Unit – 1

NATURE AND SCOPE OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

Dr. P G Aquinas
Department of Social Work
 Learning Objectives
After going through this chapter you will be able to:

• Understand the Concept of Human Behaviour

• Know the definitions of Psychology

• Understand the concept of motivation

• Know what is normal/ abnormal behaviour

• Know clinical, educational, industrial, experimental, developmental, child

and adult psychology.

• Understand the Methods of Psychology

• Able to apply the concepts of psychology to social work practices

 Introduction
• Human behaviour is complex and often
difficult to understand.
• Why do people behave the way they do?
• What causes different people to react
differently to the same situation?
 Understanding Human Behaviour
The vast majority of theories and models of human behaviour fall into one of the
two basic categories
• Internal Perspective:
– The internal perspective considers factors inside the person to understand behaviour.
– This view is psycho-dynamically oriented.
– The internal processes of the thinking, feeling, perceiving and judging lead people to act in
specific ways.
– The internal perspective has given rise to a wide range of motivational and leadership
theories.
and
• External Perceptive:
– This perceptive focuses on factors outside the person to understand behaviour.
– People who subscribe to this view understand human behaviour in terms of external
events, consequences of behaviour and the environmental forces to which a person is
subject.
– The external perceptive implies that a person’s behaviour is best understood by examining
the surrounding external events and environmental forces.
 What is Psychology
• Psychology is a science which studies human
behaviour. The behaviour does not occur in
vacuum, it occurs under various situations or
contexts.
• The word, ‘Psychology’ is derived from two Greek
words, ‘Psyche’ and ‘Logos’. Psyche means ‘soul’
and ‘Logos’ means ‘science’. Thus psychology was
first defined as the ‘science of soul”.
•  
 The Definitions of Psychology

• Modern psychologists defined psychology as the “Science of Consciousness”.

• William McDugall (1905) defined psychology as the “Science of Behaviour”,
• W.B. Pillsbury (1911) and J.B. Watson (1912) also defined psychology as the
science of behaviour.
• B.F. Skinner defines Psychology should, therefore, be defined as a “science of
behaviour and experiences on human beings”
• According to Crow and Crow, “Psychology is the study of human behaviour
and human relationship’”.

Since its origin, psychology has itself become differentiated into a number of
specialized fields, such as clinical, experimental, military, and Organizational
and Psychology.
 Schools of Psychology

School Key features

Behaviourism Human behaviour is seen as being shaped by environmental forces and is a
collection of learned responses to external stimuli. The key learning process
is known as ‘conditioning’

Humanism The individual is seen as being unique, rational and self-determining.

Present experience is held to be as important as past experience
Psychodynamic The mind is seen as being a combination of conscious thoughts and the
theory workings of the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind expresses itself
through dreams and behaviour. We are not consciously aware of.

Cognitive theory This perspective looks at what happens after a stimulus but before a
response. The human mind is likened to a computer. People are seen as
information processors, selecting, coding, storing and retrieving
information when needed

Neurobiological Behaviour is considered as being determined by genetic, physiological and

theory neurobiological factors and processes.
 Schools of thought shaping
Psychology
• These schools of thought are especially important because of the influence
they have had in shaping the academic concerns of psychology.

1. Behaviourism: Behaviourists emphasise the importance of external

factors producing thoughts within the human mind. A key behaviourist
idea is that every individual enters the world as a ‘clean slate’. The
surrounding environment is considered to be the ‘chalk’ etching its marks
upon the ‘slate’ of the mind. This means that the individual enters the
world without a fixed identity and that social factors are responsible for
making the individual whosever he or she becomes.

Burrhus Skinner, Edward Thorndike, John Watson and Ivan Pavlov have
become synonymous with behaviourist psychology.

The terms ‘classical conditioning’ and ‘operant conditioning’ are

particularly important within behaviourism.
 Schools of thought shaping
Psychology (contd...)
2. Humanism: Humanism does acknowledge the importance of
environmental factors on the mind but it emphasise upon
individual interpretation of external factors. Humanism can be
associated with the philosophy of Immanuel Kant and his
‘Copernican revolution’ of thought. In Humanism, attention is
given to the importance of individuals interpreting social reality.

