(1890-1947)
Kurt Lewin is
universally recognized as the founder of modern social psychology. He pioneered
the use of theory, using experimentation to test hypothesis. He placed an
everlasting significance on an entire discipline--group dynamics and action
research.
Lewin was born in the village of Moglino in the Prussian province of Posen in
1890. He completed his requirements for a Ph.D. in 1914, at the outset of WWI.
Two years later, in 1916, his degree from the University of Berlin was conferred.
Lewin immigrated to the United States in 1933, where he became a citizen in
1940.
While at the University of Berlin, Lewin "found many of the department's courses
in the grand tradition of Wundtian psychology irrelevant and dull" (Hothersall,
1995, p.239). His thinking was changing to emphasize social psychological
problems. He is well known for his term "life space" and work on group dynamics,
as well as t-groups. Lewin's commitment to applying psychology to the problems
of society led to the development of the M.I.T. Research Center for Group
Dynamics. "He wanted to reach beyond the mere description of group life and to
investigate the conditions and forces which bring about change or resist it" (Marrow,
1969, p.178). Lewin believed in the field approach. For change to take place,
the total situation has to be taken into account. If isolated facts are used, a
misrepresented picture could develop.
Lewin authored over 80 articles and eight books on a wide range of issues in
psychology. Although no prestigious university offered
him an appointment, and the
American Psychological Association never selected him for any assignment or
appointed him to any committee of any significance, his everlasting presence has
left him in the ranks of Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner.
Group
Dynamics
"The creation of an empirically verifiable theory, Lewin knew, was the essence
of science; research, therefore, had to be guided by the need to develop an
integrated concept of the processes of group life" (Marrow, 1969, p.183). With
this in mind, Lewin established the Research Center on Group Dynamics at
Massachusetts's Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). The following six major
program areas were developed...
(1) Group
productivity: why was it that groups are so ineffective in getting things done?
(2) Communication: how influence is spread throughout a group. (3) Social
perception: how a person's group affected the way they perceived social events.
(4) Intergroup relations. (5) Group membership: how individuals adjust to these
conditions. (6) training leaders: improving the functioning of groups (T-groups).
"The chief
methodological approach would be that of developing actual group experiments of
change, to be carried on in the laboratory or in the field" (Marrow, 1969,
p.179). Group life was to be viewed in its totality, not on an individual basis.
Lewin vowed that C.C.I. would not just find working methods, but would not quit
until these methods were put into action. The group dynamic studies should be
carried out in real life situations, concentrating on fighting prejudice. Going
along with these, Lewin and his colleagues established three major research
areas of priority (Marrow, p.192):
(1) "The conditions which improve the effectiveness of community leaders who are
attempting to better intergroup relations,"
(2) "The effect of the conditions under which contact between persons from
different groups takes place."
(3) "The influences which are most effective in producing in minority-group
members and increased sense of belongingness, and improved personal adjustment,
and better relations with individuals of other groups".
Lewin's group
dynamics has been utilized in such areas as educational facilities, industrial
settings, and communities. Great improvements have been made in these areas of
interest throughout the twentieth century.
Examples
of Lewin's Theory
(1) Gang Behavior: Religious services had been disturbed on Yom Kippur by a gang
of Italian Catholics. Lewin assembled a group of workers comprised of Catholics,
Jews, Negroes, and Protestants. The groups first action was to get the four
young men who were arrested for the crime put into the custody of local priests
and the Catholic Big Brothers. Next, they involved as many community members as
possible to make improvements more likely. It was decided that the act was not
one of anti-Semitism, but one of general hostility. Likewise, it was not a
problem that could be solved by sending the men to jail. The solution was to
eliminate the frustrations of community life by establishing better housing,
enhancing transportation, and building recreational facilities. These would
allow members of different backgrounds and groups to integrate.
Plans were
put into motion to get the projects completed. The members of the gang kept in
contact, and within a year, conditions had improved greatly. There seemed to be
no change in attitude toward the Negroes and Jews, but aggression towards them
had ceased.
(2) Law and
Social Change: Lewin believed that prejudice caused discrimination, not resulted
from it, and altering that behavior could change attitudes. "He held that if
universities were required by law to admit students on merit and not on the
basis of race or religion, the practice would bring new and more favorable
attitudes" (Marrow, 1969, p.204). If the support of discrimination is taken away,
the base will be weakened. Discrimination could be overcome by enforcing
legislation with community education. Using this, the Medical School of Columbia
University was sued for their quota on how many Jews were permitted to enroll.
The case was settled out of court, which led to the revision of quotas in
leading colleges and universities throughout the United States.
(3)
Integration of Negro Sales Personnel: Facts were compiled about department
stores not hiring Negro personnel because the customers may object to it.
Customers were interviewed who had dealt with Negro clerks, those who had dealt
with white clerks, and white persons on the street. Those twelve who responded
in a prejudiced manor were asked if they would continue to shop at that
particular store with Negro sales people. They said no, but previously five of
them had been observed shopping at a counter with a Negro sales person. Over
sixty percent of the others surveyed said they would still shop at the
department store.
It was
concluded that even if a customer is prejudiced, it did not influence where they
shopped, or who they purchased goods from--a white or Negro clerk. Therefore,
fear of sales declining was not supported by the evidence.
Time Line
of Lewin's Life
1890 Born in Moglino, Prussian province of Posen
1914 Enters Army for four years during WWI
1916 Completed Ph.D., University of Berlin
1917 Married Maria Landsberg
1919 Daughter, Agnes, born
1921 Privatdozent, University of Berlin
1922 Son, Fritz, born
1924 Student Bluma Zeigarnik completes study on recall of uncompleted tasks
1927 Promoted to Ausserordentlicher Professor
1929 Remarried Gertrud Weiss
1931 Daughter, Miriam, born
1932 Visiting Professor, Stanford University
1933 Son, Daniel, born
1933 Fled Germany to United States
1933 Faculty, Cornell University
1935 Published "A Dynamic Theory of Personality"
1935 Professor, University of Iowa
1936 Published "Principles of Topological Psychology"
1940 Becomes American citizen
1942 President of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
1944 Organized Research Center For Group Dynamics,M.I.T.
1944 Established Commission on Community Interrelations (C.C.I.)
1944 Mother killed in Nazi Extermination camp
1946 Published Psychological Problems in Jewish Education
1946 Published "Frontiers in Group Dynamics"
1947 Created National Laboratories Training
1947 Died
Bibliography
Hothersall, David. (1995). History of Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill,
Inc. pp. 239-253.
Marrow, Alfred F. (1969). The Practical Theorist: The Life and Work of Kurt
Lewin. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Schultz, Duane P., and Sydney Ellen Schultz. (1994). Psychology and Work
Today. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. pp. 204.
T-Group Theory and Laboratory Method. (1964). New York: John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
Worchel, Stephen, and Wayne Shebilske. (1992). Psychology: Principles and
Applications. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. pp. 604.
http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/lewin.htm