Human Behavior in the Social Environment

by Germain, Carel B.; Bloom, Martin

• ISBN13: 9780231111409
• ISBN10: 0231111401
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-06-01
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

The social ecological perspective of human behavior and development maintains a multidimensional focus on diverse persons in diverse environments. Carel B. Germain and Martin Bloom succinctly present this ecological view on the observation that human beings and their social environments always form a unified -- though not necessarily harmonious -- configuration; this configuration is the basic unit of analysis for understanding the factual material encountered in social work. Employing the person-and-environment approach to examine all aspects of human development, Human Behavior in the Social Environment discusses the biological, psychological, social, and cultural influences that shape the functioning of individuals, families, households, social groups, communities, and organizations, and relates how these collectives affect development over the life course. It also takes into account the expected and unexpected stresses, challenges, and life tasks that can influence development within social environments. Reflecting the guidelines set forth by the National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education, this book enables the social worker, whether student or professional, to build a theoretical foundation for work in the field. This new edition provides the latest theoretical developments and research findings in the social, behavioral, and biological sciences and includes new chapters on the significant forces affecting significant social behavior in specific organizational and educational settings.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
PART I The Person and Environment Configuration	1	(194)
The Ecological Perspective	7	(34)
Society, Culture, Community, and the Physical Environment as Contexts	41	(32)
Complex Organizations as Contexts	73	(23)
Schools and Work Sites as Special Contexts	96	(32)
Small Groups as Contexts	128	(24)
Families as Contexts	152	(28)
Genetics/Biology	180	(15)
PART II Tandem Developments of Family Members and Their Environments	195	(194)
Family Formation in a Diverse Society	205	(21)
Family Transformations: Birth, Infancy, and Language---The Socialization of Children and Parents	226	(24)
Family Transformations: Childhood	250	(28)
Family Transformations: Adolescence	278	(42)
Family Transformations: Adulthood	320	(22)
The Elderly Family and Its Transformations	342	(47)
Appendix 1: Stage Models of Behavior and Development	389	(6)
Appendix 2: Nonstage Models of Behavior and Development	395	(12)
Appendix 3: Macrosocial and Microsocial Theories of Human Behavior	407	(10)
References	417	(40)
Name Index	457	(8)
Subject Index	465