Humanism has become associated with the work of Carl Rogers

and Abraham Maslow.

Empathy is a central concept in the client-centred therapy. The

ideal aim is to lead the service-user to his/her ‘inner beautiful
self’ so that the individual’s would/ should dilemma can be
overcome.
 Schools of thought shaping
Psychology (contd...)
3. Psychodynamic theory: Freud’s’ Theory postulates
that thoughts are a product of the working of both
conscious and the unconscious mind. Freud
considers that there are three especially important
components to every individual.

• ‘Id’ or biological physiology of maleness and

femaleness.
• ‘Ego’ or social self to regulate our biological ‘id’.
• ‘Super ego’ existing beyond the individual that
generates a common understanding of our social
identity.
 Schools of thought shaping
Psychology (contd...)
4. Cognitive theory: Cognitive psychology can be
understood as being a branch of psychology
that is interested in what happens after a
stimulus but before a response. Piaget is the
most significant figure in the study of cognitive
development. According to Piaget the human
mind develops over time as an individual is
stimulated by its surroundings.
Schools of thought shaping Psychology
(contd...)

5. Neurobiological theory: The biological perspective places

an emphasis on the link between the thoughts of
individuals and their hormonal and chromosomal
composition. According to this theory the inevitable
consequence is that the thoughts occurring within the
mind have some biological basis and those differences in
thought patterns are crucially linked to hormonal and
chromosomal factors. It has been discovered that the male
brain is physically different to the female brain due to the
influence of the hormone testosterone.
 
 The concept of Motivation
• Motivation is the process of rousing and sustaining goal-directed
behaviour. Motivation is one of the more complex topics in
organizational behaviour. Motivation comes from the Latin word
“movere” which means, “to move”. Because motivation is an internal
force, we cannot measure the motivation of others directly.

• What is Motivation?
– The term ‘motivation’ refers to two different but related ideas. From the point
of view of the individual, motivation is an internal state that leads to the
pursuit of objectives. From the view point of the manager, motivation is the pr.
– Both the concepts have an important meaning in common. Motivation is the
expenditure of the effort to accomplish results.
– motivation is the process of getting people to pursue objectives.
 The Definitions of Motivation
• S. Zedeck and M. Blood “Motivation is a predisposition to act in a specific goal-
directed way”.

• Atkinson J. W Motivation is “The immediate influences on the direction, vigour and

persistence of action”.

• S. W Gellerman, Motivation is “Steering one’s actions toward certain goals and

committing a certain goals and committing a certain part of one’s energies to reach
them”.
 
• All these definitions contain three common aspects of the motivation process:
– What energizes human behaviour?
– What directs or channels such behaviour?
– How this behaviour is maintained or sustained?
 
The Underlying Properties of Motivation
Motivation has certain underlying properties:

– It is an individual phenomenon – Each individual is unique, and this fact must be

recognized in motivation research.

– Motivation is intentional – When an employee does something it is because he

or she has chosen to do it.

– Motivation has many facets – Researchers have analysed various aspects of

motivation, including how it is aroused, how it is directed, what influences its
persistence, and how it is stopped.

– The purpose of motivation theories is to predict behaviour – The distinction must

be made between motivation, behaviour and performance. Motivation is what
causes behaviour, if the behaviour is effective, high performance will result.
 Normal and Abnormal Behaviour
Normal and Abnormal Behaviour: Ideas of "normal" and "abnormal" are largely
shaped by social standards and can have profound social ramifications. There is a lot of
challenges inherent in trying to define "normal" and "abnormal".
These challenges are given below:
 
– What is considered "normal" changes with changing societal standards?
– Despite the challenges inherent in defining "normal," it is still important to establish
guidelines so as to be able to identify and help people who are suffering.
– The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) attempts to explicitly
distinguish normality from abnormality based on specific symptoms.
– Social workers must understand that society generally sees normality as good and
abnormality as bad. Being labeled as "normal" or "abnormal" can have profound
ramifications for an individual, such as exclusion or stigmatization by society.
– Stigma and discrimination can add to the suffering and disability of those who are diagnosed
with (or perceived to have) a mental disorder.  
– In order to reduce stigma, a recent move has been made toward the adoption of person-
centered language: referring to people as "individuals with mental illness" rather than
"mentally ill individuals" (e.g., a "person with bipolar disorder," rather than a "bipolar
person").
Stigma: The societal disapproval and judgment of a person or group
of people because they do not fit their community's social norms.
Stressor: An environmental condition or influence that causes
distress for an organism.
Social norms: Group-held beliefs about how members of that
group should behave in a given situation.
Pathology: Any deviation from a healthy or normal condition;
abnormality.
Etiology: The establishment of a cause, origin, or reason for
something. 
 
