Social Work Theories

There are many social work theories that guide social work practice. Here are some of the major
theories that are generally accepted in the field of social work:

Systems theory External link  describes human behavior in terms of complex systems. It is premised on

the idea that an effective system is based on individual needs, rewards, expectations, and attributes of
the people living in the system. According to this theory, families, couples, and organization members
are directly involved in resolving a problem even if it is an individual issue.

Social learning theory External link  is based on Albert Bandura’s idea that learning occurs through
observation and imitation. New behavior will continue if it is reinforced. According to this theory, rather
than simply hearing a new concept and applying it, the learning process is made more efficient if the
new behavior is modeled as well.

Psychosocial development theory External link  is an eight-stage theory of identity and psychosocial

development articulated by Erik Erikson. Erikson believed everyone must pass through eight stages of
development over the life cycle: hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care, and wisdom. Each
stage is divided into age ranges from infancy to older adults.

Psychodynamic theory External link  was developed by Freud, and it explains personality in terms of

conscious and unconscious forces. This social work theory describes the personality as consisting of the
id (responsible for following basic instincts), the superego (attempts to follow rules and behave morally),
and the ego (mediates between the id and the ego).

Transpersonal theory External link  proposes additional stages beyond the adult ego. In healthy
individuals, these stages contribute to creativity, wisdom, and altruism. In people lacking healthy ego
development, experiences can lead to psychosis.

Rational choice theory External link  is based on the idea that all action is fundamentally rational in
character, and people calculate the risks and benefits of any action before making decisions.

Deterrence theory says that people don't commit crimes because they are afraid of getting
caught - instead of being motivated by some deep moral sense. According to deterrence
theory, people are most likely to be dissuaded from committing a crime if the punishment is
swift, certain and severe.

EARLY CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHERS OF DETERRENCE THEORY The deterrence theory of punishment can be
traced to the early works of classical philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes (1588–1678), Cesare Beccaria
(1738–1794), and Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832). Together, these theorists protested against the legal
policies that had dominated European thought for more than a thousand years, and against the
spiritualistic explanations of crime on which they were founded. In addition, these social contract
thinkers provided the foundation for modern deterrence theory in criminology. Thomas Hobbes In
Leviathan, published in 1651, Hobbes described men as neither good nor bad. Unlike religious
philosopher Thomas Aquinas, who insisted that people naturally do good rather than evil, Hobbes
assumed that men are creatures of their own volition who want certain things and who fight when their
desires are in conflict. In the Hobbesian view, people generally pursue their self-interests, such as
material gain, personal safety, and social reputation, and make enemies without caring if they harm
others in the process. Since people are determined to achieve their self-interests, the result is often
conflict and resistance without a fitting government to maintain safety. Hobbes also pointed out that
humans are rational enough to realize that the self-interested nature of people would lead to crime and
inevitable conflict due to the alienation and exclusion of some members of society. To avoid this, people
agree to give up their own egocentricity as long as everyone does the same thing approximately. This is
what Hobbes termed the social contract. To avoid war, conflict, and crime, people enter into a social
contract with the government so that it will protect them from human predicaments. The role of the
state is to enforce the social contract. Hobbes indicated that if one agrees to the social contract, that
individual authorizes the sovereign to use force to uphold the social contract. But crimes may still occur
even if after governments perform their duties. In this case, Hobbes argued that the punishment for
crime must be greater than the benefit that comes from committing the crime. Deterrence is the reason
individuals are punished for violating the social contract, and it serves to maintain the agreement
between the state and the people in the form of a workable social contract. Cesare Beccaria Building on
the ideals of the social contract philosophers, in 1764, Cesare Bonesana, Marchese Beccaria, published
his treatise, Dei Delitti e delle Pene (On Crimes and Punishments), in which he challenged the rights of
the state to punish crimes. He followed Hobbes and other 18th-century Enlightenment writers that laws
should be judged by their propensity to afford the “greatest happiness shared by the greatest number”
(Beccaria, 1963, p. 8). Since people are rationally self-interested, they will not commit crimes if the costs
of committing crimes prevail over the benefits of engaging in undesirable acts. If the sole purpose of
punishment is to prevent crime in society, Beccaria (1963) argued, “punishments are unjust when their
severity exceeds what is necessary to achieve deterrence” (p. 14). Excessive severity will not reduce
crime, in other words, it will only increase crime. In Beccaria’s view, swift and certain punishment are
the best means of preventing and controlling crime; punishment for any other reason is capricious,
superfluous, and repressive. Beccaria and the classical theorists believed that humans are rational
beings with free will to govern 234———Deterrence Theory D-Bosworth.qxd 11/15/2004 7:30 PM Page
234 their own decisions. Indeed, he emphasized that laws should be published so that people may know
what they represent—their intent, as well as their purpose. Basing the legitimacy of criminal sanctions
on the social contract, Beccaria (1963) called laws “the conditions under which men, naturally
independent, united themselves in society” (p. 11). He was against torture and secret accusations, and
demanded they be abolished. Furthermore, he rejected the use of capital punishment and suggested
that it be replaced by imprisonment. According to Beccaria, jails should be more humane and the law
should not distinguish between the rich and the poor. Judges should determine guilt and the application
of the law, rather than the spirit of the law. Legislators should pass laws that define crimes and they
must provide specific punishments for each crime. To have a deterrent value, punishment must be
proportionate to the crime committed. Finally, Beccaria argued that the seriousness of crimes should be
based on the extent of harm done to society. As an advocate of the pleasure-pain principle or hedonistic
calculus, Beccaria maintained that pleasure and pain are the motives of rational people and that to
prevent crime, the pain of punishment must outweigh the pleasure received from committing crime.
Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham, a contemporary of Beccaria, was one of the most prominent 18th-
century intellectuals on crime. In 1780, he published An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and
Legislation, whereby he proclaimed his famous principle of utility. He argued that “nature has placed
mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure” (Bentham, 1948, p. 125).
Bentham believed that morality is that which promotes “the greatest happiness of the greatest number”
(Moyer, 2001, p. 26) a phrase that was also common to Beccaria. The duty of the state in Bentham’s
view was “to promote the happiness of the society, by punishing and rewarding” (Bentham, 1948, p.
189). Like Beccaria in Italy, Bentham was troubled by the arbitrary imposition of punishment and the
barbarities found in the criminal codes of his time in England. Noting that all punishment is mischief, he
maintained, also, that all penalties, per se, are evil unless punishment is used to avert greater evil, or to
control the action of offenders. In short, the object of the law is to widen the happiness of the people by
increasing the pleasure and lessening the pain of the community. Punishment, in excess of what is
essential to deter people from violating the law, is unjustified.

