SOCW 6060 Individual vs. Structural-Cultural Theories

SOCW 6060 Individual vs. Structural-Cultural Theories

Discussion: SOCW 6060 Individual vs. Structural-Cultural Theories

Theories help frame more than presenting problems—they also frame social problems, and both types of problems can be linked in relation to client issues. For example, many scholars and social workers have attempted to understand the social problem of poverty. Turner and Lehning (2007) classified various psychological theories to explain poverty under two headings: (1) individual-related theories or (2) structural/cultural-related theories. In other words, think of these two headings as lenses in viewing poverty. In this Discussion, you apply lenses through which to understand a client’s problem in relation to social problems.

To prepare:

• Read this article listed in the Learning Resources: Turner, K., & Lehning, A. J. (2007). Psychological theories of poverty. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 16(1/2), 57–72. doi:10.1300/J137v16n01-05
• Select a theory under the individual-related theories and a theory under the structural/cultural-related theories.
• Complete the handout “Comparing Individual-Related and Structural/Cultural-Related Theories” to help you craft your response. (Note: You do not need to upload the handout to the Discussion forum. The handout is intended to assist you in writing your Discussion post.)

By Day 3

Post:

• Describe how a social worker would conceptualize a presenting problem of poverty from the two theories you selected.
• Explain how this conceptualization differs from an individual-related versus a structural/cultural-related theoretical lens.
• Compare how the two theoretical lenses differ in terms of how the social worker would approach the client and the problem and how the social worker would intervene.

Discussion 2: Sources of Knowledge

Social workers make decisions in practice settings based on different sources of knowledge, including their intuition, personal experiences, tradition, authority, and theories and research evidence. These sources of knowledge can be used together to contribute to decisions. Which source(s) of knowledge do you rely on? What are the strengths and limitations of each source of knowledge, and how will they affect your social work practice? For example, think about the sources of knowledge you used when you made decisions in your field experience. In this Discussion, you consider the sources of knowledge that inform your practice decisions.

To prepare: Complete the “Situations 1 and 2: Making Decisions About Interventions” handout. (Note: You do not need to upload the handout to the Discussion forum. The handout is intended to assist you in writing your Discussion post.)

Post

•        Explain how and why your choices differed in Situations 1 and 2.
•        Evaluate when using intuition or personal experiences is advantageous in making clinical decisions. Provide an illustration of this from your fieldwork experience.
•        Analyze when using theories and research evidence is advantageous in making clinical decisions. Provide an illustration of this from your fieldwork experience

SAMPLE ANSWER

Individual vs. Structural-Cultural Theories

Introduction

A key difference between individual and structural-cultural theories lies in their approach to understanding human behavior. Individualists believe that people are guided by their own desires, whereas structural-culturalists believe that people are influenced by the social environment in which they live.

Individualists tend to focus on the inner workings of individuals’ minds and how these processes influence their choices and behaviors. They also tend to examine how different types of information affect an individual’s decisions—for example, whether one person believes something will increase his/her chances at success while another does not care about those same factors at all; or whether someone thinks he/she will be able to perform well under pressure while another feels more confident performing under pressure because he/she has practiced many times before successfully completing tasks similar to this situation (i). In contrast, structural-cultural theorists analyze how culture influences people’s ideas about themselves as well as others’ expectations toward them based on cultural knowledge such as gender roles (i).

Individual theories

The individual theories focus on individual factors such as personality, intelligence and genetics. These can be seen as being more “psychological” than structural theories because they look at the individual’s decision-making process rather than looking at society as a whole. These types of theories also tend to focus on how individuals make decisions and how they interact with others in order to fulfill their needs or desires.

Structural-Cultural Theories

Structural-cultural theories are based around social structure (i.e., family, community) rather than individual factors such as personality or intelligence; therefore, these types of theories tend not only ignore but also challenge many aspects of traditional psychology, which is why they have been criticized by some scholars in this field who see it as lacking scientific rigor (Kirkpatrick & Krupnick).

Structural-Cultural theories

Structural-Cultural Theories

Structural-Cultural theories focus on the relationship between the individual and society. They are based on socialization, which means that we learn our behavior from others as well as from ourselves. For example, if you have a friend who always wears flip-flops in the wintertime when it’s cold outside, you will likely start to wear flip-flops too because he does it or because your parents or other family members have worn them before you (or perhaps even just because they’re comfortable). You may not think of yourself as being influenced by anyone else’s actions but there is an element of truth in this statement: When it comes to certain types of behavior (such as wearing certain shoes), people tend to follow other people’s lead rather than make their own choices based on logic alone.

Societal changes will help to reduce crime, not just individual changes.

You may be wondering why we need to focus on societal changes. The answer is that without them, individual changes are not enough to reduce crime.

Societal change is important because it helps to reduce the amount of crime in a society by changing its culture and norms. For example, if we want to reduce the number of people who are killed by guns in this country, we need more gun laws (a societal change). We also need better mental health treatment for those with mental illness (an individual change).

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many differences between the two theories. The most important difference is that individual theories focus on changes in a person’s behavior while structural-cultural theories focus on changes within society itself. This means that while we use these individual theories to explore who we are as individuals and how our behavior is influenced by our experiences, we also need to think about how society shapes our thoughts and feelings about crime issues.