Human Behavior & the

Social Environment

BRIAN VEN BAG-AO

 INTERNATIONAL DEFINITION OF SW (IASSW/
NASW)
The social work profession promotes social
change, problem solving in human
relationships and the empowerment and
liberation of people to enhance well-being.
Utilizing theories of human behaviour and
social systems, social work intervenes at the
point where people interact with their
environments. Principles of human rights and
social justice are fundamental to social work.
 REACTIONS IN ASIA (YIP 2004)

⚫ Responsibility vs. Rights

(Rights a western concept. Ex. Asian countries
emphasize responsibility)
⚫ Social norms vs. Equality
(Communal cultures= Higher status brings the obligation
to promote well-being of others)
⚫ Family vs. Individual
⚫ Stability vs. Change. Asian countries promote
acceptance, endurance and stability instead of change)
⚫ Relation vs. Empowerment. Harmony and
interdependence in relationships
What is your
critique about
the definition?
Culture
relativity
should not be a
PRETEXT for
an abuse.
 Social Workers are
(sometimes) destroyers of
cultures.
 THE GLOBAL DEFINITION

The social work profession facilitates social

change and development, social cohesion,
and the empowerment and liberation of
people. Principles of social justice, human
rights, collective responsibility and respect for
diversities are central to social work.
Underpinned by theories of social work, social
sciences, humanities and indigenous
knowledges, social work engages people and
structures to address life challenges and
enhance wellbeing..
Why
Generalist
not
Specialist?
Supervision You as
generalist
practitioner
1. Knowledge
2. Values
3. Skills

Emphasis on client empowerment

Application Assumption of wide range of professional
Process roles

Use of critical thinking

TARGET SYSTEM
Following a planned change process
Macro system

Mezzo system
Micro
system
 Revisiting theories of
Human Behavior & the
Social Environment

What is social work theory?

Overview of today’s review
class:
⚫ What is SW’s multidimensional approach?
⚫ What is human behavior theory?
⚫ Why do we study theory?
⚫ How do we critique what we learn?
“Multidimensional” approach is…

⚫ Based on the belief that human behavior is

dynamic
⚫ Developed through internal & external forces

⚫ Influenced by the interaction of person,

environment, & time
⚫ A person is shaped by an ever changing environment
& the environment is shaped by the person
⚫ Both are shaped by “time”
 What is Social Work’s
“Multidimensional”
Approach to Human
Behavior?
What does “multidimensional” mean?
 These 3 dimensions include…
⚫ The person…
⚫ biological, psychological, social, & spiritual
⚫ The environment…
⚫ family, neighborhood, community, social structure,
clan, “tribe”
⚫ Time…
⚫ constants, trends, cycles, shifts, time orientation, pace
of time, life events

All 3 dimensions are shaped by our cultures

 What does “time” include?
⚫ Constants
⚫ Changes that move in only one direction, such as age
⚫ Trends
⚫ Changes that move in a general direction, but are not constant,
such as an increase in the number of women involved in peace-
building
⚫ Cycles
⚫ Changes that are repetitive, such as the school semester cycle
or the crop harvest cycle
⚫ Shifts
⚫ Changes that are sudden, such as those caused by death,
illness, trauma, natural disaster, & war
 A multidimensional
approach recognizes that
human behavior develops
as a result of many causes
& is multi-determined
What is human behavior
theory?

What is its purpose?

Why do we study it?
 First, what is “theory”?
⚫ A system of thoughts & interrelated
concepts

⚫ Includes general propositions

⚫ intended to explain or predict
phenomena in specific situations
 What is
“human behavior” theory?
⚫ A system of thought & interrelated
concepts that propose explanations of
why the empirical world is the way that
it is

⚫ A framework that helps us organize our

thoughts, evaluate & interpret our
world, explain & predict behavior
What is the purpose of human
behavior theory for SW?
⚫ It explains & predicts:
⚫ individualhuman behavior (micro)
⚫ the impact of larger social structures (mezzo)
⚫ social problems (macro)

⚫ It guides & informs:

⚫ social work practice
⚫ social policy & knowledge development
In other words….

