2023 Kurt Lewin Award

The Kurt Lewin Award, given by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, recognizes “outstanding contributions to the development and integration of psychological research and social action.”

The 2023 Kurt Lewin Award winner is Dr. John T. Jost, Professor of Psychology and Politics and (by affiliation) Data Science at New York University, where he directs the Social Justice Lab.  In selecting John for this award, the selection committee noted his significant career-long leadership role and advocacy in connecting social and political psychology to address pressing social issues in society, his development and application of system justification theory to help understand the dynamics of intergroup relations and social (in)justice, and, as reflected in his extensive and impactful publication record, his adherence to and promotion of Kurt Lewin’s belief that there is “nothing so practical” as a good theory.

The 2023 Kurt Lewin Award Selection Committee:

Michael Hogg (Chair)
Brad Bushman
Craig Anderson
Denise Sekaquaptewa

John T. Jost is Professor of Psychology and Politics and (by affiliation) Data Science at New York University, where he directs the Social Justice Lab. He is also Co-Director of the Center for Social and Political Behavior. Jost’s research addresses social stereotyping, prejudice, intergroup relations, social justice, political ideology, system justification, and the use of social media. His most recent books are A Theory of System Justification (Harvard University Press, 2020) and Left & Right: The Psychological Significance of a Political Distinction (Oxford University Press, 2021). Other awards he has received include the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize, Erik Erikson Early Career Award in Political Psychology, Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Theoretical Innovation Prize, Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP) Career Trajectory Award, Carol & Ed Diener Award in Social Psychology, and the Morton Deutsch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Social Justice. Jost is a Fellow of several professional societies and serves on numerous editorial boards. He is a Past President of the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP) and has received honorary doctorates from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Eötvös Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary.

Previous Winners

2022 Kurt Lewin Award

The Kurt Lewin Award, given by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, recognizes “outstanding contributions to the development and integration of psychological research and social action.” The 2022 Kurt Lewin Award winner is Dr. Michael Hogg, Director of the Social Identity Lab at Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles. Professor Hogg has nearly 400 scientific publications that have been cited more than 115,000 times, and has h-index 130. His current research focuses on the role played by social identity in radicalization, populism and social disintegration, and in translating self-uncertainty into orthodoxy and societal extremism.

Michael A. Hogg

2021 Kurt Lewin Award

The SPSSI 2021 Kurt Lewin Award is being awarded posthumously to Dr. James S. Jackson.  The Lewin Award is SPSSI’s highest scholarly honor and premier career recognition for distinguished research on social issues. As such, we are thrilled to recognize Dr. Jackson’s significant work and impact on our field. Dr. Jackson was nominated for the Kurt Lewin Award for his outstanding contributions to the development and integration of psychological research and social action, and his research on racial health disparities.