BORROWED THEORIES USED BY NURSES

A. THEORIES FROM SOCIOLOGICAL SCIENCE

EXCHANGE THEORIES

UTILITARIANISM

HISTORY-developed between late 18th and mid 19th century and a legacy from both

moral philosophy and classic economic theory.

PRINCIPLE-“The greatest good for the greatest number”-were reformulated for modern exchange theories in an attempt to explain

human interactions in all social contexts, and without the limitations imposed by a pure economic framework, hence the label “social” exchange theory.

-Modern exchange theories emphasize the social and psychological motivation of individuals.

ASSUMPTIONS OF SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORIES

1. Humans do not seek to maximize profits, but they always make some profit in their social transactions with others.

2. Humans are not perfectly rational, but they do engage in calculations of costs and benefits in social transactions.

3. Humans do not have perfect information on all available alternatives, but they are usually aware of at least some alternatives, which form the basis for assessment of costs and benefits.

4. Humans always act under constraints, but they still compete with one another in seeking to make a profit in their transactions.

5. Humans always seek to make a profit in their transactions, but they are limited by the resources that they have when entering an exchange relation.

6. Humans do engage in economic transactions in clearly defined marketplaces in all societies, but these transactions are only a special case of more general exchange relations occurring among individuals in virtually all social contexts.

7. Humans do pursue material goals in exchanges, but they also mobilize and exchange nonmaterial resources, such as sentiments, services and symbols

TWO MAJOR DIVISIONS

1. Individualistic or Microlevel theories

2. Societal/Collectivist or Macrolevel theories

INDIVIDUALISTIC SOCIAL EXCHANGE FRAMEWORK

• Focus is on motivation; human beings are motivated by self-interest to act.

• Relationships are successful and continue when each party feels that the nature of an exchange is fair and beneficial.

SOCIETAL/COLLECTIVIST OR MACROLEVEL THEORIES

• Gives greater weigh to society.• Work emphasized the integration of

exchanges from larger social structures.• The focus is on reciprocity from an

institutional level.

RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY

• Explain the macrolevel behavioral processes of both small and large social systems.

• Has a system focus, but the psychological needs and motives of individuals are removed.

THREE MAJOR SOCIOLOGIC CONCEPT OF RATIONALITY

1. Agency2. Rationality3. Structure

APPLICATION TO NURSING

• Response to spousal abuse.They determined that the strong

influence of the sociocultural context and the patriarchal society result in the women remaining in an abusive relationship despite their desire to leave.

CONFLICT THEORIESKarl Marx

Economic-based class conflict is the most basic and influential source of all social change.

Max WeberBelieve that the potential for conflict decreases as societies moved from traditional authoritarian relationships to relationships organized around rational/legal authority in industrial/bureaucratic societies.

CONFLICT THEORIES

Georg Simmel-”inevitable and ubiquitous feature”-He perceived conflict to be necessary for

adaptation and growth. It was from these conflict-driven processes that solidarity was promoted, both within and between human groups.

-Conflict was therefore functionally necessary.

INTERACTIONALIST FRAMEWORK

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM• Mead (1934)

Synthesized the concepts of self, mind and society or social environment, which he perceived to be inseparable.

Human adapt to, and survive in, their environment by sharing common symbols, both verbal and nonverbal.

ASSUMPTIONS1. Human beings have the capacity to create and use symbols.2. Through the capacity to create and us symbols, humans have

freed themselves from most of their instinctual and biologic programming.

3. Human beings adapt and survive in the social world.4. Humans can effectively communicate because of their ability to

read symbols produced by others and can take on the position or point of view of another person.

5. Humans use words and language symbols to communicate, and they also use nonverbal gestures that have common meanings.

6. Humans acquire a mind and self from interactions with others.7. Human interactions form the basis of society.

B. THEORIES FROM BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES

Attempt to explain the multidimensional nature of behavior and understand how an individual’s personality and behavior interface. They also provide systematic way of identifying and understanding behavior.

ExampleSigmund Freud-PsychosexualErik Erikson-PsychosocialHarry S. Sullivan-Interpersonal

BEHAVIORAL AND COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THEORIES

Initially, behavioral studies focused on human actions without much attention to the internal thinking processes. When the complexity of behaviors could not be accounted for by strictly behavioral explanations, a new component was added: a component of cognitions or thought processes. The cognitive approach is an out growth of behavioral and psychodynamic theories and attempts to link thought processes with behaviors.

• Operant Conditioning: SkinnerRefers to the manipulation of selected

reinforcers to elicit and strengthen desired behavioral reinforcers.

• Rational Emotive Theory: Albert EllisFocuses on thinking and behavior rather than on

feelings. A person can change beliefs by changing thoughts and thinking rationally. If this occurs, then the behavior is changed.

• Cognitive Theory: Aaron BeckCognitive distortions-are habitual errors in

thinking that Beck stated are verbal or pictorial events that are formed in the conscious mind. Although cognitive distortions are in the conscious mind, Beck believed that they are influenced by an automatic thinking schema that originates in the unconscious mind, that developed in childhood and have been reinforced throughout life.

HUMANISTIC THEORIES

Emphasize a person’s capacity for self-actualization ; thus, they present a relatively hopeful and optimistic perspective about humans. Humanists believe that the person contains within himself or herself the potential for healthy and creative growth.

• Human Needs Theory: Abraham MaslowHe charged the discipline to examine human strengths and

to stress human virtue instead of human frailties, and he proposed that human science should explore individuals who realize their full potential.

• Person-Centered Theory: Carl RogersEmphasizes the uniqueness of the individual. He believed

that every individual has the potential to develop his or her talents to the maximum potential; he called this the actualizing tendency.

Each individual possesses everything that is needed for self-understanding and for changing attitude and behaviour.

STRESS

A dynamic state in which a human interacts with the environment to maintain balance for growth, development and performance ;it is the exchange or information between human and environment for regulation and control of stressors.

SELYE’S STAGES OF STRESS

Hans Selye describe how the body responds to stress.

SELYE’S STAGES OF STRESS

ALARM

RESISTANCE

EXHAUSTION