Conceptualisation of Kurt Levin’s Field Theory in the Transactional Analysis Paradigm

Abstract

The development of personality psychology requires solving a number of methodological problems, one of which is the need to create a unified model of motivation behind the behavior of individuals. Thus, the ideas of Kurt Lewin have been becoming more and more popular these days, as he was the one who set himself the task of creating and proving the existence of the “Field Theory”, a unified theory of motivation that takes into account not only the internal factors behind behavior, but also the entire complexity of the sociocultural dynamics of reality that influences the individual in a moment. Within the framework of modern transactional analysis as a theory of personality, similar attempts are also made. This article aims to conceptualise the phenomenon of Kurt Lewin’s “field theory” in the paradigm of transactional analysis to describe the main theoretical approaches to understanding the phenomena included in the “field theory”, and compare these elements with selected psychological concepts of the school of transactional analysis. This study examines and compares such phenomena as: communication of charged systems and hidden ulterior transactions, personal life space and structural and functional models of the ego, existence within the field state and temporary symbiosis. This research paper also proposes an analogue of a psychotherapeutic plan based on the model of field change, constructed by Kurt Lewin. Understanding the field theory within the framework of selected TA concepts described in this article can allow transactional analysts to use the ideas of K. Lewin as a basis for developing and creating new theoretical models of motivation for individuals and groups.