Field Theory in Social Sciences

The book by Kurt Lewin — a renowned German and American psychologist, one of the founders of modern social psychology, is dedicated to the development of the problems of field theory. According to this theory, a person lives and develops... in the psychological field of surrounding objects, each of which has its own valence, that is, a charge capable of causing tension in a person that requires discharge. Lewin termed this behavior "field" and contrasted it with "volitional," which is driven by internal needs and motives. Many questions he addresses in this work have become foundational for psychologists: level of aspiration, group dynamics in social sciences, social perception, field theory, goal structure, target levels of individuals, etc.

For psychologists, historians, sociologists, media workers, educators, and students of relevant specialties