Human Behavior & Social Environment in Social Work

Human Behavior and Social Environment

• Focuses on understanding the individual as a biopsychosocial being, emphasizing the interplay between personal and environmental factors.
• Encompasses social, cultural, political, and economic influences that shape individual behavior.
• Social functioning relates to fulfilling roles within society, addressing personal and dependents' needs, while positively contributing to the community.
• Key human needs include:
  • Physical: food, safety, shelter, healthcare, and protection.
  • Personal Fulfillment: education, recreation, values, aesthetics, religion, and achievement.
  • Emotional: belonging, mutual care, and companionship.
  • Self-Concept: security of self-identity, confidence, and self-esteem.
• Social workers aim to enhance or restore individuals' and communities' social functioning capacities.

Personality Theories and Human Development

• Personality encompasses an individual's total mental qualities, including temperament, traits, reactions, and character.
• Defined as a stable organization of a person’s characteristics that affects their adjustment to environments.
• Alport’s perspective views personality as a dynamic organization of traits within the self, influencing social role performance.

Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory

• Personality is structured around three components:
  • Id:
    • Represents primal drives and instincts; operates on the pleasure principle.
    • Functions unconsciously, seeking immediate gratification of needs.
    • Crucial in infancy for meeting basic demands (e.g., hunger).
    • Drives towards pleasure and avoids pain; must be balanced with reality.
  • Ego: Manages reality by mediating between the id's desires and the external world's demands.
  • Superego: Embodies moral standards and societal rules; often conflicts with id's impulses.
• These elements are not fixed parts; they are dynamic processes shaping behavior and personality.