 Clinical Definitions of Abnormal

The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental) Disorders is

a central element of the debate around defining normality, and it
continues to change and evolve.
Currently, in the DSM-5 (the fifth edition), abnormal behaviour is
generally defined as behaviour that violates a norm  in society,
dismal, is rare given the context of the culture and environment,
and is causing the person distress in their daily life.
Specifically, the goal of the DSM-5 is to identify abnormal
behavior that is indicative of some kind of psychological disorder.
The DSM identifies the specific criteria used when diagnosing
patients; it represents the industry standard for psychologists and
psychiatrists, who often work together to diagnose and treat
psychological disorders.
 Stigma
Stigma is important to analyze the societal
consequences of diagnosis because so many
people experience mental illness at some
point in their lives. According to the World
Health Organisation (WHO), more than a third
of people globally meet the criteria for at least
one diagnosable mental disorder at some
point in their lives.
 Effects of Stigma and Self-Stigma
This internalization contributes to feelings of shame and usually leads to poorer
treatment outcomes. Experience of stigma or self-stigma can also lead to the
following:

– Refusal to receive treatment: An individual's fear of stigmatization and alienation may

lead them to refuse treatment altogether.  Anxiety about others' perceptions and the
social consequences that come along with a label of mental illness often deter people
from seeking help in any therapeutic, familial, social, or pharmacological context.
– Social isolation: An individual with mental illness may avoid social settings altogether; for
example, an individual struggling with depression may choose not to see or speak with
friends and family for fear of "bringing them down" or "being a burden." This is especially
dangerous in light of the knowledge that social connectedness is one of the key factors in
recovery from mental illness.
– Distorted perception of the incidence of mental illness: Although approximately one in
three people will experience mental illness at some point in their life, there are still many
people who do not acknowledge mental illness as a public health concern.   By causing
people to not seek out treatment, society's stigma of mental illness leads to fewer
diagnoses and fewer people getting help. This means that mental illness seems far less
common than it actually is.
 Combating Stigma
Stigmas are usually deeply ingrained in society
over many years and so cannot be eradicated
instantly. But with the rising awareness that
mental illness affects so many people in the
United States and globally, more and more is
being done to reduce the stigma associated
with such illnesses.
 Normal and Abnormal Behaviour
Difference between Normal and Abnormal Behaviour are as follows:

Normal Behaviour: Abnormal:

• The common pattern of behaviour found among • The concept of abnormality is defined as the
the general majority is said to be the behaviour simple exaggeration or perverted development of
of the normal. Normal people exhibit the normal psychological behaviour. The unusual
or maladapted behaviour of many persons which
satisfactory work capacity and earn adequate do not fit into our common forms of behaviour is
income. They conform and adjust to their social known as abnormal behaviour.
surrounding.
• Abnormality refers to maladjustment to one’s
• They are capable of establishing, satisfying and society and culture which surrounds him. It is the
acceptable relationship with other people and deviation from the normal in an unfavourable and
their emotional reactions are basically pathological way.
appropriate to different situations. Such people • According to Brown (1940) abnormal
manage to control their emotions. psychological phenomena are simple
exaggerations (over development or under
• Their emotional experiences do not affect their development) or disguised (i.e., perverted
personality adjustment though they experience developments) of the normal psychological
occasional frustrations and conflict. These phenomena.
people who adjust well with themselves, their  
surroundings and their associates constitute the
normal group.
• The normal group covers the great majority of
people. According to Coleman (1981) normal
behaviour will represent the optimal
development and functioning of the individual
consistent with the long term well-being and
progress of the group.
• Thus, people having average amount of
intelligence, personality stability, and social
adaptability are considered as normal.
 Difference between Normal and
Abnormal Behaviour
• Thus, abnormality and normality can only be defined in terms of
conformity to the will and welfare of the group and in the capacity
for self management.
 