Theories help us know which way to

go & how to get there!
 What is “personality?
⚫ comes from the Latin word “per” and
sonare” which means to sound through.
⚫ is sometimes defined as person’s public
self, what he or she selects to display to
the world. (Jung’s concept of persona)
⚫ most personality theories agree that
personality can be described in terms of
consistent behavior patterns. The
tendency to respond consistently to
various situations is what gives a person
identity.
Erroneous Methods of Assessing
Personality/Behavior
1. ) First Impression – it gives
some people a clue to the
pattern of the observed
individual. They then brand
that person as a certain
“personality type” and
ascribe to him or her
supposed characteristics of
that type.
A first impression may be used on physical
appearance, facial features or expressions,
mannerisms, style of dressing, name,
nationality, race, what a person says and how
it is said, what one does and how it is done,
or some other physical or physiological
characteristic which is identified in the mind of
the observer with a certain kind of personality
type or stereotype.
 Erroneous Methods of Assessing
Personality
2.) Pseudo-scientific Methods
a.) Physiognomy - this is a method of
judging personality through the
measurement and study of person’s
physical features, most especially facial
features.
Erroneous Methods of Assessing
Personality
b.) Phrenology - in this method,
personality is judged by the size
and shape of the skull.
Erroneous Methods of Assessing
Personality

c.) Graphology -this method uses a

person’s handwriting to know his or
her personality. General
penmanship and the way a letter is
formed have a corresponding
personality characteristic.
Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud
SIGMUND FREUD HOUSE

In VIENNA
 Structure of Personality

1.) ID – present at birth which

includes instincts
⚫ operates on a pleasure principle
2.) Ego – operates on a reality
principle
⚫ comes into existence because the
needs of the organism require
appropriate transactions with the
objective world of reality.
 Structure of Personality

3.) Super ego – moral arm of the

personality
⚫ the human organism is not born with a
super ego, rather children must acquire
it through interaction with parents,
teachers and other formative agents.
2 subsystems
⚫ Conscience
⚫ Ego – ideal
 Human Consciousness
CONSCIOUS (10%)
⚫ thoughts, perceptions
SUBCONSCIOUS (50-60%)
⚫ memories
⚫ stored knowledge
UNCONSCIOUS (30-40%)
⚫ fears (trauma)
⚫ repressed violent motives
⚫ unacceptable sexual desires
 Defence Mechanisms

the ego is the aspect of personality that deals with reality. While doing
this, the ego also has to cope with the conflicting demands of the id and
the superego. The id seeks to fulfil all wants, needs and impulses while
the superego tries to get the ego to act in an idealistic and moral
manner. What happens when the ego cannot deal with the demands of
our desires, the constraints of reality and our own moral standards?
 Psychosexual Stages?
Stages Erogenous Zones

⚫ Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months) __?____

⚫ Anal Stage (18 months- ¾ yrs) __?____
⚫ Phallic Stage (3 yrs to 4-7 yrs) __?____
⚫ Latency Stage (5 yrs to 12 yrs) __?____
⚫ Genital Stage (12 yrs onwards) __?____
 When fixated:
⚫ ORAL – PASSIVE CHARACTER –
describes as dependent to others. They
often retain even to excessive eating,
drinking and smoking. They are seeking the
pleasure they missed in infancy.
⚫ ORAL- AGGRESSIVE PERSONALITY –
when we begin teething, one satisfying thing
to do when you are teething is to bite on
something like mommy’s nipple. If this
precipitates an early weaning, one may
develop this verbally aggressive,
argumentative, sarcastic personality.
 When fixated:
ANAL- EXPULSIVE PERSONALITY – some
parents put themselves at the child’s mercy in the
process of toilet training. They beg, they cajole, they
show great joy when one does it right, they act as
though their hearts were broken when the child does it
right. The child is the king of the house. These people
maybe cruel, destructive and given to vandalism.

ANAL RETENTIVE PERSONALITY – when

parents are strict. They maybe competing with their
neighbors and relatives as to whom can potty train
their child first (early potty training being associated
with great minds).These people are turned out to be
clean, perfectionist, dictatorial and stubborn.
Psychodynamic Theory
Erikson’s Life-Span Development Theory

◼ Development
proceeds in stages
◼ Each stage is
characterized by a
psychosocial
challenge or crisis
◼ Stages reflect the
motivation of the
individual
Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Human
Development

8 - Integrity vs. despair

7 - Generativity vs. stagnation
6 - Intimacy vs. isolation
5 - Identity vs. identity confusion
4 - Industry vs. inferiority
3 - Initiative vs. guilt
2 - Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
1 - Trust vs. mistrust
Erikson’s Human Development Stages