      Person-Centered Theory

Chapter Summary

Person-centered theory has become one of the most popular theories of counseling and therapy
since it developed in the 1940s. It was first labeled nondirective by its originator, Carl Rogers. The
theory offered a distinct alternative to the behavioral and psychoanalytic theories that dominated
psychology at the time. Rogers later broadened the concepts of the process and renamed it client-
centered to de-emphasize the nondirective nature and emphasize a full understanding of all the
client's dimensions. The person-centered concept evolved as issues relating to equality of
participants in the relationship and a focus on the positive health of people became significant
issues as opposed to a more unhealthy client status.

Person-centered theory makes possible the expansion of helping situations. Originally developed as
an individual process, it has since become a major group theory. This group focus has expanded
into concepts popular in education. Rogers' most recent work emphasized the same concepts as
ways of dealing with international conflict resolution in an emphasis on promoting world peace.

Person-centered theory places great emphasis on the individual's ability to move in positive
directions. Practitioners of the theory have a belief in the trustworthiness of individuals and in their
innate ability to move toward self-actualization and health when the proper conditions are in place.
Tied to these beliefs is the confidence that individuals also have the inner resources to move
themselves in such positive directions. Finally, a core concept in the theory states that individuals
perceive the world in a unique phenomenological way so that no two people's perceptions of the
world are the same.

The perception of clients as competent, trustworthy, and forward-moving people who have their own
unique view of the world places great confidence in the individual's ability to control his/her own
positive change. This confidence in the client directs the counselor to provide the conditions for that
change. Specifically, there are three basic conditions needed to support an individual's natural
inclination for positive growth: a genuine relationship with a relatively congruent individual,
acceptance and caring from the counselor, and an accurate understanding on the part of the
counselor of the client's phenomenological world.

Clients who are provided with these growth conditions will realize their actualizing tendencies for
growth. They will explore their difficulties and natural competencies in this productive environment,
which will then lead to a clearer picture of themselves and their potential. As clients' pictures of
themselves become more accurate, they become better able to act in ways that are most in line
with their true self (congruence). This in turn will lead to more self-confidence, self-understanding,
and better choices.

The role of the counselor in person-centered theory is primarily to promote the conditions for
change rather than do things to bring about specific changes. Counselors and therapists are
expected to maintain a genuine human relationship in which they provide unconditional positive
regard to their clients. This demonstrates their faith in clients and support of the process. Much of
 the work of the person-centered counselor revolves around developing an accurate empathic
understanding of a client, conveying that understanding to the person, and working with him to
expand and clarify the understanding and its impact on the client's choices and actions.

