Kurt Lewin’s field theory

years ago, before there was a branch of psychology called social psychology, behaviors were understood as simple reactions. Behaviorism was the theory in vogue and scientists used its premises to try to explain behavior. Thus, within this paradigm, stimuli and associations were what shaped behaviors.

However, this stimulus-response relationship was too simple. Behaviorism left aside human cognitions, thoughts. It did not take into account that behaviors are the result of an interaction between people and the environment (Caparrós, 1977). The one who did realize this was Kurt Lewin.

This psychologist created field theory (or force field theory), among others, paying attention to the interactions of groups with the environment. His studies led him to be considered one of the fathers of social psychology.

The life of Kurt Lewin

Kurt Lewin was born in Prussia, what is now known as Poland. Later, his family moved to Germany, where Kurt studied medicine and biology, although he ended up becoming more interested in psychology and philosophy.

From Germany, Kurt was sent to fight in World War I and was wounded there. When he returned, he began working at the Berlin Psychological Institute. With the Nazi uprising, Kurt decided to leave Germany and ended up settling in the United States, where he would teach at different universities..

Kurt had been in contact with ideologies close to socialism, Marxism and the fight for women’s rights. These ideas led him to a conclusion: Psychology could be helpful in changing society towards a more egalitarian one. For this reason, he dedicated his efforts to trying to identify and understand what factors influence our behavior.

In order to examine human behavior, Kurt Lewin He sought inspiration from theories that came from relativity and quantum physics. (Díaz Guerrero, 1972). He found a theory that he could use: field theory. To integrate it into psychology, he chose to study behaviors without isolating them from their natural context.

For this reason he focused on the study of groups. His studies established the precedent of what would become social psychology and organizational psychology.. His experiments revolved around the psychology of groups, the dynamics of organizational change and leadership.

field theory

Taking field theory from physics, Kurt Lewin established two basic conditions for his field theory. The first is that behavior must be deduced from a totality of coexisting facts (Fernández, 1993). The second says that these coexisting facts have the character of a dynamic field, since the state of each of the parts of the field depends on all the others.

A field, in physics, is an area of ​​space where there are properties represented by physical magnitudes (temperatures, forces, etc.). Lewin used the physical concept of “field of forces” in his theory to explain the environmental factors that influence human behavior.

Definition of human behavior according to Lewin

Behavior, in his opinion, depends neither on the past nor the future, but on current facts and events and how the subject perceives them. The facts are interconnected and constitute a dynamic field of forces that we can call vital space.

Therefore, The vital space or psychological field of forces would be the environment that encompasses the person and their perception of the nearby reality.. It is, in short, its own subjective space, which reflects the way we look at the world, with our aspirations, possibilities, fears, experiences and expectations.

That is to say, The psychological field can be understood as the vital space of each person in relation to everything that makes up our particular psychological universe. It is made up of the interpretations we make about the outside world and the way in which those interpretations fit, or do not fit, our needs, fears, and desires.

Positive and negative force fields

In this way, a positive force field will be built when we perceive that our needs can be favorably satisfied from what surrounds us.

On the contrary, a negative force field will be configured when we may suffer some damage or be harmed in some way in our environment.

According to the field theory proposed by Lewin, the human behavior model could be represented by the following equation: C=f (P,M).

This formula can be explained as the behavior (C) is equal to the function, that is, the interrelationship of dependence, between the person (P) and his environment (M).

Kurt Lewin’s field theory approach allows us to study our behavior with a holistic perspective, without remaining in an analysis of the parts separately. The influence of the psychological field on behavior is such that Lewin considers that he determines it: if there are no changes in the field, there will be no changes in behavior.

Relevant variables

As in a force field, all parts affect each other. To understand our behavior we must take into account all the variables that are intervening in it in real time, both at the individual level and at the group level.

Furthermore, these elements cannot be analyzed in isolation, but rather we must focus on studying their interactions to have a holistic view of what is happening.

To explain it, Lewin (1988) introduced three variables that he considered fundamental. These are the following:

The force: force is the cause of actions, motivation. When a need exists, a force or force field is produced, leading to an activity occurring. These activities have a valence that can be positive or negative. In turn, the valence of activities directs forces towards other activities (positive) or against them (negative). The resulting behavior responds to the psychological mixture of different forces.The tension: tension is the difference between the proposed goals and the person’s current state. The tension is internal and pushes us to carry out the intention.The need: it is what initiates the motivating tensions. When there is a physical or psychological need in the individual, an internal state of tension is awakened. This state of tension causes the system, in this case the person, to alter to try to restore the initial state and satisfy the need.

Lewin states that Field theory determines which behaviors are possible and which are impossible for each subject.. Knowledge of the living space allows us to reasonably predict what the person will do.

All behavior, or at least all intentional behavior, is motivated: it is driven by tensions, moved by forces, directed by valences, and has goals.

The motivations

Kurt Lewin (1997) states that our actions can be explained based on a fact: we perceive particular paths and means to discharge certain tensions. We are attracted to those the activities we see as means to release tension.

For Kurt, these types of activities would have a positive valence and, therefore, we would experience a force that drives us to do them. Other activities would have the opposite effect: they would increase tension and consequently have a repulsive effect.

To better understand this, we are going to talk about a need that we all have: the need for recognition. When that need arises, a motivation will awaken to achieve recognition in some area that interests us. Such motivation will have a positive valence that would lead us to act in order to achieve recognition.

will wake up a tension between the current situation and the need to achieve recognition. All of this will lead us to think about possible actions to achieve recognition and, depending on what field we want to be recognized in, we will carry out the action that we consider gives us the possibility of achieving said recognition.

In an era marked by the need to explain behavior in the most faithful and universal way possible, Kurt Lewin developed his field theory to try to encompass reality in its entirety and find a way to predict human behavior. Within what is known today about the subject, it was the change of course that brought us to where we are.

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