1 - Trust vs. Mistrust Bonding and attachment

0–1 years /Maturation of nervous and
motor system

2 - Autonomy vs. Fantasy and play ,

Shame and Doubt language development /
1–3 years self-control

3 - Initiative vs. Guilt Group play , gender

3–5 years identification , beginning
moral standards
Erikson’s Human Development Stages

Team play, same sex peer

4 - Industry vs.
identification, physical and
Inferiority
sexual maturation
6 years–puberty
5 - Identity vs. Role Dating and mate selection,
Confusion sex role identity, career
Adolescence (18- choice, separation from
22) parents

6 - Intimacy vs. Childbearing, Marriage,

Isolation work
Early adult years
( 23- 34 years)
Erikson’s Human Development Stages

Childrearing,
7 - Generativity vs.
management of
Stagnation
home and financial
Middle Adulthood (
resources
35- 60 years)

8 - Integrity vs. Despair Coping with physical

Late Adulthood ( 61 change and health
years old) problems

Retirement/ Developing
perspective of one’s
death
Attachment:
Theory and practice
Attachment Theory
Attachment Theory suggests
that our earliest
attachments have a lasting
impact on our lives.

Developed from the joint

work of John Bowlby (1907-
1991) and Mary Ainsworth
(1913-1999), as well as other
theorists and researchers. (1)
THE HISTORY OF
ATTACHMENT
THEORY
 The
Okinawan
History of Attachment

Before a formal theory on

attachment was developed, two US
medical officers station in Okinawa
during World War II noticed the lack
of mental disease on the island
even after suffering from war.
 Image that accompanied the article about Okinawan parenting in
November 1949 issue of Better Homes and Gardens entitled “Is Your
Wife Too Civilized?”

“In contrast to the West, where bottle-feeding was quickly becoming the norm,
Okinawan mothers breastfed, not only to nourish their babies, but also to give
comfort. He noticed how the mothers would carry their babies on their backs in
beautiful fabric carriers and let them nurse whenever they needed- not on a strict
schedule. Most babies were nursed until at least two years of age or older, and if
babies were not with their mother, they were carried by another family member-
always in contact with someone they knew and trusted.” (3)
History of Attachment

John Bolwby

⚫ British child psychologist and psychoanalyst

⚫ Credited as the “Father of Attachment Theory”
he revolutionized our thinking about a child’s
connection with the mother .
⚫ Influenced by Freud; he “shared the psychoanalytic
view that early experiences in childhood have an
important influence on development and behavior
later in life” (1)
History of Attachment

John Bolwby

He believed that attachment promotes survival in 3 ways(5):

⚫ Safety
⚫ Safe base for exploration
⚫ Internal working model: The first relationship
(mother-child) forms a template that acts as a
prototype for all future relationships.
 Harlow & Zimmerman Experiment

 (1959) Rhesus monkey babies were separated from their

mothers and reared by surrogates. One surrogate was
terry cloth covered and the other wire mesh.
 Monkeys preferred soft cloth
“mommy”

 Findings: developing a close

bond does not depend on
hunger satisfaction; contact
comfort is more important
and need for closeness and
affection is much deeper.
History of Attachment

Mary Ainsworth
⚫ Began research on maternal-infant
attachments while working with John Bowlby
⚫ Developed experiment known as the “Strange
Situation” to observe child attachment

During these assessments, the researcher

observes a child as the mother leaves
them alone in an unfamiliar setting. The
child’s behaviors during separation and
upon the mother’s return were observed.
Ainsworth identified three main styles of
attachment from this research.(4)
History of Attachment

Mary Ainsworth

She discovered three

main styles of attachment:
1. Secure Attachment
2. Anxious-Ambivalent Insecure Attachment
3. Anxious-Avoidant Insecure Attachment
4. Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment (Fourth added by
colleague Mary Main)
 The Benefits of a Secure
Attachment What Science Says:

⚫ Smarter ⚫ Research by Bell and Ainsworth at Johns

⚫ Enhanced Motor Hopkins University concluded that harmonious
mother-infant attachment correlated with an
Development infant’s higher IQ and physical development.(6a)