Rogers' work initiated much research on the helping relationship and client gain. The use of taping
and transcriptions to evaluate the necessary conditions of counseling and psychotherapy received
emphasis from research on this theory. A great deal of innovative research in the area of clinical
growth was also produced in the development of this theory. However, much of this theory has
been integrated into the overall body of the theory, and relatively little research is currently being
done in the area. Calls are being made for potential expansion of the theory and research into its
future development. Person-centered counseling and psychotherapy has given much to the field,
and professionals continue to emphasize the need for growth of the theory rather than a stagnant
use of the theory's many positive contributions.
Person-Centered Theory
Key Terms

The following are the key terms that are defined in this chapter:

Acceptance
Active Listening
Actualization
Autonomy
Caring
Conditions of Worth
Congruence
Empathic Understanding
Empathy
Genuineness
Immediacy
Incongruence
Inner Resources
Locus of Control
Nondirective
Organism
Person-Centered
Phenomenological
Q-Sort
Questioning
Rogerian Theory
Self-Acceptance
Self-Actualization
Self-Disclosure
Self-Growth
Self-Satisfaction
Self-Understanding
 Tendency to Actualize
Trustworthy
Unconditional Positive Regard
Uniquely Perceived World
Person-Centered Theory
Test Questions

1 .       The PERSON-CENTERED THEORIST views people as fully in charge of their

lives and inherently motivated to improve themselves. 

 True

 False

2 .       The PHENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE refers to the uniqueness of each

person's perspective. 

 True

 False

3 .       The goal of SELF-ACTUALIZATION is achievement of perfection as a human. 

 True

 False

4 .       Rogers believed that harmful thoughts and actions were reflections of a
distorted view of self and the world. 

 True

 False
5 .       One major limitation of person-centered theory is the lack of EMPIRICAL
RESEARCH establishing its effectiveness. 

 True

 False

6 .       A POSITIVE VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE is essential for the person-centered

practitioner because of the major responsibilities clients are given in the
direction, style, and content of counseling. 

 True

 False

7 .       The counselor's role in person-centered counseling is to help the client

BECOME good, constructive, and trustworthy. 

 True

 False

8 .       Rogers believed that people use defensive thoughts and actions to protect
themselves from INCONGRUENCE. 

 True

 False
9 .       The ESSENTIAL GOAL for people experiencing psychological or sociological
difficulties is to perceive their own positive nature more accurately and learn to
use it more effectively in their everyday lives. 

 True

 False

10       When individuals make judgments based upon expectations of others rather
. than their own best judgment, they are responding to perceived CONDITIONS
OF WORTH. 

 True

 False

11       UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD should only be expressed when

. individuals have earned such regard with appropriate behaviors. 

 True

 False

12       PERSON-CENTERED THEORY involves numerous techniques. 

.

 True

 False

13       Empathic understanding refers only to the counselor's understanding of the

. client's world from the client's PHENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE. 
  True

 False

14       The person-centered practitioner treats the client as an EFFECTIVE HUMAN

. BEING who will succeed regardless of the nature of his/her difficulties. 

 True

 False

15       A major objective in person-centered therapy is to achieve CONGRUENCE. 

.

 True

 False

16       Rogers believed that the CORE CONDITIONS (genuineness, unconditional

. positive regard, and empathic understanding) provide the necessary
environment that allows individuals to implement their actualizing tendencies. 

 True

 False

17       INTERNAL LOCI OF CONTROL develop when clients experience anxiety

. caused by internalizing "shoulds and oughts" from others running their lives. 

 True

 False
18       PERSON-CENTERED THEORY is much more related to who a counselor is
. than to what a counselor does. 

 True

 False

19       Being a GENUINE counselor means sharing every thought and feeling with a
. client. 

 True

 False

20       ACTIVE LISTENING is the simple act of taking in information from the client. 
.
 True
 False

Deterrence theory contains principles about justice which many of

us find attractive because it conforms to what we recognize
as fairness.  The wicked should be punished –quickly –to the
extent that pain will deter them from committing a crime again. 
Deterrence theory so permeates our thinking that we recognize it
as the model by which we raise our children & train our pets.

DETERENCE THEORY

 Fear of Punishment
 Can be defined as the prevention of socially undersirable behavior by fear of
punishment.

Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy) Person-centered therapy was

developed by Carl Rogers in the 1940s. ... The therapy is based on Rogers's belief
that every human being strives for and has the capacity to fulfill his or her own potential.
Client Incongruence or Vulnerability: A discrepancy between the client's self-image and
actual experience leaves him or her vulnerable to fears and anxieties. The client is often
unaware of the incongruence. Therapist Congruence or Genuineness: The therapist should
be self-aware, genuine, and congruent.