 1947, this led to the establishment of the National Training Laboratories, at Bethel, Maine. Kurt Lewin founded the National Training Laboratories, known as NTL, an American Non-profit Behavioral psychology center in 1947 Bethel (בֵּית אֵל also written as Beth El or Beth-El, meaning "House of God" (in general or " House of (the specific god named El The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean Carl Rogers believed that sensitivity training is "perhaps the most significant social invention of this century. Carl Ransom Rogers ( January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an influential American Psychologist and among the founders of the "

Following WWII Lewin was involved in the psychological rehabilitation of former occupants of displaced persons camps with Dr. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Jacob Fine at Harvard Medical School. Harvard Medical School ( HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University and currently the #1 medical school in America as ranked by U 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. Eric Trist (Sept 1909 – June 4, 1993) was an British scientist and leading figure in the field of Organizational development (OD This article is about the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations The Tavistock journal, Human Relations, was founded with two early papers by Lewin entitled "Frontiers in Group Dynamics". A journal (through French from late Latin diurnalis, daily has several related meanings a daily record of events or business a private Human Relations is the title of a journal published by the Tavistock Institute in London Lewin taught for a time at Duke University [1]. Duke University is a private Research University located in Durham, North Carolina, United States.

Force field analysis

Main article: Force field analysis

Force field analysis is one of the most influential developments in the field of social science. Force field analysis is an influential development in the field of social science It 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). A goal or objective consists of a projected state of affairs which a Person or a System plans or intends to achieve or bring about — a personal or 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. The social sciences comprise academic disciplines concerned with the study of the social life of human groups and individuals including Anthropology, Communication studies Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Social psychology is the study of how people and groups interact Organization development (OD is the process through which an organization develops the internal capacity to most efficiently and effectively provide its mission work and to sustain itself Process management is the ensemble of activities of planning and monitoring the performance of a Process, especially in the sense of Business process, often confused [3]

Action research

Main article: 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”. Action research is a Reflective process of progressive Problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a " Community of practice [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. Management (covering theory practice and scope of management and Manager' (covering the people who manage might help clarify and systematise Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic The word leadership can refer to Those entities that perform one or more acts of leading Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Laissez-faire ( pronunciation: French,; English,) is a French phrase literally meaning Let do (“allow to do” 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. Division of labour or specialization is the specialization of cooperative labour in specific circumscribed tasks and roles intended to increase the Productivity 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. Choice consists of the mental process of Thinking involved with the process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting A collective is a group of people who share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together on a specific project(s to achieve a common objective 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. In religion praise is an impassioned Exaltation of God (ie a Supreme Being, or Creation) typically as an expression of Gratitude The word critic comes from the Greek el κριτικός ( el-Latn kritikós) "able to discern" which in turn derives from the word "n objective account is one which attempts to capture the nature of the object studied in a way that does not depend on any features of the particular subject who studies it 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

Main article: Change management

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 as to what we are replacing 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

Main article: Lewin's equation

Lewin's Equation, B=ƒ(P,E), is a psychological equation of behavior developed by Kurt Lewin. Lewin's Equation, B=ƒ(PE is not actually a mathematical equation representing quantifiable relationships but rather a Heuristic designed by Psychologist Kurt Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Behavior or behaviour (see spelling differences) refers to the actions or Reactions of an object or Organism, usually It states that behavior is a function of the person and his or her environment [6]. The Mathematical concept of a function expresses dependence between two quantities one of which is given (the independent variable, argument of the function The term person is used in Common sense to mean an individual Human being. The social environment (context, also known as the Milieu, is the identical or similar Social positions and Social roles as a whole that influence the individuals

The equation is the psychologist's most well known formula in social psychology, of which Lewin was a modern pioneer. Social psychology is the study of how people and groups interact When first presented in Lewin's book Principles of Topological Psychology, 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. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [7]

References

  1. ^ 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. The Association for Psychological Science (APS previously the American Psychological Society is a society for scientific Psychology, whose mission is to "promote The National Academy of Sciences (NAS is a corporation in the United States whose members serve Pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science Then the list was rank ordered.
  2. ^ Lewin, K. (1922). Der Begriff der Genese in Physik, Biologie und Entwicklungsgeschichte. (Lewin's Habilitationsschrift)
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Lewin, K. (1946) Action research and minority problems. J Soc. Issues 2(4): 34-46
  5. ^ Miner, J. B. (2005). Organizational Behavior: Behavior 1: Essential Theories of Motivation and Leadership. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe.  
  6. ^ Sansone, C. ; C. C. Morf, A. T. Panter (2003). The Sage Handbook of Methods in Social Psychology. Sage. ISBN 076192535X.  
  7. ^ Balkenius, C. (1995). Natural Intelligence in Artificial Creatures. Lund University Cognitive Studies, 37. ISBN 91-628-1599-7.  

Bibliography

See also

External links

Action research is a Reflective process of progressive Problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a " Community of practice Force field analysis is an influential development in the field of social science Ecological Systems Theory, also called "Development in Context" or "Human Ecology" theory specifies four types of nested environmental systems with bi-directional The Macy Conferences were a set of meetings of scholars from various disciplines held to discuss "Circular Causal and Feedback Mechanisms in Biological and Social Systems" held Social psychology is the study of how people and groups interact Group dynamics is the study of groups and also a general term for group processes Maintenance actions, historically referred to as socio-emotive actions, are those Leadership actions taken by one or more members of a group to enhance the social
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