• A close analysis of various types of abnormal behaviour indicates
that abnormal behaviour circumscribes a wide range of
maladaptive reactions like psychoneuroses, psychoses, delinquents,
sexually deviants, and drug addicts etc.

• Thus, same kind of biological, social and psychological

maladjustment affects the functioning of the individual in a society.
The abnormal deviants who constitute about 10 per cent of the
general population are classified into four main categories; such as
psychoneurotic, psychotic, mentally defective and antisocial.
 What is the difference between normal
behaviour and abnormal behaviour?
• Normal behaviour is behaviour that is average and not out of the ordinary, while
abnormal behaviour is different from the majority of society, according to
Psychology Today. 

• There is a wide range of behaviours that are normal and behaviours that are
abnormal.
1. There are many characteristics of normal behaviour. People who behave normally are not
constantly feeling one mood because their emotions change appropriately with each new
situation, such as feeling angry when frustrated. They can relate to others and become
committed to a person, group or cause. They feel satisfaction after completing a task but
also enjoy relaxation. Most importantly, normal behaviour consists of adapting to life. This
means dealing with success and failure in a healthy manner and being flexible through the
many challenges of life.
2. Abnormal behaviour is repeating harmful actions in a pattern, such as consistently sleeping
only a few hours a night. People who behave abnormally may fixate on one emotion. An
example of this is experiencing a long state of depression even though there is no logical
reason to feel sad. Abnormal behaviour may also violate ethics, such as sexual deviancy.
 Branches of Psychology
The different branches of psychology is explained below:
1. Clinical psychology: Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned
with the assessment and treatment of mental illness and behavioural problems.
Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for
the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based
distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being   and personal
development. The field is often considered to have begun in 1896 with the
opening of the first psychological clinic at the University of Pennsylvania by Lighter
Witmer. Clinical psychologists are now considered experts in providing
psychotherapy, and generally train within four primary theoretical orientations -
Psychodynamic, humanistic behaviour therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and
family therapy. Since the 1970s, clinical psychology has continued growing into a
robust profession and academic field of study. Clinical psychologists continue to be
experts in assessment and psychotherapy while expanding their focus to address
issues of gerontology, sports, and the criminal justice system to name a few. In
practice, clinical psychologists may work with individuals, couples, families, or
groups in a variety of settings, including private practices, hospitals, mental health
organizations, schools, businesses, and non-profit agencies.
 2. Educational psychology

Educational psychology is that branch of psychology in which the findings of psychology are
applied in the field of education. It is the scientific study of human behaviour in educational
setting.
 
What is Educational Psychology?
Some of the definitions of Educational Psychology is given below:
 
1. According to Charles. E. Skinner, “Educational psychology deals with the behaviour of
human beings in educational situations”. Thus educational psychology is a behavioural
science with two main references– human behaviour and education.

2. In the words of E.A. Peel, “Educational Psychology is the science of Education”. Education
by all means is an attempt to mould and shape the behaviour of the pupil. It aims to
produce desirable changes in him for the all-round development of his personality.

3. In the words of E.A. Peel, “Educational psychology helps the teacher to understand the
development of his pupils, the range and limits of their capacities, the processes by
which they learn and their social relationships.” The essential knowledge and skill to do
this job satisfactorily is supplied by Educational Psychology
 2. Educational psychology (contd…)
Thus, Educational Psychology concerned primarily with
understanding the processes of teaching and learning
that take place within formal environments and
developing ways of improving those methods.
It covers important topics like learning theories;
teaching methods; motivation; cognitive, emotional, and
moral development; and parent-child relationships etc.
In short, it is the scientific discipline that addresses the
questions: “Why do some students learn more than
others?” and “What can be done to improve that
learning?”
 3. Industrial psychology
• Industrial/Organizational Psychology takes the scientific study of human behaviour and
applies it to the workplace to increase employee, employer and consumer satisfaction.
• Industrial/organization psychology (I/O Psychology) is a field of psychology that applies
the fundamental scientific principles of psychology to the workplace environment to
make work more fun and more productive. /O psychology is fairly new, emerging just
over 100 years ago as a result of the industrial revolution in America.
• During that period, assembly lines were introduced to reduce the amount of time and
skill it took to build things. Workers were forced to maintain an incredibly exhausting
pace in terms of production and frequently encountered unhealthy work environments
and low wages. Workers did not feel connected to their work, their company, or their
co-workers.
• Industrial and organisational psychologists study and assess individual, group and
organisational dynamics in the workplace. They apply that research to identify solutions
to problems that improve the well-being and performance of organisations and their
employees.
• I/O psychology is the scientific study of human behaviour in the workplace. It focuses on
assessing individual, group and organizational dynamics and using that research to
identify solutions to problems that improve the well-being and performance of an
organization and its employees.
 4. Experimental psychology
Experimental psychology is the branch of psychology dealing with the study
of emotional and mental activity, as learning, in humans and other animals
by means of experimental methods.

