Applying Theoretical Perspectives Essay

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Applying Theoretical Perspectives Essay Deb Harper SWK-516 Abigail Mondragon May 1, 2024

There is a range of proposed theories that social workers should accurately understand because they will encounter situations where these theories will be beneficial when helping their clients. Social work is made of multiple disciplines that are needed to better understand the field of social work. There are eight main theories of social work that each take an approach to understanding human behavior (Hutchinson,2019). I chose to discuss the behavioral theory, systems theory, and the developmental theory. The behavioral perspective explores how an individual’s environment can influence their behavior. It also emphasizes that all human problems can be defined as undesirable behavior. According to the textbook Human Behavior in the Social Environment by Elizabeth D. Hutchison behavior can be learned through different mechanisms of learning such as environmental stimuli, reinforcement, imitation and personal expectations. This perspective is useful in the field of social work because there are behavioral therapy techniques that social workers can use to help their clients. One example of these techniques is the classical conditioning technique. Classic conditioning “sees behavior as learned through association, when a naturally occurring stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus. Social workers can use conditioning to help modify undesirable behaviors. Another technique related to the behavioral perspective is operant conditioning which sees behavior as the result of reinforcement. According to an article written by John E. Thomas, operant conditioning showed that an existing behavior can be changed by associating it with a new stimulus. When working with clients who believe there is no possibility for them to change their undesirable behaviors social workers can rely on behavioral perspective principles that state that all behavior can be defined and changed. For social workers it’s important to recognize that different systems that interact with each other impact and individual in various ways. The systems perspective “sees human behavior

as the outcome of interactions within and among systems of interrelated parts” (Hutchison, 2019). This perspective is useful because it helps social workers identify different systems an individual interacts with such family, school, or work. By better understanding how these systems impact the individual a social worker can better understand the different challenges and hardships they face. One of the most influential systems for an individual is the family system. While the family systems theory is more specific compared to the systems theory, it’s necessary for social workers to recognize the importance of the family. The family systems theory looks at the organization, structure, and complexity of families and familial relationships (Helm, 2023). One of the developmental perspective’s main ideas is that human development occurs in stages divided by age. Each stage comes with different challenges and builds upon the previous stage. There are specific developmental milestones that individuals reach that help determine whether they are developing normally or with delays. This perspective also defines human development as an interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors. This is known as the biopsychosocial model. For social workers who work with children it is significantly beneficial to understand this model because it provides a guideline to determine if a child will have a normal developmental trajectory. How a child develops is highly influenced by the interaction of their biological, social, and psychological systems. (Huff, 2016) While there is research to support that certain tasks are associated with each stage, professionals must be cautious to not generalize this perspective to all individuals. The developmental approach in social work practice helps to understand human behavior and how developmental changes impact a person’s life.

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References Helm, K. M. (2023). Family systems theory. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health. Huff, N. (2016). Child development. In C. L. Shehan (Ed.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Family Studies (1st ed.). Wiley. https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6NDI2NDUxOA==?aid= Hutchison, E. D. (2019). CUSTOM: Grand Canyon university SWK 515 human behavior in the social environment I: Conception through middle childhood custom electronic edition. SAGE Publications. Thomas, J. E. (2023). Developmental Psychology. Salem Press Encyclopedia.

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