Review of The conceptual representation and the measurement of psychological forces

Abstract

Reviews the book, The conceptual representation and the measurement of psychological forces by Lewin Kurt (1938). This monograph is a further step in the development of Lewin's elaborate theoretical system--an introduction to a "vector" psychology, concerned with the dynamics of behavior, and intimately related to the principles of topological psychology previously described by the author. The principal purpose here is the discussion of one of the fundamental problems of psychological dynamics--namely, the problem of representing psychological forces conceptually. In no sense should this monograph be considered a textbook of experimental research. Rather it is to be regarded as an all too rare example of a positive, sophisticated contribution to the frame work of a theoretical psychology, far above the textbook level. The general function of such a theoretical system is in the reformulation and reorientation of concrete psychological problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)