Kurt Lewin is recognized as the founder of modern social psychology. Lewin was born in the village of Moglino in the Prussian province of Posen in 1890. He completed his requirements for his Ph.D. in 1914, at the outset of World War I. Two years later, in 1916, his degree from the University of Berlin was conferred. Lewin immigrated to the US in 1933, where he became a citizen in 1940. Model/Theory Lewin pioneered the use of theory using experimentation to test hypothesis. He placed a great deal of significance on an entire discipline - group dynamics and action research. While at the University of Berlin, Lewin found that many of the department's courses were in the grand tradition of Wunditian psychology irrelevant and dull. Lewin 's thinking was changing to emphasize social psychological problems.

He is well known for the term "life space" and work on group dynamics, as well as t-groups. Lewin's commitment to applying psychology to the problems of society led to the development of MIT's Research Center for Group Dynamics. Terms/Contributions Lewin wanted to reach beyond the mere description of group life and aimed to investigate the conditions and forces, which bring about change or resist it. Lewin believed in the field approach. For change to take place, the total situation has to be taken into account.

Lewin felt that the creation of an empirically verifiable theory was the essence of science, research and had to be guided by the need to develop an integrated concept of the processes of group life. With this in mine, Lewin established the Research Center on Group Dynamics at MIT. Six major program areas were developed: (1) Group productivity: why was it that groups are so ineffective in getting things done? (2)Communication: how influence is spread throughout a group (3) Social perception: how a person's group affected the way they perceived social events. (4) Intergroup relations. (5) Group membership: how individuals adjust to these conditions. (6) Training leaders: improving the function of groups (T-groups).

Group life was to be viewed in its totality, not on an individual basis. Lewin vowed that his Center of Community Interrelations would not just find working methods, but would not quit until these methods were put into action. Lewin also felt that group life studies should be carried out in real life situations, concentrating on fighting prejudice.

In line with the CCI, Lewin and his colleagues established three major research areas: (1) The conditions to improve the effectiveness of community leaders who are attempting to better intergroup relations. (2) The effect of the conditions under which contact between persons from different groups takes place. (3) The influences which are most effective in producing minority-group members and increased sense of belongingness, and improved personal adjustment, and better relations with individuals of other groups. Lewin's group dynamics has been utilized in such areas as educational facilities, industrial settings and communities. Major Publications Lewin authored over 80 articles and eight books on a wide range of issues in psychology.

List of publications include:

The Methods of Kurt Lewin-A Study of Action and Affect (1929) - A Dynamic Theory in Personality (1935) - Principles of Topological Psychology (1936) - Psychological Problems on Jewish Education (1946) - Frontiers in Group Dynamics (1946) Other significant accomplishments include: - 1942 President of the Society for Psychological Study of Social Issues - 1944 Organized Research Center for Group Dynamics MIT - 1944 Established Commission on Community Interrelations (C.C.I.) - 1947 Created National Laboratories Training