In exploring the literature about Kurt Lewin, what is immediately apparent is the vast influence he had on other people who went on to make significant contributions themselves. He was a mentor to many. Thus, when one assesses his life, it is both Lewin's own contributions and the contributions of those who he influenced that constitute his impact on the field of social psychology.
According to Ralph White (1992), who worked with Lewin in Iowa, one of Lewin's major contributions was stimulating scientific creativity in his colleagues. White's personal assessment of Lewin's work and life provides a helpful starting point. White began work with Lewin at the University of Iowa in 1937. He noted that Lewin's team was extremely creative and friendly socially as well as professionally. It was led by Lewin, but in a democratic way. Lewin appears to have been the centerpoint of the group, holding it together with his personal qualities and scientific enthusiasm.
But he was not just a charismatic leader with nothing to offer theoretically or methodologically. He also made significant contributions in both theory and methods. White (1992) noted that he provided much of the evidence and theory to refute stimulus response theory, while Ash (1992) indicated that it was Lewin's presentation in 1929 that began the change in American psychology regarding the nature of intellectual behavior and learning.
Lewin had done a great deal of work in social psychology and development before he ever arrived in the United States. One of his most important formulations, the equation B = f(P,E) was written in Germany. That formula, which expresses Lewin's theoretical understanding that human behavior was a function of the interaction between person and environment. That understanding developed into Lewin's field theory in which all psychological factors that influence behavior or thinking were to be taken into account in understanding human...