• Experimental psychology utilizes scientific methods to research the mind

and behaviour. 
– Why do people do the things they do?
– What factors influence how personality develops?
– And how do our behaviours and experiences shape our character?

• These are just a few of the questions that psychologists explore, and
experimental methods allow researchers to create and empirically test
hypotheses.
• By studying such questions, researchers can also develop theories that
enable them to describe, explain, predict, and even change human
behaviours.
 Methods Used in Experimental Psychology
Experimental psychologists use a variety of different research methods and tools to
investigate human behaviour.
1. Experiments: In some cases, psychologists can perform experiments to determine if
there is a cause-and-effect relationship between different variables. The basics of
conducting a psychology experiment   involve randomly assigning participants  to groups,
operationally defining variables, developing a hypothesis, manipulating the independent
variable, and measuring the depending variables.  
• For example, researchers could perform a study to look at whether sleep deprivation
impairs performance on a driving test. The experimenter could control for other
variables that might influence the outcome, but then vary the amount of sleep that
participants get the night before a driving test. All of the participants would then take
the same driving test via a simulator or on a controlled course.
 
• By analyzing the results, researchers can then determine if it was changes in the
independent variable (amount of sleep) that led to differences in the dependent
variable (performance on a driving test).
 
• Experimentation remains the primary standard, but other techniques such as case
studies, correlation research, and naturalistic observation are frequently utilized in
psychological research.
 Methods Used in Experimental Psychology
(contd…)
2. Case Studies: Case studies allow researchers to study a single individual or group of
people in great depth. When performing a case study, the researcher collects every
single piece of data possible about the subject, often observing the person of
interest over a period and in a variety of situations. Detailed information about the
individual’s background including family history, education, work, and social life are
also collected. Such studies are often performed in instances where experimentation
is not possible. For example, a scientist might conduct a case study when the person
of interest has had a unique or rare experience that could not be replicated in a lab. 
3. Correlation Research: Correlation studies make it possible for researchers to look at
relationships between different variables. For example, a psychologist might note
that as one variable increase, another tends to decrease. While such studies can
look at relationships, they cannot be used to imply causal relationships. The golden
rule is that correlation does not equal causation.
4. Naturalistic Observation: Naturalistic observation gives researchers the opportunity
to observe people in their natural environments. This technique can be particularly
useful in cases where the investigators believe that a lab setting might have an
undue influence on participant behaviours.
 5. Developmental psychology
• Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why human
beings change over the course of their life. Originally concerned with
infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence,
adult development, aging, and the entire lifespan. Many theories in
psychology characterize development in terms of stages: Jean Piaget
developed a complex stage theory of cognitive development to describe
how children reason and interact with their surroundings. Lawrence
Kohlberg applied and extended Piaget's stages to describe how
individuals develop moral reasoning.

• Developmental stage theories are theories that divide
child development into distinct stages which are characterized by
qualitative differences in behaviour. There are a number of different
views about the way in which psychological and physical
development proceed throughout the life span.
5. Developmental psychology (contd…)
• Human development refers to the biological and psychological development of the
human being throughout the lifespan. It consists of the development from infancy,
childhood, and adolescence to adulthood. The scientific study of psychological human
development is sometimes known as Developmental psychology.

• Human development is a lifelong process of physical, behavioural, cognitive, and

emotional growth and change. In the early stages of life—from babyhood to childhood,
childhood to adolescence, and adolescence to adulthood—enormous changes take place.
 
