Theories in Social Work by

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Sigmund Freud's psychosexual stages of development believe in the id (needs and drives are what guide people), the ego (the mind's rational aspect), and the superego (the conscience that houses morals, values, anxiety, and guilt) and the role they play in people's lives. Freud's Psychosexual Stages of Development have six stages that are influenced by pleasure. Stage one is the oral stage from birth to 1. This is when children will find pleasure from sucking and feeding. Stage 2 is the anal stage from ages 1 to 3; this is when children get pleasure from pooping. Stage 3 is the phallic stage from ages 3 to 6; this is when boys love their penises and girls want penises. Stage 4 is the latency stage from ages 6 to 11; this is a period where nothing is going on. Stage 5, the genital stage, is adolescence years and is where there is pleasure found in the genital area. Stage 6 is also the genital stage but is during adulthood. This stage is where people remain for the rest of their lives. Sigmund Freud believed that people could get stuck in one of these stages if there was a struggle, which could create defense mechanisms.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Erick Erikson was a student of Sigmund Freud and built off of his ideas. Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development believes in eight stages. Stage 1, ages 0-18 months, is trust vs. mistrust. This is where children develop either love or mistrust. Stage 2, ages 1 to 3, is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. This is where confidence or doubt develops. Stage 3 is initiative vs. guilt. Stage 4, ages 6 to 12, is industry vs. inferiority. This is when children develop the idea of struggle or failure. Stage 5, adolescence, is identity vs. role confusion. This is when people work on finding themselves or confusion. Stage 6, young adult is intimacy vs. isolation. This is when the idea of finding a partner or being alone develops. Stage 7, adult is generativity vs. stagnation. This is when the question arises, Have I contributed or am I self-absorbed? Stage 8, older adult is integrity or despair; this is finding meaning in life or mourning what is lost. Erik Erikson has the only theory that covers the whole human life span.

Systems

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

The systems theory focuses on the interaction between people and the systems they are a part of. Biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy believed that there are important parts that come together to create an organized whole. The systems theory focuses on behavior as a result of the clients actions and there environments. There are multiple components of the theory including systems ( all aspects of clients and how they work together as a whole), boundaries (rules and roles put in place in order to define the relationship in a system), differentiation (when systems become more complex due to more factors), equifinality (there are the same outcomes for everyone through different experiences), entropy and neg entropy (the systems movement to disorganization or neg entropy development), feedback (positive or negative input in system), homeostasis (the inclination of repeating what is familiar), multi-finality (alike system have different outcomes) reciprocity (changes in the system will effect changes in other parts), subsystems (smaller systems in the system), and synergy ( the energy that the system creates to establish itself). There are many components of the systems theory which can cause it to be difficult to gather and organize information.

Kohlberg

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Kohlberg is based on male research and is about moral development and how there are six stages. Stage 1 is that rules are absolute and cannot be changed; Stage 2 is judging the actions of others and their needs; Stage 3 is conforming to what others want to see; Stage 4 is respecting authority; and Stage 5 is considering individuals and their rights. Kohlberg asks moral questions and if they are right or wrong.

Gilligan

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Carol Gilligan focuses on women and their moral development. Gillian argues against Kohlberg's theory and what role gender plays. There are different transitions that women go through that contribute to moral development. Transition 1 is conventional morality, and transition 2 is postconventional morality, and both tie in with empathy.

Ecological Systems Theory

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

The ecological theory focuses on human development by looking at factors of the individual, which include the environment and interaction between both. Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory is like the systems theory but at a deeper level. There are fundamental tenets, which are the way people perceive their situations and how it affects them. The ecological layers consist of the micro (immediate environment), mesosystem (the interaction with multiple environmental settings), exosystem (the social settings that are present), and macro (how the layers above the micro, mesosystem, and exosystem blend together). The ecological system is a great resource when trying to figure out clients systems and how adaptation, coping, energy, and exchanges are affected by the systems.

Classical Conditioning

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Ivan Pavlov was a Russian researcher who accidentally discovered conditioning, which is a process where stimuli are linked with responses, which is where learning takes place. Classical conditioning just happens; this is when a meaningful stimulus and a neutral stimulus have no meaning. This concept can be tested and can help clients feel empowered to change.

Operant Conditioning

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Ivan Pavlov was a Russian researcher who accidentally discovered conditioning, which is a process where stimuli are linked with responses, which is where learning takes place. Operant conditioning is the learning process that happens when a action is followed by training.

Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development believes in 6 principles. Principle 1 is that children's environments will contribute to child development. Principle 2 is social experiences will cause change and adaptation. Principle 3 is that development is prevalent during group activities. Principle 4 is the children learn from observing others around them. Principle 5 is children use language to process development. Principle 6 is culture is learned from people around them.

Social Learning Theory

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Albert Bandura's social learning theory focuses on how observation plays a role in learning and development. People learn new behaviors from people around them by observing and imitating. This includes positive and negative outcomes and how people learn from both.

Cognitive Development-Piaget

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Jean Piaget looks into the complexity and flexibility of how children think, learn, and process information. Part of cognitive development is that there are four stages of development. Stage one is the sensorimotor (birth to 2 years old); this is when children will learn through touch and are tasked with object permanence. Stage two is preoperational (2-7 years old). This is when children will learn through play and learn about egocentrism, animism, centration, sense of conservation, and irreversibility. Stage three is the concrete operational stage (7-11 years old); this is when children start using logic and developing learning. Stage four is formal operational (12 years old and older); they start to think deeper and more complex. This is when children to start to challenge ideas that effect themselves.

