Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory

Kurt Lewin's field theory, developed in the 1940s, provides a valuable framework
for understanding the formation of personality. Grounded in the idea that an
individual's behavior is influenced by the interplay of various internal and
external forces within a psychological “field”, Lewin's theory emphasizes the
dynamic and ever-changing nature of human experience. In the context of
personality formation, this theory explores how the person and their environment
interact to shape and mould the individual's unique characteristics, behaviors, and
ultimately, their personality. Lewin's field theory offers insights into the complex
and reciprocal relationship between the individual and their surroundings,
shedding light on the ongoing processes that contribute to the development of
one's distinct personality.
Some of the core concepts of Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory and how they help in the
formation of personality are discussed below in brief:
❖ Psychological Field: According to Lewin, an individual’s behavior is
determined by the interaction between their personality and the psychological
field. The psychological field is a dynamic and ever-changing environment
composed of various factors, such as social, cultural, and personal influences.

❖ Life Space: Lewin introduced the concept of “life space”, which refers to the
individual’s subjective experiences and perceptions. Life space encompasses
the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that shape an individual’s behavior
within a particular psychological field. It is the lens through which a person
interprets and responds to the world around them (Lewin, 1935).
Personality changes occur as a result of shifts in the individual’s life space,
driven by the continuous interplay of forces.

❖ Tension Systems: Lewin proposed that individuals are motivated by tension

systems within the psychological field. These tension systems arise from the
perceived discrepancies between the current state of affairs and the desired
state, as in the context of personality, these tension may arise from internal
conflicts or external pressures. Individuals are driven to reduce this tension
through various cognitive and behavioral processes. This tension motivates
individuals to change and adapt to their environment (Lewin, 1951).
❖ Force Fields: Lewin introduced the concept of force field analysis, which
views behavior as the result of competing forces. These forces can be either
driving (promoting a particular behavior) or restraining (inhibiting a
behavior). Personality development is seen as a continuous interplay between
these opposing forces, creating a dynamic equilibrium.

❖ Equilibrium: Lewin argued that individuals seek a state of equilibrium, where

the driving forces equal the restraining forces. Achieving equilibrium leads to
a stable personality, while imbalances result in tension and motivate change.

❖ Unfreeze, Change, and Refreeze: Lewin introduced the concept of change

of behavior and personality as a three-stage process: unfreeze, change, and
refreeze. This model is often applied to personality changes.
i) Unfreezing: This phase involves disrupting the current equilibrium
by reducing the strength of restraining forces or increasing the
driving forces. It prepares the individual for change by creating a
state of readiness.
ii) Change: In this phase, new behaviors, attitudes, or perspectives are
introduced. The individual undergoes the desired transformation.
iii) Refreezing: Once the change is implemented, this phase involves
stabilizing the new behavior or trait by reinforcing it and reducing
the chances of reverting to the old equilibrium.

❖ B = f(P, E): This equation encapsulates Lewin’s formula, expressing behavior

(B) as a function of the person (P) and the environment (E). It underscores the
interconnectedness of individual characteristics and external influences in
shaping behavior and personality.
Lewin’s field theory is inherently interactionist, emphasizing the reciprocal
relationship between the individual and their environment. It rejects
deterministic views and underscores the dynamic nature of personality
development, acknowledging the constant interplay between the person and
their surroundings.

In summary, Kurt Lewin’s field theory offers a comprehensive understanding of

personality formation by highlighting the dynamic interplay between individual
factors and the psychological field. The concepts of life space, tension systems,
force fields, and the unfreeze-change-refreeze model contribute to a nuanced
perspective on how individuals navigate and shape their personalities within the
complex interplay of internal and external forces.
 George Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory

The Personal Construct Theory, developed by George Kelly in the 1950s, offers
a unique perspective on the formation of personality. Rooted in the idea that
individuals interpret and predict events based on their personal set of cognitive
constructs, this theory emphasizes the role of one’s subjective perceptions in
shaping personality. Kelly posited that people actively organize their experiences
through mental frameworks, called personal constructs, which influence how they
understand themselves and the world around them. These constructs are flexible
and can evolve as individuals encounter new information, highlighting the
dynamic nature of personality formation within the framework of Kelly’s theory.

❖ Personal Constructs: At the core of Kelly’s theory are personal constructs —

individual cognitive structures used to interpret and predict events. These
constructs are bipolar, meaning they have opposite poles (e.g., good-bad,
friendly-hostile). People develop these constructs based on their experiences
and perceptions, forming a lens through which they view the world. Personal
constructs play a crucial role in shaping one’s personality as they influence
how individuals perceive and respond to various situations.
George Kelly used a series of Corollaries while developing his theory and the
constructs. These corollaries can be categorized into those concerned with the
personal knowledge’s structure, process of construing, and the social
embeddedness of an individual’s efforts/attempts at construing. Kelly’s (1955)
basic or fundamental postulate is that “A person’s processes are
psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events”. He
followed this with eleven corollaries:

1) The construction corollary: We conservatively construct anticipation based

on past experiences.
2) The experience corollary: When things do not happen as expected, we
change our constructs (thus reconstructing). This changes our future
expectations.
3) The dichotomy corollary: We store experience as constructs, and then look
at the world through them.
4) The organizational corollary: Constructs are connected to one another in
hierarchies and network of relationships. These relationships may be loose or
tight.
5) The range corollary: Constructs are useful only in limited range of situations.
Some ranges are broad, whilst other ranges are narrow.
6) The modulation corollary: Some construct ranges can be ‘modulated’ to
accommodate new ideas (e.g. ‘big’). Others are ‘impermeable’.
7) The choice corollary: We can choose to gain new experiences to expand our
constructs or stay in the safe but limiting zone of current constructs.
8) The individuality corollary: As everyone’s experience is different, their
constructs are different.
9) The commonality corollary: Many of our experiences are similar and/or
shared, leading to similarity of constructs with others. Discussing constructs
also helps to build shared constructs.
10) The fragmentation corollary: Many of our constructs conflict with one
another. These may be dictated by different contexts and roles.
11) The sociality corollary: We interact with others through understanding of
their constructs (Kelly, 1963).

Constructs formed on the basis of these corollaries can be categorized in a variety

of ways:
❖ Core-peripheral construct: Core constructs are those that are basic to a
person’s functioning; they govern the maintenance processes of an individual–
the process by which the person maintains his existence as well as identity.
Normally, a person who is healthy has mental processes that follow central
concrete structures that are comprehensive, but cannot be penetrated. Since
the structures are comprehensive, a person is able to see a wide range of
familiar events as consistent with his own personality and can perceive himself
as a person who is both organized as well as complex. On the other hand, if
the person’s core/central constructs are too permeable, he may perceive too
many new events as carrying a deeply personal significance. As a result, the
person may become less objective and detached. This may even lead to
paranoid behaviours as the person will constantly perceive events to be
intimately related to himself.
Peripheral constructs are the ones that can be changes without gross
adjustment in the central structure. Some are comprehensive, some are
incidental, and some are permeable, while some are impermeable. It is
comparatively easier to reform non-core or peripheral constructs than to
reformulate an individual’s core constructs.
❖ Verbal-preverbal construct: Kelly recognized that children may develop
constructs even before they acquire a language, and so construct may be
preverbal i.e. used even though the person has no words to express it. A verbal
construct on the other hand can be expressed in words.

❖ Super-ordinate-subordinate construct: Constructs are construed by means

of other constructs, and those in turn by other constructs. It thus, forms a
system (organizational corollary). A construct is construed as a super-ordinate
to another if it includes other constructs within its context or as its contextual
elements, while a construct which is one that is included in the context of
another (super-ordinate) construct as one of the elements of its context then it
is known as the sub-ordinate construct (Kelly, 1991). For example, constructs
bright-dumb might be subordinate to the super-ordinate construct good-bad.

❖ Role of Constructs in Formation of Personality:

• Construction of Reality: According to Kelly, personality emerges from an

individual’s unique set of personal constructs. These constructs are formed
through an ongoing process of interpreting and organizing experiences. They
develop as individuals categorize their experiences into meaningful patterns
based on their personal understanding.

• Influence on Behavior: Personal constructs influence how individuals

interpret situations and guide their behavior. For instance, an individual’s
construct of “trustworthy vs. untrustworthy” can significantly impact their
interactions and relationships, affecting their personality expression.

• Anticipation and Prediction: Kelly emphasized the role of personal

constructs in anticipation and prediction. People use their constructs to
forecast and predict outcomes, guiding their choices and actions based on their
interpretation of situations through these constructs.

• Dealing with Anxiety, Fear and Threat: Anxiety arises when situations fall
outside one’s construct system, prompting individuals to either broaden or
narrow their constructs as coping mechanisms. The threat emerges when new
constructs challenge the existing system, leading to a tendency to retreat to
familiar constructs to avoid panic, highlighting a dynamic interplay between
 the desire to expand one’s construct system and the instinct to protect it from
perceived threats.

• Development of Personality Aspects: Constructs contribute to personality

development by influencing how individuals view themselves, others, and the
environment. As people encounter new experiences, they adjust and refine
their constructs, fostering personal growth and adaptation. The flexibility to
expand or constrict constructs allows for resilience in the face of challenges,
contributing to a dynamic and evolving personality.

In summary, Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory provides a comprehensive

framework for understanding how individuals actively construct their own
realities. It underscores the subjectivity of human experience, the role of cognitive
processes in shaping personality, and the dynamic nature of personal constructs
as they adapt to new information and experiences. This theory has various
practical implications in different fields such as psychology, counseling, and
education, having influenced them by offering valuable insights into the
intricacies of human perception and behavior.
 REFERENCES

▪ Kelly, G. A. (1955). The Psychology of Personal Constructs. New York:

Norton.
▪ Kelly, G. A. (1963). A Theory of Personality: The Psychology of Personal
Constructs. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
▪ Kelly, G. A. (1991). The Psychology of Personal Constructs: A Theory of
Personality. Routledge.
▪ Lewin, K. (1935). A Dynamic Theory of Personality: Selected papers by Kurt
Lewin. McGraw-Hill.
▪ Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science: Selected theoretical papers
(D. Cartwright, Ed.). Harper & Brothers.
▪ Practical Psychology. (2020, April). Lewin’s Field Theory (Social
Development). Retrieved December 14, 2023 from –
https://practicalpie.com/lewins-field-theory/

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