• Developmental psychology is a scientific approach which aims to explain how children and
adults change over time.

• A significant proportion of theories within this discipline focus upon development during
childhood, as this is the period during an individual's lifespan when the most change
occurs. Developmental psychologists study a wide range of theoretical areas, such as
biological, social, emotion, and cognitive processes. 
 
5. Developmental psychology (contd…)
• The three goals of developmental psychology are to describe, explain, and to optimize
development To describe development it is necessary to focus both on typical patterns
of change (normative development) and on individual variations in patterns of change
normative development is typically viewed as a continual and cumulative process.
However, it should be noted that people can change if important aspects of one's life
change. This capacity for change is called plasticity. For example, Rutter (1981)
discovered than somber babies living in understaffed orphanages often become
cheerful and affectionate when placed in socially stimulating adoptive homes.
 
• When trying to explain development, it is important to consider the relative
contribution of both nature and nurture.   Nature refers to the process of biological
maturation inheritance and maturation. Nurture refers to the impact of the
environment, which involves the process of learning through experiences. One of the
reasons why the development of human beings is so similar is because our common
specifies heredity (DNA) guides all of us through many of the same developmental
changes at about the same points in our lives.
 Historical Origins of Developmental
psychology
• Developmental psychology as a discipline did not exist until after the industrial revolution
when the need for an educated workforce led to the social construction of childhood as a
distinct stage in a person's life.
 
• The notion of childhood originates in the Western world and this is why the early research
derives from this location. Initially developmental psychologists were interested in studying
the mind of the child so that education and learning could be more effective.
 
• Developmental changes during adulthood are an even more recent area of study. This is
mainly due to advances in medical science, enabling people to live to an old age. Charles
Darwin is credited with conducting the first systematic study of developmental psychology.
However, the emergence of developmental psychology as a specific discipline can be traced
back to 1882 when Wilhelm Preyer (a German physiologist) published a book entitled The
Mind of the Child. In the book Preyer used rigorous scientific procedure throughout
studying the many abilities of his daughter. In 1888 Preyer's publication was translated into
English, by which time developmental psychology as a discipline was fully established.
During the 1900s three key figures have dominated the field with their extensive theories of
human development, namely Jean Piaget (1896-1980), Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) and John
Bowlby (1907-1990).
 Methods of Psychology
A wide range of research methods are used in psychology. These methods vary
by the sources of information that are drawn on, how that information is
sampled, and the types of instruments that are used in data collection.

Methods also vary by whether they collect qualitative data, quantitative data

or both.
 
– Qualitative Psychological Research: Qualitative Psychological Research is where the
research findings are not arrived at by statistical or other quantitative procedures.
– Quantitative Psychological Research: Quantitative Psychological Research is where
the research findings result from mathematical modelling and statistical estimation
or statistical inference. 
 
 Types of psychological research
There are three main types of psychological research:
 
– Correlation Research: Correlations are useful because they can indicate a predictive relationship that
can be exploited in practice dependence or association is any statistical relationship, whether causal or
not, between two random variables or two sets of data.   Correlation is any of a broad class of statistical
relationships involving dependence, though in common usage it most often refers to the extent to which
two variables have a linear relationship with each other. Familiar examples of dependent phenomena
include the correlation between the physical statures of parents and their offspring.

– Descriptive Research: Descriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a population or

phenomenon being studied. It does not answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics
occurred. Rather it addresses the "what" question (what are the characteristics of Minnesota state
population or situation being studied?)  The characteristics used to describe the situation or
populations are usually some kind of categorical scheme also known as descriptive categories.
Descriptive research generally precedes explanatory research. Hence, descriptive research cannot
describe what caused a situation. Thus, descriptive research cannot be used to as the basis of a casual
relationship where one variable affects another. 

– Experimental Research: Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental
methods   to psychological study and the processes that underlie it. Experimental psychologists employ
human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, such as sensation, perception,
memory, cognition, learning, motivation, emotion, developmental process etc.,
 Apply the concepts of psychology to social
work practices
Social workers need to apply psychology to their professional practice. Applying
psychological therapies social work can raise standards and ensure good practice.
Applying psychology to social work can make professional practice more effective. Here
we identify and analyse ways of applying psychology to social care in relation to the
National Occupational Standards (NOS) set for social workers. These standards emphasise
the priority of working effectively with individuals’ families, carers, groups and
communities in order to raise life opportunities.

