Field-theory A Study of its Application in the Social Sciences [Paperback]

This is an important account of the development of the field-theory approach in the social sciences. Harald Mey concentrates on the writers from the 1930s to the present day who have used this approach to the study of the individual and of society, and gives a clear exposition of such field-theory application in its many differing forms. In addition, the author shows how a concept which was initially useful in the physical sciences came to be used first by psychologists, and subsequently by sociologists and others in related disciplines, in their search for answers to the problems presented by the study of society. Mey describes how the use of the field-theory perspective has fared when applied to specific areas of social research  education, personal relationships, group behaviour. He also compares the field-theory approach to the study of societies with the structural/functional approach, and explains why he believes field-theory has a number of advantages over the structural/functional approach, especially when it comes to the dynamic problem of social change.

Part 1. Presuppositions of Field-Theories in Social Science  1. Certain Observations on Field-Theory in Physics  2. Gestalt Psychology as Field-Theory  3. Basic Assumptions of Lewins Topological Psychology: Psychological Field-Theory, Part One  4. Basic Assumptions of Lewins Dynamic Psychology: Psychological Field-Theory, Part Two  Part 2. The Path Followed by Field-Theory from Individual Psychology to Social Science  5. Moving from the Unit of Consciousness to the Multi-Personal Field, By Way of Psychological Induction  6. The Social Field as an Interpersonal Space of Conflict and Tension  7. Contributions to the Theory of the Role-Field  Part 3. The Field-Theory in Social Science versus the Theories of System and Structures  8. A CritlC$