Psychology for Social Work Lecture Notes

This set covers the core vocabulary and concepts from the introductory modules of psychology including historical currents, psychoanalysis, behaviorism, humanistic psychology, cognitive psychology, systems theory, and biological psychology.

Psychology

The science that studies human behavior as well as the feelings and thoughts people have while experiencing their behavior and the circumstances in which it occurs.

Mechanistic human image

A view that sees humans as machines or complicated animals where individual parts can be studied separately, the environment is unimportant, and the whole is equal to the sum of its parts.

Organistic human image

A view that compares humans to organisms that grow and bloom, emphasizing that an organism cannot be studied in isolation from its environment and uses a circular explanatory model.

Personalistic human image

A view that distinguishes humans from other organisms, defining humans as cultural and linguistic beings whose actions are goal-oriented and meaningful within a specific context.

General Systems Theory (AST)

A meta-theory that provides an overarching framework for different sciences, characterized by hierarchical system levels where higher levels are more complex.

Biopsychosocial model

A model developed by George L. Engel that seeks to explain behavior by looking at the dynamic interplay between social, psychological, and biological influences.

Emergent property

A new property observed at a higher level of organization that cannot be explained or reduced to the individual components of the level below it.

Ambivalence

The simultaneous experience of opposing feelings toward a person or thing, such as love and hate.

Resistance

The patient's effort to guard against becoming aware of unconscious motives or fantasies, effectively acting against their own recovery.

Transference

A psychoanalytic phenomenon where childhood emotions are repeated and experienced with intensity toward the analyst, acting as 'reprints' of old feelings.

Counter-transference

The unconscious reaction of the analyst to the patient, specifically responding to the patient's transference.

Psychic determinism

The foundational idea in psychoanalysis that actions or behaviors stem from mental thought processes rather than happening by chance.

Overdetermination

A situation in which a consequence or symptom has multiple causes, making it impossible to identify a single decisive cause.

Classical conditioning

A learning process based on the association between two stimuli (S-R) where an existing reflex is built upon, often occurring unconsciously.

Operant conditioning

A learning principle where the consequence (reinforcement or punishment) of a behavior determines the frequency with which that behavior will occur again.

Extinction

The process where a conditioned response slowly fades away when the association or reinforcement is removed.

Tabula rasa

The behaviorist concept that humans are born as a 'blank slate' and all abilities are learned from the environment.

Token Economy

A behavioral intervention based on operant conditioning where specific behaviors are rewarded with tokens that can be exchanged for rewards.

Self-actualization

The human motivation to realize one's full potential, which occurs when other hierarchical needs are met according to Maslow.

Congruence

A state where a helper is genuine, meaning they do not deny their feelings and their internal awareness matches their external expression.

Unconditional positive regard

A Rogerian principle where the helper accepts the client's feelings and thoughts without judgment to create a safe atmosphere for growth.

Empathy

The act of understanding a client from their internal frame of reference without the therapist identifying emotionally or experiencing the feelings personally.

Focusing

A technique developed by Gendlin that involves paying attention to physical bodily sensations to clarify vague feelings or meanings.

Cognitive schema

An inner representation of an object or situation that serves as a guide for selecting, encoding, and processing information.

Assimilation

The cognitive process of integrating new information into existing schemas.

Accommodation

The cognitive process of creating new schemas or modifying existing ones because new information does not fit into previous schemas.

Mindfulness

A technique focused on being objective and present in the here-and-now, accepting experiences without judgment.

Cybernetics

The scientific study of how systems regulate themselves through circular feedback loops between input and output.

Equifinality

A system property where the same final state can be reached starting from different initial conditions.

Expressed Emotions (EE)

A measure used in systems theory to describe the level of criticism, hostility, and emotional over-involvement within a family toward a patient.

Genotype

The complete set of hereditary properties fixed within an individual's DNA.

Phenotype

The actual physical appearance or visible characteristics of an individual, determined by the interaction of genotype and environment.

Synapse

The site of chemical reaction and information transfer between two neurons.

Neurotransmitter

A chemical substance that transmits signals across the synapse to strengthen or weaken the communication between neurons.

Brain plasticity

The brain's capacity to be kneedbaar (malleable) and change in response to hereditary factors, environmental expectations, and unique individual experiences.