Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory: The Interaction Between Person And Environment

A few years ago, the branch of psychology called social psychology did not exist. People saw the behavior as nothing more than reactions. Behaviorism was the popular theory at the time. Scientists used it and tried to explain our behavior based on that theory. When someone hits you, your response is to protect yourself by bending to the side or dodging the next blow. According to this thinking pattern, stimuli and associations shape our behavior. Kurt Lewin’s field theory attempted to answer the gaps in behaviorist theory.

Because that relationship between stimulus and reaction was too simple. Behaviorism overlooked a person’s perception and even thoughts. The behaviorists also failed to make the connection that behaviors are the result of an interaction between a person and his environment.

Kurt Lewin was the one person who saw it. In addition to other theories, this psychologist also designed field theory. Here the emphasis is on the interaction between people and their environment. His research was so important that he now appears to be one of the fathers of social psychology.

The Life of Kurt Lewin

Kurt Lewin was born in Prussia, what we now call Poland. His family later moved to Germany. There he studied medicine and biology. Eventually, he began to become more interested in psychology and philosophy.

During World War II, Kurt was wounded after Germany sent him to the battlefield. On his return home, he went to work at the Berlin Institute of Psychology. As the Nazis began to gain power, Kurt decided to leave Germany. He eventually settled in the United States. There he taught at several universities.

He had already come into contact with ideologies that resembled socialism, Marxism and the struggle for women’s rights. Based on those ideas, he came to one conclusion: psychology can help make society more equal. That is why he endeavored to determine and understand the factors that really played a role in our behavior.

Kurt Lewin’s goal was to investigate human behavior. To this end, he sought inspiration in the theories of relativity and quantum physics. He discovered one theory that could work for him: the field theory. He wanted that theory to be part of psychology. So he decided to study the behavior but without separating it from its natural context.

That is also the reason why he focused on study groups. His research is the precursor of what would later become social psychology and organizational psychology. Kurt Lewin’s experiments involved group psychology, organizational change dynamics, and leadership.

Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory

Kurt Lewin’s field theory takes its ideas from field theory in physics. Based on that, Lewin designed two basic principles for his field theory.

• The first is that a behavior comes about through a set of facts that exist simultaneously.
• The second says that these coincident facts have the characteristics of a “dynamic field”. This means that the state of each of the parts of the field depends on all the others.

In physics, a field is a spatial zone where properties are present that manifest themselves as physical quantities (temperature, energy, etc.). Lewin used the concept of an “energy field” from physics in his field theory. With this understanding he explained the environmental factors that play a role in human behavior.

According to Kurt Lewin’s field theory, behavior does not depend on the past or the future. It actually depends on all the current facts and events and how a person sees them. The facts are interconnected. They build up an energy field that he called the living space.

The living space

The life space or psychological energy field is the environment around a person and his perception of immediate reality. In fact, it is a subjective, personal space.

It’s like a summary of the way you look at the world. It includes all your goals, possibilities, fears, experiences and expectations. But this field also has certain limitations. These come mainly from the physical and social characteristics of the environment.

Kurt Lewin’s field theory studies our behavior from a total perspective. That way we don’t end up with an analysis where everything is split into itself. The influence of the psychological field on our behavior is enormous. Even Lewin has said that if there are no changes in the field, there is no change in behavior at all.

Lewin thought that psychology should not focus on the study of people and their environment as if they were two completely separate pieces. Rather, he thought we should look at the way they affect each other in real time.

The relevant parameters

According to Kurt Lewin’s field theory, every part affects every other part, just like an energy field. To understand our behavior we must remember that all real time parameters play a role. This is true in the case of an individual and also of a group.

We can also parse these elements separately. So we need to focus on the study of how they interact with each other. That way we get a complete picture of what exactly is happening. To explain this idea, Lewin proposed three key parameters. Here they are:

• Energy: This causes the actions and motivates them. When there is a need, an energy or an energy field will arise. That will lead to an action. All these actions have a charge. It can be positive or negative. The charge of these actions also leads to other actions (positive) or pushes back (negative). The behavior that comes from all this responds to the psychological mix of different energies.
• Tension: This is the difference between a person’s goal and his current state. This tension is internal. It encourages you to persevere with your intentions.

• Need: This starts the motivational tension. When a person has a physical or psychological need, an inner state of tension will awaken within him. This tension causes the system (the person) to change and try to return to its initial state and satisfy its need.

Motivations for Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory

Kurt Lewin said you can explain all your actions with one simple fact. We look for specific ways and ways to relieve certain tensions. We are drawn to those actions that we view as ways to release that tension.

Kurt thought these kinds of actions should have a positive charge. So that’s why you feel the energy pushing you to carry them out. Other actions then have the opposite effect. They will make your tension rise. These actions therefore have a repulsive effect.

To better understand all this, let’s give an example of a need we all have: the need for recognition. When you begin to feel this need, it awakens a motivation to gain recognition in an area that interests you. That motivation will have a positive charge. It will make you act for the purpose of gaining recognition.

The motivation will then create a tension between your current situation and your need for recognition. In turn, that will lead you to think of possible actions that will help you gain recognition. Depending on the area in which you want to be recognized, you will do whatever you think gives you the best chance of getting it.