Social Work Theories

1. Psychoanalytic Theory

- external forces do not always explain the difficulties and problems of people. The social
worker should be guided by psychoanalytic and ego psychology theories about human behavior
and personality. Sigmund Freud, who founded psychoanalysis, is the best-known personality
theorist. Freud's basic theory proposes that at birth, individuals are pushed by unconscious and
irrational drives toward satisfaction of desires which are largely unconscious and irrational.

2. Systems theory

-recognizes that a person's support network can be placed under strain because of a change in
circumstances. This change may be new event (e.g., acquired disability of the service user or
close family member) or the change could be something progressive. The new or increased
strain results in the system not working smoothly. By mapping a person's whole system, the
professional should be able to work out the source of the system overload. To enable the
system to operate smoothly, an individual or agency may need to be introduced to balance the
system again.

 Informal system that includes family, friends, neighbors and work colleagues, these
provide advice and emotional support and also contribute to our sense of worth and
personal functioning.
 Formal systems that include clubs and societies, trade unions and other types of
groups that can provide support.
 Public systems including the police, council and local government services, hospitals
and schools. These systems tend to have service-related functions and duties and
powers in their delivery to the community. - Pincus and Minahan (1973) also developed
a framework for practitioners to use within the helping relationship to resolve difficulties
identified in systems. The model highlights the need for social worker to locate the
cause of the problem and identify what impact the problem is having on the system.

3. Social Learning Theory

- one of the principal writers of social learning is Bandura (1977) Like so many theories, this is
just describing a common life event. Social Learning describes the way that we engage in
behaviour because our role model engages in the behavior (or they avoided something
unpleasant happening to them). Social Learning is more likely to be successful if the role model
has status or standing with the learner and the new behavior can be rewarded. Arguably, much
of what we learn is through role modeling

. * Many teenagers and young adults learn social skills from their peers through social learning.
Many adults have learned other skills (such as computer skills) through watching others
succeed at the task (in relation to computer skills it is often their child, in some ways reversing
the usual modeling relationship).

- The theory is developed out of now famous Bobo doll experiment where Bandura identified
that children learn behaviour through observing role models. This research involved young
children observing models acting aggresively toward a doll. Children who observed the
aggressive role model imitated this far more than those who had not observed the aggressive
behaviour.

4. Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

- Maslow’s argued that all human has a hierarchy of needs. His theory suggest that people need
to satisfy their basic biological needs (food warmth etc.) before they are able to meet higher
level needs.

 Physiological /Biological Needs: Basic needs such as the need for food, drink,
warmth and sleep. * Safety and Security Needs: Physical safety, but also law and order,
social, stability, continuity, job security etc.
 Belongingness and Love Needs: To give and receive love, to belong in a family,
group, clan or nation. *
 Esteem Need: To have self-respect, self -esteem and to have esteem from others
 Self-Actualization Needs: This describes our need for self-fulfillment to reach
potential.
 To know and Understand: We have a need to know, to understand and to explain.
 Aesthetic needs: Some people have a need to see or experience beauty, symmetry in
art, environment, music etc.

5. Psychosocial development theory

Psychosocial development theory was introduced by German psychoanalyst Erik

Erikson, who believed personality develops in a series of stages. Erikson created
an eight-stage theory of psychosocial development  External link . According to the
theory, the eight stages of development that people pass through in life are:
 Trust versus mistrust
 Autonomy versus shame and doubt
 Initiative versus guilt
 Industry versus inferiority
 Identity versus confusion
 Intimacy versus isolation
 Generativity versus stagnation
 Integrity versus despair
In psychosocial development theory, humans are believed to go through these stages
as they age. Psychosocial development theory can influence social workers, who can
look at what stage of development their clients are going through and use the theory to
better understand the challenges their clients are experiencing during certain stages of
psychosocial development.

6. Social exchange theory

- Social exchange theory originates with Austrian sociologist George Homans. It says
that relationships are based on cost-benefit analysis. Each person seeks to maximize
their benefits and is expected to reciprocate for the benefits they’ve received. When
risks outweigh potential rewards, relationships may be abandoned. When one person in
a relationship has greater personal resources than another, that person is predicted to
have greater power as well.
Social workers can use social exchange theory to understand the relationships their
clients have External link  with others and why they continue to maintain certain
relationships or abandon them.
Social exchange theory can also be applied to the techniques social workers use to
connect with their clients. Social exchange theory can influence how social workers
position the social worker-client relationship as one that benefits their clients.

7. Rational choice theory

- Rational choice theory helps explain why people make the choices they do, as people
weigh risks, costs and benefits before making decisions. This theory says that all
choices are rational because people calculate the costs and benefits before making a
decision. Even when a choice seems irrational, there was reasoning behind it.
This theory can help social workers understand the decision-making processes and
motivations of their clients. Using rational choice theory, social workers can examine
how their clients make decisions. 

8. Communication Theory
- Interactions between and among human systems involve communication. Communication is
the process of transferring and sharing messages and meanings through the use of symbols
like words, gestures, and sounds. Social workers, engaged in helping relationships with
individuals, families, groups or communities, need to understand the elements of the
interpersonal communication process.

1. Source -the origin of the message

Ex. Some person or group with a purpose for engaging in communication.
2. Message – the idea that is communicated.
3. Channel- the means by which a message is transmitted from the source to the
receiver
Ex. Oral, written, or body language.
4. Receiver – the target of communication who interprets the message being
transmitted.
5. Effects- the changes occurring in the receiver as a result of the transmission of the
message.
Ex. Changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behavior
6. Feedback- information that comes back to the sender and tells him how his message
is being received which can guide his further communication and repair any damage
that may have taken place.

-I relate this theory to the field because, through communications we can easily communicate
what will be our projects and plans to their association, it really helps for me to communicate
them very well through verbal and cellphone, especially its pandemic, it’s not necessarily to
have a face-to-face communication just for important purposes only. For nowadays, we need to
be double safety.
9. Conflict Theory

-Conflict theory holds that all societies are inherently unequal, and that power disparities
have a direct impact on people's lives. Often attributed to Karl Marx, conflict theories
point to an array of socioeconomic, racial, and class differentials that contribute to
significant gaps in opportunity, quality of life, and even longevity. Marx argued that
conflict is inherent and necessary as a way of resisting or overthrowing structural
inequality.

10. Feminist Theory

- Feminist theories developed out of the philosophy of the women’s movement or feminism (“an
awareness of women’s oppression and exploitation in society, at work and within the family, and
conscious action by women and men to change this situation.”) These theories resulted from the
view of many women that major personality theories have a strong sexist bias, such as
psychological concepts about sex differences that lead to gender stereotypes. Common
elements in these theories include a positive view of the female body and an emphasis on the
development of equal responsibility, talents, skills, and power in women.

-I relate this theory feminist to the association where I assigned. The sector that I assigned is
the women’s association which all women’s are members, they do activities like livelihood
projects just to survive for their daily life. As a woman, we need to fight until we can. Not only for
man to do jobs, but all women can do it. All women have a power to do it by their own. We
should have equality.