Social Work (Sociology and Psychology)
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Introduction
Social work practice has been influenced by different theories from separate fields, including psychology, sociology and social policy. According to (XXX), social workers need to understand the underlying cause of specific behaviour among people to find out the ideal way of helping them. Moreover, it is equally important to identify the acceptable forms of conducting oneself in a particular society as this also influences the way a person behaves and interacts with other individuals. All these can also be connected with social policy in that the social workers identify the legislation, principles, activities and guidelines which influences the living conditions of human beings in terms of education, jobs, security, wellbeing and health. The theories in these three fields form the basis on which social work practice is conducted. This essay analyses them in separate ways while explaining how they are related to social work practise focusing on the youth as the service user group. It focuses on psychosocial, psychodynamic and behavioural theories under psychology.
Moreover, it looks into systems theory, social cognitive theory, social exchange theory and rational choice theory, all under sociological theories. It also evaluates the relevant current social policy, context and direction. Moreover, fundamental ideas are applied to social work practice.
Psychological Theories
Various psychological scholars made advancements in attempting to explain the activities of the mind in humans at different stages of their lives. One of these people was Erik Erikson, who describes the psychosocial development and identity. In his writing, he asserts that a human being goes through eight stages of life which are interrelated. He states that the first stage of life is hope where a human establishes trust; the setting is commonly referred to as the trust versus mistrust stage. It starts at birth and runs up to the age of 18 months. The infant looks up to their primary caregiver’s consistency of care. If care is consistent, the infant becomes confident and trusts around their world as they grow older.
On the other hand, if the care is inconsistent, the infant develops mistrusts, which affect their confidence in the world around them. The second stage is based on the virtue of will and involves autonomy versus shame and doubt. A child wants to take control of their physical activities, and if they are not successful, they develop shame and doubt, success leads to autonomy.
He refers to the third stage as an initiative against guilt, where the child develops purpose, and it happens from the age of three years to five years. A positive environment that enables the child to plays is essential in helping them become people who can take initiatives; a hostile environment leads to guilt. The next stage is referred to as competence where there is industry versus inferiority, and it happens between the ages of five and twelve. This is followed by the step of identity versus role confusion where the child transitions from childhood into adolescence and they develop a sense of identity by exploring their values, belief and goals. Erikson referred to the sixth stage as intimacy against isolation which holds the virtue of love. This stage is followed by the care, which is commonly referred to as the level of generativity versus stagnation. This is the stage of giving back to the society where individuals are expected to be productive at work and raise children. Failure in this stage results in stagnation. The last step in this theory is ego integrity versus despair. Individuals who look back at their life and feel successful develop a sense of integrity while those who think a form of failure may despair.
Sigmund Freud also had a significant contribution to psychological theories as he described the psychodynamic perspective. This theory emphasises on the unconscious psychological processes such as fear and wishes. It is shaped on the idea that the behaviour of a human being is created in the thoughts and feelings which are in the subconscious part of the brain. In his elaboration, Freud describes the unconscious part of the mind as one that is made up of the id, ego and superego, all of which influences the behaviour of humans. As a psychologist, he used the experiences of his clients to come up with this theory. He describes the id as a stage where the person only seeks pleasure, lacks filters and avoids any form of pain. This stage is associated with toddlers. After passing through the id, a person develops the ego, which enhances a balance between the id and the superego.
The behavioural theory states that behaviour is learned through interaction with the environment by a process known as conditioning. The proponents of this theory, therefore concluded that action is a result of the response to environmental stimuli. In his study with dogs, Ian Pavlov discovered that when a bell is rung, and food is presented to a dog, and this is done repeatedly, the dog will always salivate when they hear a bell rung. He called this type of response, classical conditioning. On the other hand, B. Skinner experimented on rats discovered that behaviour is learned according to the rewards at stake. He called this type of response operant conditioning. This theory asserts that behaviour is learned through interaction with the environment and that human behaviour is a response towards stimuli within their environment.
Sociological Theories
Sociological theories have also had a significant influence on social work practice. One of them is the systems theory. It asserts that behaviour is formed as a result of different factors which work together as a system. Factors such as a person’s economic class, friends, parents, school and home environment have a significant influence on how an individual thinks and behaves. Malicious behaviour can be corrected by fixing ineffective or missing parts of the system. This theory further follows Charles Darwin’s idea of evolution, which states that the world is always in the process of development, and so are the behaviours of human beings. The social cognitive theory, which is also referred to as social learning theory, was created by Albert Bandura, a psychologist. The theory explains that people learn behaviour by observing what others are doing. Once a person follows a different individual, the action remains in their memory. Therefore, the person must be subjected to an environment that requires showing that behaviour and continuous conditions that enhance this behaviour make it possible to remain permanent. Consequently, this theory involves studying the influence role models have on the people who look up to them.
Social exchange theory was advanced George Homans, who was an Australian psychologist. Homans believed that any type of relationship was founded on a cost-benefit analysis. Every individual aim at maximising the benefits, and it is expected that they will reciprocate the services they have received. When risks become too many compared to the potential benefits, relationships are usually brought to an end. If one of the individuals in the relationship seems to have more resources, they are considered as more powerful. The Rational Choice theory further adds to this by stating that people usually weight the benefits and the costs of decisions before undertaking. This applies even to conclusions that others may term as irrational since there is reasoning by every decision.