Six key roles are identified by the standards as contributing to the key purpose of social
work.
• Preparing for and working with individuals, families, carers, groups and communities.
• Planning, carrying out, reviewing and evaluating social work practice.
• Supporting individuals to represent their needs, views and circumstances;
• Managing risk to individuals, families, carers, groups, communities, self and colleagues;
• Managing and bring accountable with supervision and support for social work practice
within individual organisations;
• Demonstrating professional competence in social work practice.
 Relevance and Importance of Psychology for Social
Workers
• Social workers use different methods of social work in various fields of practice to
solve the individual’s or group’s psychological and/ or psychosomatic problems.
• Sometimes, social work practice aims at the socio-economic development of the
individual, group or community. Social work profession helps individuals and/ Or
groups achieve a positive adjustment with their environment. Here environment
includes human and social environment, physical environment. Here environment
includes human and social environment, physical environment, psychological
environment and ecological environment.
• Factors responsible for a particular human behaviour in a particular setting when
brought to the notice of a social work by the psychologist help social workers to
plan and execute their actions.
• A social worker has to always keep in mind the problem, behaviour pattern and
thoughts of his client in the social setting in cases where the social worker has to
diagnose the case or provide treatment to the client.
• The client’s thought and behaviour quite often influence the diagnosis and
treatment process and persuade the social worker to modify them accordingly.
 Social workers use of psychology at
1. At the time of interviewing the client, the social worker should be conscious of the undesire
d presence of anyone else, as that may make the client unwilling to expose the reality or
truth to the worker. The feeling of privacy in the kind of environment created – both physical
and social – is vital for a frank sharing of in depth or intimate details of the situation under
study.

2. When members of the group are engaged in their group activities an outsider drops in, the

activity of the group ceases for a short while and the social worker has to make
arrangements for accommodating the new-comer.  

3. Excessive bossiness of a leader in a group often disturbs harmonious and smooth group
interaction. A social group worker has to be careful of such a tendency in any group member
for its proper functioning. Such a tendency may become an impediment to community
organisation also. Planning and functioning of community work
may  be influenced by that, and hence should be taken care of.

4. While handling the case of a truant student in a school setting, a social worker has to take

into consideration the behaviour and reactions of his peers, authorities and teachers of the
school. Their behaviour towards the student may be the cause of truancy. The student may
feel uncomfortable in the school atmosphere resulting in his absence from classes.
 
 Social workers use of psychology at
(contd…)

4. The behaviour of a doctor or hospital functionaries influences the patient’s response to medical

advice. Their rough and impatient attitude to the patient and his disease may cause unwillingness on the
patient’s part to follow medical advice. The client may neglect and avoid requisite medical instructions. The
social worker has to keep in mind the behaviour of the medical and para-medical staff of the clinic and
hospital towards his family, while helping the patient co-operate with medical personnel.

5. In an industrial setting, while a social worker is expected to help the workers to adjust with their employer or
seniors, he has to give consideration to the latter’s behaviour and thoughts.

6. In a family setting, a social worker has to pay adequate attention to the behaviour and thoughts of siblings,
parents and other family members of the client as they all influence the thought and behaviour of the client.
Education, occupation, income, physical and mental ability, ecological and physical variables and socio-cultural
values and ethics, influence the thoughts and behaviour of the individual and therefore all these, should be
given due consideration. Differences in age, sex, caste, race, religion, education, occupation, income, physical
and mental ability, ecological and physical variables and socio-cultural values and ethics, influence the
thoughts and behaviour of the individual and therefore all these, should be given due consideration at the
time of planning, diagnosing and treating the client.

7. Propaganda, public opinion and crowd etc. also influence the individual’s behaviour pattern and thoughts.
These components of social psychology should also be taken into consideration at the time of social work
practice.
 
 Conclusion
Social psychology attempts to understand,
explain and predict how the presence of
another, a group of people and environmental
factors, influence a person’s behaviour. A social
worker has to be careful of the thoughts and
behaviour of his client as they influence
diagnosis and treatment.
End of Unit -1