FIELD THEORY

GERALD A. PADUA
“Learning is a process of perceptual organization or
reorganization of one’s life space involving insight
and emphasizes on behavior and motivation in
learning”

– Kurt Lewis (German Psychologist)

B=f(P.E)
 B – Behavoir
 f – Function
 P – Person
 E – Total environment situation
Two components

 Motor Perceptual Stratum (Abilities)

 Inner Personal Stratum (Needs)

Important Concepts in Field Theory

 Life Space
 Foreign Hull
 Vector
 Valence
 Conflict
 Barriers
Life Space

 Is a psychological representation of individual’s

environment

 Includes the person himself and everything in his

environment that influence his behavior

 It includes both the things of which he is

consciously aware and the factors which influence
him even though he is unconscious of them
Foreign Hull

 The life space is surrounded by a non

psychological boundary called foreign hull
Vector

 In field psychology, a vector means a force

that is influencing psychological movement
towards or away from a goals
Valence

 Are the attracting or repelling powers of

regions

 A person tends to move toward a region in

life space that has a positive valence and he
tends to move away from a region in life
space that has negative valence
 Positive Valence

▪ The object or goal which satisfy needs or are attractive

to the person

 Negative Valence

▪ The object or goal which threatens the individual or are

repulsive to the person
Conflict

 It is the state of tensions brought in by the

presence of two opposing desires in the
individual
Three types of conflicts

 Approach – approach Conflict

▪ It arises when the person is caught in between two goals
both having positive valences
 Approach – avoidance Conflict
▪ It arises when the person is caught between a positive
and a negative goal
 Avoidance – avoidance Conflict
▪ It arises when a person is caught in between two goals
both having negative valences
Barriers

 Is a psychological obstruction

 They restrict the person’s movement towards

the goals, and the path he must follow to
reach his goal
Implications of the Theory for Managers

 Talk with your employees and help them

discover their own individual life space.
 Show your employees that both positive and
negative forces are acting on them to behave
in specific ways.
 If necessary, help your employees change the
boundaries of their life space and change
their perceptions of who is in their life space.
THANKYOU