Field theory

Field theory was created by Kurt Levin, who believed that to understand behavior, it is necessary to take into account the entire situation, i.e., the Gestalt situation.

Levin completely rejected the Aristotelian approach to science, including any emphasis on the past or future, cause or effect. He considered psychology a field of scientific study that had nothing to do with biology, physics, or any other natural science. The concepts, objects, and events studied by these Sciences may be relevant to behavior to some extent, but this is just psychological relevance. Even if the individual whose behavior is being studied remembers the past or projects himself into the future, he does so right now, i.e. in the present. Therefore, only those aspects of the past (or future) that are woven into the fabric of the immediate situation are relevant.

Field theory focuses on individual differences. Levin assumed that the human perception of the environment is influenced by the impulse sent by the environment itself, and that this impulse, in turn, changes the subsequent perception. Environment (E) surrounds a person. However, the person (P) is never part of it, and the environment is never part of the person. Meanwhile, there are permeable psychological boundaries that allow changes in (E) to cause changes in (P), and Vice versa.

There are two main areas in the individual — the inner core (similar to the nucleus of an atom) and the area surrounding it. The inner core, in turn, is divided into a number of its own areas that correspond to different goals, cognitive structures, and so on.the Area surrounding the core is motor — perceptual. This relatively undifferentiated area is the pathway through which events from the psychological environment (perceptual) reach the core, and motor events reach the environment.

The psychological environment is also divided into many areas that have more or less permeable boundaries. These areas form "valences" (the attraction or repulsion of their environmental contents, such as goals or targets). The specific "valence" of each zone is formed (developed) over time as the developing person Matures and changes, and as the environment changes.

Field theory provides us with the means to describe, analyze, and predict behavior, mainly by defining the components of a vector field in a particular situation and determining the direction and intensity of the expected movement. However, it also predicts changes in a person that may occur as a result of their involvement in a particular behavior, as well as changes in the environment that may acquire new or lose their former significance for subsequent behavior.