Kurt Lewin

Born: September 9, 1890.

Died: February 12, 1947.
In 1926-1933 he. - Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at Berlin University in 1933. lived and worked in the U.S..

In the center of psychology Levin is the concept of so-called "living space". Living space, according to Levin, is a set of coexisting and interrelated factors that determine the behavior of the individual at this time. It covers both the individual and her psychological environment, forming a single psychological field. Conceptual representation of living space implies, . first, . disclosure of the structure of the field of possible events, . as it exists for the individual at this time, . and, . secondly, . establishment of the force field, . determining in each area of living space available in its tendency to change,
. The observed behavior of the individual should be considered only as a "phenotypic" expression of a "genotype" events, . happening in the living space of the individual, and constituting a "transition" from one area of personal living space to another (so-called "locomotion"), . any change of the "cognitive" structure of the living space (Insight),
. Behavior and development of the individual turns out to be some function of its living space: P = f (living space).

Completed in school Levine studies memory and the resumption of the interrupted action, the saturation, substitution, frustration and the level of claims made in the era of experimental psychology of personality.

However known physicalism Levinovsky constructs led that topological psychology is limited almost exclusively to the analysis and presentation of formal and structural plans of the dynamic behavior and personality. This demonstrates antihistoricism Levinovsky concept, its inability to understand the social and cultural nature of personality.

Main homeostatic model underlying the dynamic theory of personality to. Levin, repeatedly subjected to a thorough criticism of both domestic and foreign psychology (in particular, belonging to the so-called "humanistic" psychology of personality).

In the American period of his activity Levin tried to develop a field-theoretic approach is applied to study problems of group dynamics and social action.

Op.: Gesetz und Experiment in der Psychologie. V., 1927; A Dynamic theory of personality. N. Y., 1935; Principles of topological Psychology. N. Y., 1936; Resolving social conflicts.N. Y., 1948; Field theory in Social Science. NY, 1951.