All psychologist perspectives can be used in Health and Social Care. In this essay I will be discussing each one, telling you about the strength and weaknesses in the perspectives and how they can be applied. Behaviourist- This perspective is based on observable changes in behaviour. Behaviourism focuses on a new behavioural pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic- one person that used this method through classical conditioning (learning by association) was Pavlov (1849-1936).
His use of this perspective in a positive view would be it showed that if you repeat something so many times it becomes a routine for a person or it becomes more bearable for them- this can be used in health and social care if a patient has a phobia, say of needles they then could show them other people getting their blood taken and after so long it would become bearable for them to see needles and in time have their blood taken themselves.
In a more negative view of it, people could see it as more traumatic way of approaching things, placing someone in a situation they don’t want to be in just so they can adjust to the routine of finding something tolerable. Another person to use this perspective was Skinner (1904-1990), who used it through operant conditioning mechanisms (positive reinforcement or rewards). His use of this perspective in a positive view would be that the idea of rewards and punishment of behaviourism can be sometimes useful in order to “shape” the required behaviour, especially with kids in order to make their reactions socially acceptable.
In a negative view of this, it would mean that the only way a person knows if they are doing right or wrong is if they are reward with treats or punished. A child would think that the only reason to behave would be so they can get a reward, not just because they know it’s the right thing to do. Social Learning- This perspective was proposed by Albert Bandura, his theory was that people can learn new information and behaviours by watching other people and modelling what they see. This is known as observational learning. The positive view to this perspective would be that it can help explain a wide variety of behaviours.
It can also help children to see the outcomes to bad behaviour as well as good and then they know which to model or not so they can receive the treatment they desire. The negative view to this perspective would be that if a child was to see a person misbehaving but around them are people laughing, then the child would see this as something good and want to model it. A way of using this theory in Health and Social Care could be that if a patient was ill but refusing to take medicine, if they were to see a person being praised for taking their medicine then the patient would model it so they could have the same treatment.
Psychodynamic- This approach is associated with psychologist Sigmund Freud. His theory was based on the psychodynamics study of the interrelationship of various parts of the mind, personality or psyche as they relate to mental, emotional or motivational forces especially at the unconscious level. The positive points to this theory would be its ability to help people to deal with hard situations through therapy with the use of ego defensive mechanism. The negative points to this theory would be the price, it’s a very expensive treatment that many people would not be able to afford, and it is also very time consuming.
Many people could also see Freud’s approach as sexual, with the intimate questions and the sexual assumptions that many people would find disturbing. Also Freud’s theory is a lot about looking into a person’s childhood to see where it started it from but not all problems begin from childhood. Using the ego defence mechanism this perspective can be used in health and social care, the person working in health and social care can help a patient deal with their illness if they can’t accept it.
Humanistic- The two psychologists associated with this perspective are Abraham Maslow (1943) and Carl Rodgers (1951). This approach is about an understanding of the human experiences. It also focuses on the idea of freewill and the belief that we are all capable of making our own choices. You can see that the core components are helping people change. The others positives to this approach would be that it highlights the value of the individual, Maslow and Rodgers see the individual as very powerful and make them feel as one without any judgement. It also emphasizes free will for everyone.
The negatives to this approach are; many people would believe that this assessment is basically telling the client that they know more than the client does about their own thoughts, behaviours, and emotions. Also there are those who believe humanistic theory falls short in its ability to help those with more sever personality or mental health pathology. Using the unconditional positive regard approach this could be applied to health and social care, meaning that the people working in health and social can value their patients and not judge them in anyway.