Kurt Lewin: Psychological Theory And Gestalt's Field Theory

Kurt Lewin, a German born man who left his home country during the Nazis time, came to the United States with the idea that Gestalt’s perspective could be applied to personality theory and social dynamics (Neill, J.). Lewin began with behavior, and then incorporated the idea of how people perceived the behaviors of themselves and others (Neil, J.). His differences were published in 1935 and was known as “Field Theory,” which would be something that set him apart from other theorist; in-fact he has done the complete opposite of the many before him (Book). This theory can relate to those that are from different physical and psychological environments.

Being a military wife, I have found it easy to relate to Kurt Lewin’s field theory. This theory states that a person’s behavior can be affected by their environment and personality (Book). This means that the behavior someone experiences throughout life could have been affected by how they were raised. Growing up I was from a small farm town in Oklahoma called Hugo: with an approximate population of

Although, we see how someone’s life experiences such as their psychology and physical environment can affect their personality, there has to be some kind of intertwining. I found that as I wrote this paper there were many things that came together and made it uneasy to tell which affected another greater. Was I affected by my life on the farm in a different way than those who grew up in the city? Did my parents beliefs in spanking make my life change compared to that of someone who received spankings? My answer is yes to both, but I believe these experiences could come with the same endings if paired with a similar child. Furthermore, I have to say that my life was shaped in a big way growing up on a farm close to family and there are not many people who can say their life was the