Blackwell Reference Online

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Kurt Lewin is recognized by many as the founder of modern social psychology because of his foundational contributions in making connections between psychology, sociology, anthropology, and economics. By adapting and applying the gestalt perspective to personality theory and social dynamics and translating these ideas into social experience involving people, Lewin's field theory powerfully translated these ideas to new domains. Born in 1890 in Molgino, Prussia into a middle-class Jewish family in which he was one of four sons, Lewin and his family moved to Berlin when he was 15. At 19 and showing an interest in studying medicine, he attended the University of Freiberg. Shortly thereafter, he transferred to the University of Munich to study biology. During his time in Munich, Lewin became interested and involved in the socialist movement, aiming to combat anti-Semitism and help improve women's social positions. It was here that he and similar others organized and taught adult education programs for working-class people. His later studies at the University of Berlin fostered his interest in the philosophy of science and exposed him to gestalt psychology, both of which are premises on which much of Lewin's legacy is grounded. Lewin completed his doctoral work at the outset of World War I in 1914 and was awarded his degree in 1916 while serving in the German army. After joining the Psychological ... log in or subscribe to read full text