This antiquarian text contains a comprehensive treatise on topological psychology, being a detailed exposition of its principles written by Kurt Lewin. Written in clear, plain language and full of information fundamental to understanding this branch of psychology, this text will be of considerable utility to the student, and it would make for a great addition to collections of allied literature. The chapters of this book include: 'The Present State of Psychology', 'Formulation of Laws and Representations of General Situations', 'Considerations About Representing Life Space', 'Context and Extent of the Psychological Life Space', 'Causal Interconnections in Psychology', etcetera. We are republishing this vintage book now complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.
2013 Reprint of 1938 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology. Lewin is often recognized as the "founder of social psychology" and was one of the first to study group dynamics and organizational development. Lewin developed the concept of force field analysis, which provides a framework for looking at the factors (forces) that influence a situation, originally social situations. It looks at forces that are either driving movement toward a goal (helping forces) or blocking movement toward a goal (hindering forces). The principle, developed by Kurt Lewin, is a significant contribution to the fields of social science, psychology, social psychology, organizational development, process management, and change management. This book is an early effort to establish the principles of his force field analysis. An attempt is made to describe the position of the concept of force in psychology and to discuss major methods of measuring psychological forces. One of the outstanding properties of force is its directedness. Direction in psychology cannot be defined as physical direction and cannot be determined by Euclidian geometry. A geometry applicable in psychology is that of hodological space. The geometrical properties of this space are described, and examples of its application in determining directions and distances in the life space are offered. The conceptual properties of the construct of force are given, as well as a definition coordinating it with observable processes. The conceptual and dynamic relation between psychological forces, valences, and tensions are discussed, as are certain basic theories concerning the relation between need, environment, and the "mechanics" of locomotion. Various methods of measuring forces and valences are surveyed, especially those related to opposing forces and to velocity of locomotion, including velocity and restlessness, consumption, translocation, and learning. The problem of the structure of the force field and of overlapping force fields is discussed, including several choice and conflict situations with stable and labile equilibria.
Twenty years is a long time in the life of a science. While the historical roots of psychology have not changed since the first edition of this book, some of the offshoots of the various theories and systems discussed have been crit ically reexamined and have undergone far-reaching modifications. New and bold research has led to a broadening of perspectives, and recent devel opments in several areas required a considerable amount of rewriting. I have been fortunate in the last fifteen years to have worked with about 2,000 psychologists and other behavioral scientists who contributed to several collected volumes I have edited. As the editor-in-chief of the In ternational Encyclopedia of Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Neurol ogy, I have had the privilege of reading, scrutinizing, and editing the work of 1,500 experts in psychology and related disciplines. In addition, I have written several books and monographs and over one hundred scientific papers. Armed with all that experience, I have carefully examined the pages of the first edition. Chapter 8 required substantial rewriting and several new sections have been added to other chapters: "Current Soviet Psychol ogy" (Chapter 2, Section 7); "New Ideas on Purposivism" (Chapter 5, Sec tion 4); "Recent Developments in the Sociological School of Psychoanalysis" (Chapter 9, Section 4); and "Present Status of Gestalt Psychology" (Chapter 12, Section 4). Chapter 15 was omitted, and two new chapters were added: Chapter 14 ("Humanistic Psychology") and Chapter 16 ("Selected Research Areas").
This wide-ranging collection acquaints contemporary scholars with Lewin's fundamental work. The articles offer evidence of the workings of an innovative mind engaged in the philosophy of science in social, personality, motivation and developmental psychology; in applying psychology to the amelioration of social problems; and in formulating social policy. Each article in this anthology remains a relevant contribution to the world's culture. Together, they reflect the extraordinary range of Lewin's intellectual activity as a philosopher of science, research psychologist, applied psychologist and sage.
Perfect for research assignments in psychology, science, and history, this concise study guide is a one-stop source for in-depth coverage of major psychological theories and the people who developed them. Consistently formatted entries typically cover the following: biographical sketch and personal data, theory outline, analysis of psychologist's place in history, summary of critical response to the theory, the theory in action, and more.
This antiquarian volume contains a fascinating collection of originally independent articles which were written at different times, for quite different reasons. These articles were selected in order to give a picture of the psychology of people, and of the environment. At the same time, it also hopes to indicate their connections with the various applied fields, especially child psychology, pedagogy, psychopathology, characterology, and social psychology. The chapters of this book include: 'The Conflict Between Aristotelian and Gilileian Modes of Thought in Contemporary Psychology', 'On The Structure of The Mind', 'Environmental Forces in Child Behavior and Development', 'The Psychological Situations of Reward and Punishment', 'Education for Reality', etcetera. We are republishing this book now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.