Current Social Policy Context and Direction
Social policy refers to the ways through which society responds to social problems. It includes the laws, executive orders, court decisions and regulations which affect the wellbeing of people. Social policies are usually formulated by the government to safeguard the rights of every individual within its jurisdiction. Therefore, social policies affect how people within a specific society behave, and this makes it an essential factor in social work practice. Social systems are responsible for the significant changes in the different areas such as transport, healthcare and education. This, in turn, affects how people interact with others and therefore influencing their behaviour. It is the main element used in implementing development strategies and addressing social issues. In recent times, social policy is used in ensuring gender balance and protection of the minority in society. People considered to be in the minority groups are often faced with different problems which influence how they behave, social policy is therefore used to address their issues such that there can be a balanced form of behaviour within the society in question.
Application of Key Theories to Social Work Practice
The psychosocial development theory helps social workers to understand the stage of life of their clients and in the process, recognised the expected problems. The approach helps determine the best remedy that can be offered to such clients. For example, clients might have failed to achieve one of the stages successfully and thereby falling on the opposing side. A social worker can easily understand the problem and find suitable ways of helping the person overcome their problem. The psychodynamic theory involves the study of thoughts and how they shape an individual’s behaviour. Social workers may use this theory to understand the underlying causes of a particular action in a client. By using this theory, childhood experiences can also be analysed to find out how they influenced a person’s current behaviour. Therefore, enforcement of positive thinking helps a client to overcome inappropriate behaviour. Behavioural theory is also used in social work practice to check on the environmental stimuli that cause an individual to behave in the manner in which they do. Appropriate measures can be taken to get rid of the behaviour that is deemed malicious.
Sociological theories are also essential in the social work practice; Social learning theories are useful in helping social work practitioners in identifying the impact role models create among those whom they work with. This theory is used in intervening in a client’s behaviour and formulating positive behavioural models that help them to have a better outlook. On the other hand, the systems theory is usually used in the treatment of different issues, including depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, anxiety and school trauma. The practitioner may be required to observe the behaviour of the person in different environments to get a clear understanding of the problem. When a social worker decides to use this theory, they must understand a client’s behaviour is influenced by the systems around them, and thus, it is vital to know more about these systems. Through this, social workers may find out where system breakages are causing issues to the individual’s wellbeing.
On social exchange theory, social work practice is influenced in that the practitioners may use the approach in comprehending the type of relationships that their clients have with other individuals and the reasons why they hold on to some of the relationships or why they may choose to abandon them. It is also useful in identifying the ways through which the social worker can connect with their client. This helps them to position the client-worker relationship in a manner that is beneficial to the client. The rational choice theory is also instrumental in this practice as it assists the worker to understand the decision-making process of an individual and the motivations behind the decision. The rational preferences are closely examined, and this enables the worker to understand the base to which particular choices are made by the client.
Social policy also influences the practice of social work in various ways, including the setting of rules that governs how different people, predominantly the minority in the society, should be treated. Moreover, court rulings on various cases influence the way people conduct themselves afterwards. However, other people can be negatively affected, and this requires the help of a social worker. Social workers are also needed to understand the socio-political trends taking place in the society to deal with the issues of this calibre much effectively. In history, social workers have been involved in the processes of making laws and thus have included human justice and the ways of curbing human injustices. Social workers are also required to adhere to ethical conducts and this; although healthy to the profession, may limit the help they can give to the individuals away from their working stations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, theories in the field of psychology, sociology and social policy are fundamental in social work practice. Social work entails dealing with individuals at different levels to solve their social problems. Psychological theories help the workers to identify the activities of the mind responsible for the formulation of particular behaviours. These theories include, psychosocial, psychodynamic and behavioural, all of which term behaviour as a result of different mental processes. For example, the psychodynamic theory looks into the id, ego and superego, which are divided as the different levels of thinking of human being. This is different from the psychoanalysis theory, which divided personality development into eight stages and asserts that failure in one step affects how well an individual copes with the next scene. However, successful passing of one set results in positive behaviour from the individual.
On the other hand, the behavioural theory is made of the scientific study of behaviour. Pavlov used dogs in his research and came up with the classical conditioning while B.F Skinner uses rats and comes up with operant training. This theory is based on the argument that human beings learn behaviour through exposure to different environmental conditions continuously.
Sociological theories such as the system theory influence the social work practice at greater heights. This approach involves the worker understanding the systems surrounding the client’s life and how they impact their behaviour. It further implies that breakages within the system negatively affect a client’s behaviour. Moreover, the social learning theory also suggests that individuals learn from others within their society and this influences the practice of social work as the worker must understand the type of behaviour that is learned from the models and make necessary changes where this behaviour is not complimentary. Another theory advanced by George Homans, known as social exchange theory, also suggests that relationships are based on the cost-benefit analysis. People only move into relationships when the benefits are higher than the threats. The rational choice theory also asserts that decisions are usually arrived at after analytical thinking. Therefore, every decision, including those that do not seem reasonable, were reached at after rational thought. Social policy is also influential in social work practice as it determines how social problems are solved. It involves the guidelines by the government on the welfare of its people, court rulings and other legislations.