Maslow

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Abraham Maslow identifies a hierchy of needs that motivates human behavior. There are five that are in order that are needed to move to the next. The first one is physiological, which is necessities to survive, like food, water, shelter, oxygen, etc. The next one is safety; this is things like security, stability, anxiety, threats, etc. The next one is belongingness and love; this would be intimacy and affection from loved ones. The next one is self-esteem; this is self-respect, respect for others, achievements, etc. The last one is self-actualization; this is the sense of fulfillment, and this is when people develop their potential; they seek truth, justice, order, beauty, etc.

Person in Environment

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Person in environment is an approach that looks at the environment the person is in to gain more context. This way of thinking is a practice among social workers that differs from psychology and sociology. The micro (the individual), mezzo (individuals immediate environment), and macro (larger environmental factors) levels all play roles in a client's life, and PIE believes that the three levels are important in order to see the whole picture.

Feminist Perspective

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

The feminist perspective advocates for social change that promotes equality between men and women. Three types of feminism are liberal feminism (the first movement that focused on education and empowerment for women), socialist feminism (sees the need for economic equality), and radical feminism (focuses on males as men reality). Feminism challenges how society views roles, opportunities, patriarchal hierarchies, diversity, and political agendas. The feminist perspective has raised awareness on social problems and asks questions about how society works.

Strengths Perspective

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

The strengths perspective is that everyone has the ability for growth, change, and adaptation. Dennis Saleeby believes that everyone has skills, capabilities, and strengths. The strengths perspective theory believes that people are more than their problems, and they are the experts of their lives. An important role social work plays in the strengths perspective is that we recognize there are factors that contribute to their outcomes. Social work can then work with the client to ensure that treatment is looking at all factors. This is how clients can be empowered for change in a positive way. The strengths perspective is not standalone and needs to be paired with other theories.

Biopsychosocial Perspective

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

The biopsychosocial approach puts compartments into three different levels: bio (health, diet, and other physical factors), psycho (self-esteem, personality, and other psychological factors), and social (school, family, and other environmental factors). This theory does not look at other factors like socioeconomic status, which cannot be helpful.

Functionalist perspective

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

The functionalist theory focuses on society as a living organism; this means that society is structured to maintain stability. If something is not working in society, then it will no longer have a need to exist. If it does exist in society, then there is a reason and a purpose for it. Emile Durkheim is known for her ideas on how behavior needs to be understood in a larger social context. Known for the 12 grand challenges and anomie (as society grows, so does the lack of purpose for individuals because it is easier to isolate). Robert Merton (there are non-traditional methods in order to achieve success that work for people) and Talcott Parsons (if something stays, then it has a purpose) both of these ideals contribute to the functionalist theory.

Conflict perspective

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

The conflict perspective believes that social behaviors are best understood when looking at two different groups and their tension and distribution of powers. The focus of the theory is who benefits, suffers, and dominates between groups. Some examples of people who believed in this theory are Karl Marx (the working class should overthrow those who hold power and wealth), Max Weber (believed in two concepts: insight and ideal type), W.E.B. Du Bois (believed knowledge can combat prejudice and tolerance, NAACP), and George Simmel (believed when emotions of involvement increase, so does violence). The conflict theory can better help understand social movements and how they work. The conflict theory can apply to families, the distribution of power and roles in a family, and health care. What does healthcare care about, and what do they not care about?

Social Constructionism

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Social constructionism is how we view reality based on experiences. The theory takes into consideration culture, race, identity, socioeconomic status, gender, religion, etc., and how it affects interactions. George Herbert Mead believed that all individuals play a role in society, and there is an ongoing process of constant change. Charles Horton Cooley believes that we learn who we are through interaction, and this is called the looking glass self. Erving Goffman believed in the dramaturgical approach that every day we go through our lives projecting what we want other people to see. Social construction theory goes well with other social work theories and is client-oriented.

Existentialism Perspective

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

This theory instills the meaning of life and how people view existence. This can be influenced by what others around them believe and societal perspectives. This can also be shaped by stereotypes and images of happiness.

Humanist Perspective

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

The humanist perspective puts emphasis on how people share their own roles and experiences. The theory emphasizes that people are in control of their lives and will be motivated by love, growth, success, and other resourceful tools. This is a lot like social work's strength perspective with people-person-oriented.

Disease/Medical Model

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

The medical model is how physical and/or mental health affect clients. There are different philosophies on how to go about diagnoses. A factor to consider is clients also might not be honest or educated on medical information. There are many obstacles that can surround the medical model, for example, a long list of diagnoses, and individualistic focus on diagnoses instead of strengths. The medical model can also be relief for clients because of validation and getting support for diagnosis.

Gestalt Therapy

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

Fritz Perls focuses on that people have unfinished business that needs to be worked through. This is believed to be important because gestalt theory makes the past and hidden aspects fully known.

Person-Centered Approach

aeplaster1s — 2025-02-17 01:31:04 UTC

This approach by Carl Rogers focuses on people and their natural inclination towards self-actualization. If problems are not treated correctly, which causes denial or disorientation, it can cause various problems. To be able to help clients find their way through problems, there must be warmth, empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard.