## Kurt Lewin's Three-Stage Model of Change

### Stage 1: Unfreezing

Make individuals aware of the necessity for change and prepare them psychologically.
Done through: announcements, meetings, promoting new ideas throughout the organisation.
Key rule: Change should NOT come as a surprise. Sudden, unannounced change is socially destructive and morale-lowering.

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### Stage 2: Changing (Moving to the New Situation)

H.C. Kellman proposed three methods of achieving the change:

Method	Description
Compliance	Achieved by strictly enforcing reward and punishment for good or bad behaviour (externally driven)
Identification	Members are psychologically impressed to identify with role models whose behaviour they wish to adopt
Internalization	Internal change in thought processes; individuals are given freedom to learn and adopt new behaviour themselves (self-driven)

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### Stage 3: Refreezing

New behaviour becomes a normal way of life.
Must completely replace the former behaviour.
Must be continuously reinforced so the newly acquired behaviour does not diminish or extinguish.
Change is a continuous process, not a one-time application.

Worked example

### Example 1

A pharma company shifting from paper-based to digital records: Unfreeze — CEO announces the change 6 months in advance, citing regulatory requirements. Change — Compliance: bonus for early adopters; Identification: senior doctors visibly demonstrate digital tools in ward rounds; Internalization: staff choose their preferred software interface from approved options. Refreeze — digital records become mandatory policy, reinforced by quarterly compliance audits.

### Example 2

A university replacing traditional lectures with flipped classrooms: Unfreeze — faculty workshops explain declining student engagement data. Change — volunteer professors pilot the model (Identification); students given choice of learning resources (Internalization). Refreeze — flipped classroom embedded in annual faculty performance review criteria.

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

Skipping 'Unfreezing' and jumping straight to implementation — this causes resistance and low morale because people are unprepared.
Thinking 'Refreezing' means the organisation becomes permanently rigid — it means the new behaviour is normalised, not that further change is impossible.
Confusing Compliance with Internalization — Compliance is externally enforced (rewards/penalties); Internalization is internally driven (freedom to learn).
Saying change is a 'one-time application' — Lewin explicitly states it is a continuous process that must be reinforced.

Reference:

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Kurt Lewin's Model of Change

Worked example

⚠️ Common exam mistakes