⚫ Healthier ⚫ 308 infants in Uganda reared with attachment

parenting were compared to European infants
⚫ Less Stress reared with distant, scheduled parenting by Dr.
⚫ Promotes: Intimacy, Gerber in 1958. Ugandan infants showed
precocious motor and intellectual development
empathy, and throughout the first year.(6b)
cooperation

“Securely attached infants are more likely to become

secure toddlers, socially competent preschoolers, high-
achieving schoolchildren, and capable parents.”(4a)
 Citations
(1) Bretherton, Inge. "The Origins of Attachment Theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth."
Developmental Psychology 28: 759-775. Print.
(2) Parker, Lysa. "The Lesson of Okinawa." . Attachment Parenting International, n.d. Web. 26 Apr.
2014. <http://www.attachmentparenting.org/support/articles/okinawa>.
(3) Nicholson, Barbara, and Lysa Parker. Attached at the Heart: Eight Proven Parenting Principles for
Raising Connected and Compassionate Children . Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications,
2013. Print.
(4) Berger, Kathleen Stassen. The developing person: through the lifespan. 8th ed. New York: Worth
Publishers, 2011. Print.
a. Page 197. R. A. Thompson, 2006.
(5) "Attachments." Attachments in development. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2014.
<http://psychology4a.com/attachments_in_development.htm>.
(6) Sears, William and Martha Sears. The Attachment Parenting Book: A Commonsense Guide to
Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby. NY, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2001. Print.
a. Page 13
b. Page 14
c. Page 16
d. Page 18
Revisiting Hierarchy of
Needs

Abraham Maslow
Individual Psychology

Alfred Adler
⚫ One of the two most prominent figures
who broke with Freud and went on to
establish their own original system of
thought is Alfred Adler.

⚫ The cornerstone of Adler’s system is the

view that the person cannot be
separated from the social community.
Adler described his childhood
as a difficult and unhappy
time. He enjoyed a warm
relationship with his mother
during his first 2 years of life,
but he lost that pampered
position when his younger
brother was born.
Central Concepts of
this theory
1. Inferiority Feelings and
Compensation
⚫ People with physical disabilities often
strive to compensate for their weakness
or defects.
⚫ Demosthenes (a child stutterer, became one of the world’s
greatest orator.)
⚫ Wilma Rudolph (physically handicapped as a child, went on to
win 3 Olympic gold medals in track.
⚫ Theodore Roosevelt (a weak and sickly child, became a
specimen of physical fitness as an adult as well as President of
the United States.
 3 Childhood Handicaps as
Contribution to Inferiority feelings:

⚫ Inferior Organs
⚫ Overindulged Children
⚫ Parental Neglect -
2.) Striving for Superiority
⚫ This upward drive is universal in
nature; it is common to all.
⚫ Superiority can take either a
negative (destructive) or a positive
(constructive direction.
⚫ Negative direction – is evident in
the case of poorly adjusted people
who strive for superiority through
selfishness and concern for
personal glory at the expense of
others.
⚫ Positive Direction – the efforts for a
superior way of life are intimately
bound up with the concern for the
welfare of others.
3.) Styles of Life
⚫ - originally called the “life plan” or
guiding image”, represents the
most distinctive feature of Adler’s
theory of personality.
⚫ - A set of behaviors designed to
compensate superiority.
4.) Social Interest
In Adler’s view, our own lives
have value only to the extent that
we add value to the lives of
others. Our own lives have no
ultimate value unless we
contribute to the lives of our
fellow human beings and even to
the lives of those yet unborn.
5.) Creative Self
The creative power is responsible
for the person’s life goal. It
determines the method of striving
for good and contributes to the
development of social interest. It
makes a person a FREE SELF-
DETERMINED INDIVIDUAL.
6.) ORDER OF BIRTH
a.)First –Born (Oldest) Child –
“Dethroned Monarch”.
b.) The Only Born Child
considered as “tied to the
mother’s apron string” and
expects pampering and
protection from all others too.
c.)The Second –Born (Middle)
Child
Characterized as highly competitive and highly
ambitious. Her style of life of constantly trying to
prove that she is better than her older siblings.
d.) Last Born (Youngest) Child
this child may be relegated to
the role of “ tag-along kid” .
7.) Fictional Finalism
⚫ the idea that human behavior is directed
toward a future goal of its own making.
⚫ People are more affected by their
expectations of the future than by their
actual past experiences. He further argued
that many people proceed through life
acting “as if” certain ideas were objectively
true.