“The Father of Social Psychology”
“a dynamic balance of forces working in opposing directions”
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(Kurt Lewin's Change Theory, 2011)
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Born September 9th, 1890 in Germany
Immigrated to the United States in August of 1933
Became a naturalized citizen of 1940
Obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin
Taught at multiple universities including Stanford,
Cornell, Harvard Medical School, and Duke.
Director of the Center for Group Dynamics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Died February 12, 1947 in Massachusetts.
(Kritsonis, 2011)
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"He wanted to reach beyond the mere description
of group life and to investigate the conditions and
forces which bring about change or resist it"
(Greathouse,1997)
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Acknowledged for his writings on group dynamics,
group therapy, and social psychology
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Renowned for his field theory concepts that
emphasized that the group differs from the simple
sum of its parts.
(Kritsonis, 2011)
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In 1946, while working at MIT, Lewin set up a
workshop to a “change” workshop to help find an
effective way to overcome religious and racial
prejudices.
◦ This workshop helped to develop the idea of sensitivity
training
◦ Contributed to the establishment of the National Training
Laboratories in Bethel, Maine.
(Kurt Lewin's Change Theory, 2011)
“One’s behavior is related both to one’s
personal characteristics and to the
social situation in which one finds
oneself.”
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Kurt Lewin on Field Theory
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(Kurt Lewin's Change Theory, 2011)
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Lewin theorized a three-stage model of change
that is known as:
unfreezing
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change
refreeze
The model requires prior learning to be rejected
and replaced.
(Kritsonis, 2011)
“a dynamic balance of forces working in
opposing directions.”
(Kritsonis, 2011)
 1935
Published "A
Dynamic Theory of
Personality“
 1942 President of
the Society for the
Psychological Study
of Social Issues
 1944 Organized
Research Center For
GroupDynamics,M.I.
T.
Philosophies Credited to Lewin which apply to the nursing field:
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Lewin believed behavior is a
function of the person in their
environment.
Lewin’s action research uses “a
spiral of steps, each of which is
composed of a circle of planning,
action, and fact-finding about the
result of the action”.
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Force field analysis 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).
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Lewin described change as a threestage process. The first stage he called
unfreezing, the second stage the
change occurs, the third and final
stage he called freezing where the new
mindset is crystallizing and one's
comfort level is returning to previous
levels.
General Influences
Psychology
 Sociology
 Nursing
 Political Science
 Law
 Medicine
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 Cultural
anthropology

education
Most Specific Influence
Much of Lewin’s work is
attributed to Gestalts
Psychology which
stresses the importance
of studying the subjective
way in which an object
appears in people’s
minds, rather than the
objective, physical
attributes of the object.
How does this theorist define the four global concepts of
nursing?
Human being
Environment
Four Global
Concepts of
Nursing
Health
Nursing
g
N
Kurt Lewin earned this title by examining the connection
between the self and the environment.
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In his view the person is combined of multiple systems
that control different aspects of a person’s “field”.
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A social field represents the whole group and its
environment as compared to a “force field” that
includes people, attitudes, habits and customs.
England, E. & Chernauski-Breen, S. (2012)
emotion
person
cognition
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The personality is made up of several subsystems
These subsystems require constant regulation in order
for normal human behavior to occur.
A pattern of balance is to be maintained in order to
achieve an equilibrium.
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England, E. & Chernauski-Breen, S. (2012)
Unfreezing
Moving
Refreezing
 UNFREEZE
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involves:
People must undergo preparation for change before
change can occur…
The more people recognize that a need for change
exists, the more likely they are to change…
Once Unfreeze is enacted, the second step of changing
and the third step of refreezing can occur more easily.
Tyson, B. (2010)
protocols
management
technology
In the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “All
things must change to something new, to something
strange.” (Crotty, 1996).
Lewin’s change model is built on the premise that people
are more likely to accept change if the need for change is
made clear to them and they are involved in the process
in a democratic manner (Crotty, 1996).
Lewins 3 step change model can be used by healthcare
institutions to assist in change on the corporate level for
management and staff in order to work together to
achieve and maintain change for the better. Patients’ best
interests are served when all can work together
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Is this Change Theory unique to nursing?
◦ NO!
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“Lewin’s work inspired and directly initiated the creation of an approach to
learning about groups, participation in groups, interpersonal relations, and
change through action research through the T-group and its development
into laboratory learning, which is a primary antecedent of organization
development.” (Coghlan p.444)
This theory is used in many organization, not just nursing, to institute
change in a smooth and non-threatening manner.
You can even use this in your own personal life!
◦ Ex: You want to introduce a new chore schedule to your children. Explain to them the
reason for the change and get their input. ( un-freezing) Then implement the new
schedule on a planned date. ( change) Then once the new schedule is in place the
children adjust and accept it. ( re-freezing)
“For Lewin, it was not enough to try to
explain things; one also had to try to change
them, and one had to involve others in that
process of understanding and change.” (
Coghlan p.444)
Human
Environment
Not defined in detail in this model. Does take
into consideration individuals needs for time
when adjusting to change.
Not defined in this model. Resisting forces
such as people or surroundings are
evaluated through out the change process.
Health
Nursing
Not defined in this model.
Not defined in this model. The 3 step
process to introducing and implementing
change is used in all areas of nursing.
Management uses this change theory in all
areas of healthcare.
Used when making a change in previous
education/policies for any size group or even
individuals.
If used properly, can be used in any
organization.
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Implementing electronic medical records.
Initiating bed side report.
Initiating any evidence based change in
practice.
Initiating hourly rounding.
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You are in charge of implementing a new computer
software program for electronic documentation.
Under Kurt Lewin’s model of change, what is the
first step of the change process called? What would
be the best way for you to introduce the change and
why?
Burnes, B., & Rune, T. B. (2012). Leadership and change: The case for greater ethical clarity. Journal of Business Ethics,
108(2), 239-252
Chernauski-Breen S. & England, E. (2012). Kurt Lewin: Life overview and social forces. University of Central Oklahoma Journal
of Scientific Psychology.
Coghlan D. & Jacobs C. (2005). Kurt Lewin on Reeducation : Foundations for Action Research. Journal of Applied Behavioral
Science, 41:444. Doi:10.1177/0021886305277275
Crotty, G. (1996). Focus change in healthcare organizations: an overview. Tennessee Nurse, 59(1).
Greathouse, J. (1997, May). Kurt Lewin. Retrieved October 2012, from http://muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/lewin.htm
Kritsonis, A. (2011). Comparison of Change Theories. International Journal of Scholarly Academic Intellectual Diversity , 8 (1),
2004-2005.
Kurt Lewin's Change Theory. (2011). Retrieved October 2012, from Nursing Theory: http://nursing-theory.org/nursingtheorists/Kurt-Lewin.php
Smith, M. K. (n.d.). kurt lewin: groups, experiential learning and action research. Retrieved
October 10, 2012, from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-lewin.htm
Tyson, B. (2010) Overview of Lewin’s Three Stage Change Model. http://www.brighthub.com/change-management
.