“The Father of Social Psychology”

Kurt Lewin

“a dynamic balance of forces working in opposing directions”

(Kurt Lewin's Change Theory, 2011)

Kurt Lewin contributed to Nursing Theory with his development of the Change Theory. He theorized a three-stage model of change that is known as “unfreezing-change-refreeze” model that requires prior learning to be rejected and replaced. This theory states behavior is:

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)

Kurt Lewin

"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)

Acknowledged for his writings on group dynamics, group therapy, and social psychology

Renowned for his field theory concepts that emphasized that the group differs from the simple sum of its parts.

(Kritsonis, 2011)

Achievements and Contributions

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)

Continued…

“One’s behavior is related both to one’s personal characteristics and to the social situation in which one finds

oneself.”

- Kurt Lewin on Field Theory

- (Kurt Lewin's Change Theory, 2011)

Lewin theorized a three-stage model of change that is known as:

unfreezing change refreeze

The model requires prior learning to be rejected and replaced.

(Kritsonis, 2011)

The Change Theory: Lewin’s Contribution t to Nursing Theory

“a dynamic balance of forces working in opposing directions.”

(Kritsonis, 2011)

The change theory statesbehavior as:

Kurt Lewin-Historical Background

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.

Kurt Lewin- philosophic values Philosophies Credited to Lewin which apply to the nursing

field:

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”.

Kurt Lewin- philosophic values continued

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).

Lewin described change as a three-stage 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.

Kurt Lewin-Influences

General Influences Most Specific Influence

Psychology Sociology Nursing Political Science Law MedicineCultural

anthropology education

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.

Information and Concepts: Kurt Lewin

How does this theorist define the four global concepts of nursing?

Kurt Lewin and Nursing

Human being Environment

Health NursinggN

Four Global Concepts of

Nursing

The Father of Social Psychology

Kurt Lewin earned this title by examining the connection between the self and the environment.

In his view the person is combined of multiple systems that control different aspects of a person’s “field”.

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)

The person as a concept…emotion

cognition

person

…Human Nature an aspect of the personality

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.

England, E. & Chernauski-Breen, S. (2012)

Interpretation and Inference: Lewin’s 3 Steps to change…

Unfreezing Moving Refreezin

g

A Revolutionary Concept…

UNFREEZE 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)

Nursing is constantly presented with change…

technology

management

protocols

Implications and Consequences

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).

What does it mean for nursing?

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

Is this Change Theory unique to nursing?◦ NO!

“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)

Evaluation

“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)

Inspiration

Human

Not defined in detail in this model. Does take into consideration

individuals needs for time when adjusting to change.

Environment

Not defined in this model. Resisting forces such as people or surroundings are evaluated through out the change

process.

Health

Not defined in this model.

Nursing

Not defined in this model. The 3 step process to introducing and implementing

change is used in all areas of nursing.

Global Concepts

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.

Multiple Uses

Implementing electronic medical records. Initiating bed side report. Initiating any evidence based change in

practice. Initiating hourly rounding.

Lets Put the Change Theory Into Practice!!

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?

Case Study

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/nursing-theorists/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.

References