Kurt Lewin (1890 – 1947) was a German-American psychologist, who is known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational and applied psychology. Kurt Lewin is recognized as the founder of the first study group dynamics and organizational development. Famous theories and models, developed by Kurt Lewin are Action Research, the Force Field Analysis (FFA) and the Lewin change model (unfreeze freeze theory).

Biography Kurt Lewin

The 1973 annual handbook for group facilitators. Download a PDF version of this blog This post was written by Dr Margaret Beaton, a director of Beaton Executive Coaching and Beaton Research + Consulting.

In 1909 Kurt Lewin enrolled in the University of Freiburg to study medicine. He later transferred to the University of Munich to study biology.

At that time Lewin got involved in a socialist movement. This movement was involved in fighting anti-Semitism, democratization and improving women’s rights.

Kurt Lewin also served as a soldier in the German army during the First World War. He was wounded during the war and returned to Germany. Eventually, he obtained his doctorate (Ph.D.) from the University of Berlin in 1916. During his doctoral research, Kurt Lewin developed an interest in philosophical science and Gestalt psychology.

In 1921 Kurt Lewin started working as a lecturer at the psychology faculty of the University of Berlin. There he lectured and gave seminars in the fields of study of philosophy and psychology.

Because of his interests and his drive he started researching and publishing as a result of which his work became known internationally. As his work also became known in the United States, Kurt Lewin was invited by the University of Stanford in 1930. He spent six months there as a visiting professor and he decided to emigrate to the United States with his wife and his daughter. Kurt Lewin lectured at the University of Iowa (United States) until 1944.

Around this time Lewin became famous for his research and theories about group dynamics, Action Research, the Lewin change model (freeze-unfreeze theory) and leadership climates.

These theories were practically applied and tested during the Second World War, for example the morals of combat troops, psychological warfare and reorienting food consumption away from foods in short supply.

Together with colleagues, Kurt Lewin established the Research Centre for Group Dynamics at the Institute of Technology in Massachusetts (MIT, United States) in 1944.

Kurt Lewin quotes

1. “There is nothing so practical as a good theory.”
2. “If you want truly to understand something, try to change it.”
3. “A successful individual typically sets his next goal somewhat but not too much above his last achievement. In this way he steadily raises his level of aspiration.”
4. “Learning is more effective when it is an active rather than a passive process.”
5. “Experience alone does not create knowledge.”
6. “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.”
7. “Social action, just like physical action, is steered by perception.”
8. “Our behaviour is purposeful; we live in a psychological reality or life space that includes not only those parts of our physical and social environment to us but also imagined states that do not currently exist.”
9. “General validity of the law and concreteness of the individual case are not antitheses … reference to the totality of the concrete whole situation must take the place of reference to the largest possible historical collection of frequent repetitions.”
10. “This means methodologically that the importance of a case, and its validity as proof, cannot be evaluated by the frequency of its occurrence. Finally, it means for psychology, as it did for physics, a transition from an abstract classificatory procedure to an essentially concrete constructive method.”

Publications and books by Kurt Lewin et al.

• 1951. Field theory in social science; selected theoretical papers. Harper and Row.
• 1951. Intention, will and need.
• 1948. Resolving social conflicts; selected papers on group dynamics. Harper and Row.
• 1947. Frontiers in group dynamics II. Channels of group life; social planning and action research. Human relations, 1(2), 143-153.
• 1947. Group decision and social change. Readings in social psychology, 3, 197-211.
• 1947. Channels of group life. Human Relations, 1(2), 145.
• 1946. Action research and minority problems. Journal of social issues, 2(4), 34-46.
• 1946. Action research and minority problems, in: G.W. Lewin (Ed) (1948) Resolving Social conflict. Harper and Row.
• 1946. Behaviour and development as a function of the total situation.
• 1946. Force field analysis. The 1973 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators, 111-13.
• 1945. Conduct, knowledge, and acceptance of new values. Journal of social issues, 1(3), 53-64.
• 1944. Level of aspiration.
• 1944. The dynamics of group action. Educational leadership, 1(4), 195-200.
• 1943. Defining the ‘field at a given time’. Psychological review, 50(3), 292.
• 1943. Forces behind food habits and methods of change. Bulletin of the national Research Council, 108, 35-65.
• 1943. Frustration and regression.
• 1943. Psychology and the process of group living. The Journal of Social Psychology, 17(1), 113-131.
• 1942. Time perspective and morale.
• 1941. Self-hatred among Jews. Contemporary Jewish Record, 4(3), 2.
• 1940. Formalization and progress in psychology. University of Iowa studies in child welfare, 16(3), 9-42.
• 1939. Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created “social climates”. The Journal of Social Psychology, 10(2), 269-299.
• 1939. Field theory and experiment in social psychology: Concepts and methods. American journal of sociology, 868-896.
• 1938. The conceptual representation and the measurement of psychological forces. Martino Fine Books.
• 1938. An experimental approach to the study of autocracy and democracy. A preliminary note’, Sociometry 1: 292-300.
• 1936. Some social‐psychological differences between the United States and Germany. Journal of Personality, 4(4), 265-293.
• 1936. Principles of topological psychology. McGraw-Hill
• 1936. Psychology of Success and Failure. Occupations: The Vocational Guidance Journal, 14(9), 926-930.
• 1936. A Dynamic theory of personality: selected papers. Lewin Press.
• 1935. Psycho‐Sociological Problems of a Minority Group. Journal of Personality, 3(3), 175-187.
• 1931. Environmental forces in child behavior and development.

