PSYCH 321

Finals - Assignment

Quiz: Explain Kurt Lewin’s theory which conceptualized the environment as a key determinant of
behavior and of which he argued that behavior is a function of the person and the environment.

Lewin's theory explains that a person's behavior consists of both the person and the person's
environment. An individual's personality traits, values, goals, choices, etc., and everything exterior to the
individual molds behavior. Lewin believed that the key to resolving social conflict was to facilitate
learning and so enable individuals to understand and restructure their perceptions of the world around
them. For my understanding of his concept, to influence change to someone's behavior, we need to
consider not only the uniqueness of the person (personality traits, goals, learned responses, etc.) but, also
the person's environment.

Lewin's added the idea that exterior forces like the environmental factors can trigger an influence
to a person to change behavior, not by systematic causation and past events which contradicts Freud's
theory. Like the classroom, when an individual is taking an exam and, the instructor is strict about
cheating. Students are aware that cheating is an act dishonestly when taking an exam. The idea of the
students is if the instructor captures someone who is cheating, the instructor will give consequences and
can expel an examinee from the examination. The instructor is the environmental factor that influences
how a student behaves during the exam. By that, students will consider the consequences of cheating
which will affect their behavior while taking the examination.

References:

Anon, 2021. Lewin's equation. Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewin

%27s_equation#Principle_of_contemporaneity

Burnes, B., 2004. Kurt Lewin and the planned approach to change: A re‐appraisal. Wiley Online Library.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.14676486.2004.00463.x#:~:text=Lewin%20believed%20that%20the
%20key,Berlin%20(Smith%2C%202001)

Anon, 2020. Situational Factors Approach to ethics: Behavior as a function of the person and environment.
YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MC7agH-etA