Kurt Zadek Lewin

Kurt Zadek Lewin (1890 - 1947), a German-born psychologist, is one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology.[1] Lewin is often recognized as the "founder of social psychology" and was one of the first researchers to study group dynamics and organizational development. Lewin's equation The Lewin's Equation, B=ƒ(P,E), is a psychological equation of behavior developed by Kurt Lewin. It states that behavior is a function of the person and his or her environment [6]. The equation is the psychologist's most well known formula in social psychology, of which Lewin was a modern pioneer. When first presented in Lewin's book Principles of Topological Psychology, published in 1936, it contradicted most popular theories in that it gave importance to a person's momentary situation in understanding his or her behavior, rather than relying entirely on the past. Personality • To social scientists, personality is the sum total of behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and values that are characteristic of an individual. • Our personality traits determine how we adjust to our environment and how we react in specific situations. • No two individuals have the same personalities. Each individual has his or her own way of interacting with other people and with his or her social environment. Personality Development • People’s personalities continue to develop throughout their lifetimes. Specific traits change at different rates and to different degrees. • Some personality traits seem to remain constant throughout a person’s life, while others undergo dramatic changes. • Personality development is more obvious during childhood, when people are experiencing rapid physical, emotional, and intellectual growth. • At adulthood, personality traits change at a slower rate. However personality development varies form individual to individual. Blending of factors… • Most social scientists assume that personality and social behavior result from a blending of heredity and social environmental influences. • They believe that environmental factors have the greatest influence. • Heredity, birth order, parents, and cultural environment are among the principal factors that social scientists see influencing personality and behavior. Heredity

Everyone has certain characteristics that are present at birth. (body build, hair type, eye color, and skin) • Heredity characteristics also include certain aptitudes. An aptitude is a capacity to learn a particular skill or acquire a particular body of knowledge. • Example: a natural talent for music and art would be considered an aptitude. • However, some aptitudes can be learned and developed because of environmental factors. • Example: Parents encouragement • Heredity provides you with certain biological needs, but culture determines how you meet those needs. Cultural Environment • Culture has a strong influence on personality development. The cultural environment determines the basic types of personalities that will be found in a society. • Each culture gives rise to a series of personality traits – model personalities – that are typical of members of that society. • EX. U.S. personalities are competitive, assertiveness and individualism. •