How to cite this article:
Van Vliet, V. (2012). Kurt Lewin. Retrieved [insert date] from ToolsHero: https://www.toolshero.com/toolsheroes/kurt-lewin/

Add a link to this page on your website:
<a href=”https://www.toolshero.com/toolsheroes/kurt-lewin/”>ToolsHero.com: Kurt Lewin</a>

Did you find this article interesting?
Your rating is more than welcome or share this article via Social media!

You need to enable JavaScript to vote

This article explains the Force Field Analysis by Kurt Lewin in a practical way. After reading you will understand the basics of this powerful change management and decision making tool.

Change

In the last century, Kurt Lewin was best known for being the founder of social psychology. He proved that individuals not only have to deal with inner urges such as desires, motives, and expectations but also with pressure from their environment. In his Change Management Model, he indicated that it is possible for individuals to be flexible and that they can change their behaviour. This does not happen overnight. Kurt Lewin identified three basic stages: the unfreezing stage, the change stage and the refreezing stage.

Change process

The first stage is about people becoming aware of their own behaviour and that they have to get rid of unwanted habits. Efforts should be made to transition from ‘unconscious wrong’ behaviour to ‘conscious wrong’ behaviour.

Only when individuals are aware of their ‘wrong ’behaviour it is possible to move to the second stage. In the move stage it is important for individuals to acquire the required appropriate knowledge, attitudes and skills. Efforts should be made to transition from ‘conscious wrong’ to ‘conscious right’ activities.

In the third and final stage the desired (new) behaviour cannot be a once-only occurrence but the aim is that this will become(and remain) a fixed part and pattern of their daily routine. The ideal is a continuous transition from ‘conscious good’ to ‘unconscious good’.

Force Field Analysis

Change is very difficult to accept for people and they would much rather see that everything remains ‘the same’. This also applies to companies and organizations where it is important to implement changes.

After all, inertia is tantamount to decline and in order to generate as little resistance as possible, Kurt Lewin developed the Force Field Analysis (FFA). This is a method in which a team or an organization can predict in advance what the expected resistance will be to the proposed change.

Change within an organization can be effected in different ways. For example a reorganization, the introduction of a new technology, introduction of new machines, adjustment of production or changes in work processes. Using Force Field Analysis, it becomes clear what forces could possibly influence the change.

These might include resistant people, inoperative processes and structures, negative attitudes, habits, insufficient knowledge and skills. All these force may have an impact on the individual employee, a department or the entire organization.

Possible obstacles

Force Field Analysis is a powerful strategic instrument that is used to understand what is needed for change to take place in both a business and a personal environment. Force Field Analysis makes clear what the possible obstacles are that could hinder change. It enables an organization to become aware of the difficulties that may be involved in the envisaged change. By consulting thoroughly with each other, FFA ensures that teams will feel responsible. They will be better able to implement the change and to identify and eliminate any obstacles prematurely.

Driving and restraining forces

Force Field Analysis distinguishes driving forces and restraining forces. The restraining forces are obstacles that get in the way of change. They have an impact on the change and they will try to restrain this. Ms excel for mac torrent. The driving forces support change and encourage positive effects.

FFA can be used as a tool to understand why, for example, the introduction of a new working method does not work which makes it possible to draw up an improvement plan. The Force Field Analysis also contributes to the improvement of internal communication.

Preconditions Force Field Anaylsis

It is important that a Force Field Analysis group is composed of people in the organization that are involved in change in different ways. Preferably, this should be a differentiated group that includes manager, employees, internal clients and technicians. This diversity is important because this makes it possible to look at the change and possible obstacles from different angles. Important stakeholders such as shareholders or clients can also be involved in a Force Field Analysis group.

It’s Your Turn

What do you think? What is your experience with decision making and managing organizational change? Do you recognize the brief explanation on the Force Field Analysis or do you have any additions to this post? What are your success factors on decision making in relation to organizational change?

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our Free Newsletter for the latest posts on Management models and methods. You can also find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

More information

1. Baulcomb, J. S. (2003). Management of change through force field analysis. Journal of nursing management, 11(4), 275-280.
2. Bozak, M. G. (2003). Using Lewin’s force field analysis in implementing a nursing information system. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 21(2), 80-85.
3. Lewin, K. (1946). Force field analysis. The 1973 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators, 111-13.
4. Schein, E. H. (1996). Kurt Lewin’s change theory in the field and in the classroom: Notes toward a model of managed learning. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 9(1), 27-47.
5. Thomas, J. (1985). Force field analysis: A new way to evaluate your strategy. Long range planning, 18(6), 54-59.

How to cite this article:
Mulder, P. (2017). Force Field Analysis (FFA). Retrieved [insert date] from toolshero: https://www.toolshero.com/decision-making/force-field-analysis/

Add a link to this page on your website:
<a href=”https://www.toolshero.com/decision-making/force-field-analysis/”>toolshero: Force Field Analysis (FFA)</a>

Did you find this article interesting?
Your rating is more than welcome or share this article via Social media!

You need to enable JavaScript to vote