Unit 2 – Principles of Health
and Social Care
Understand the theories that
underpin health and social care
practice
Lesson Objectives
• Introduce theories of health and social care
• Use explanations for the characteristics and
circumstances of individuals to explain their
growth
• Analyse one theory in relation to yourself and
development
What are theories?
• A set of related ideas
• Help make sense of society and phenomena's
• They structure and organise what we do and
why
• Different types
– Human growth and development
– Managing loss and change
– Managing stress and behaviour
Human growth and development
• Bronfenbrenner’s theory of ecological
development
• Jean Piaget’s (1936) theory of cognitive
development
• B. F. Skinner (1904 – 1990) Behaviourism
• Albert Bandura (1977) Social learning theory
• Erik Erikson model of life stage development
Human growth and development
• These theories are comprised with scientific
understanding of biology, psychology and
sociology.
• Used to aid understanding on human life course.
• Understanding timelines help to understand why
people do things and how best to support them.
• Socialisation influences our understanding of the
world and behaviour.
Think about our own life course
Series 1
12
10
Axis Title
8
6
4
2
0
Birth
Childhood Childhood Childhood Childhood Adolosence
Adult
John’s Case Study
• Read through the case study
• Taking note of any human developments
• Keep these and we will review throughout the
lesson
Bronfenbrenner’s theory of
ecological development
• Ecological theory focuses on the impact that environment plays on
the growth and development of an individual.
• The Microsystem - refers to the environment in which an individual
lives. This system includes family members, peers, religious
communities, neighbourhoods and others whom the individual has
regular interaction and direct contact with. It is a system in which
an individual encounters the most social interactions, they are
helping to create and construct the experiences they have.
• The Mesosystem - is the interactions between the microsystems.
The mesosystem could include experiences at home related to
experiences at school, or experiences at school related to
experiences at church. Much like the microsystem, the individual is
not simply observing the things happening to them, but are playing
an active role in helping create the experiences they have.
• The Exosystem - is a system in which the individual plays no role
in the construction of experiences, but these experiences have a
direct impact on the microsystems the individual is part of. An
example of this could include a husband being laid off and this
lack of employment having a direct impact on the family's
financial state and living.
• The Macrosystem - is influenced greatly by the culture and
society in which a person lives. The belief systems and ideology
of the individual's culture influence the person directly.
However, the individual does not necessarily have as much
freedom in determining his or her surroundings. Some examples
of these influences could include political or religious norms of
the culture.
• The Chronosystem - reflects the culmulative experiences a
person has over the course of their lifetime. These experiences
include environmental events, as well as major transitions in life.
Some notable transitions include divorce, marriage or the birth
of a baby. These transitions are major experiences in an
individual's lifetime.
John’s Case
• What are the influences at
– Microsystem level
– Exosystem level
– Macrosystem level
– How might John’s chronosystem affect his
development?
John’s Case
• What are the influences at
– Microsystem level
• Parents, immediate family
– Exosystem level
• Local community – council estate, school and peers
– Macrosystem level
• Economic and political state
– How might John’s chronosystem affect his development?
• Moving between different relatives, stress of economic
environment
Jean Piaget’s (1936) theory of
cognitive development
B. F. Skinner (1904 – 1990)
Behaviourism
Albert Bandura (1977) Social
learning theory
Erik Erikson
Read the hand out
Back to John
• Working in pairs:
• How can you identify each of the theories
within this case study?
• Move around into new groups and share your
theories
Apply one of the theories to your
own growth and development
What impact has this had on your life
development?
Managing loss and change
• Elisabeth Kübler-Ross - five stages of grief
• Prochaska and DiClemente's - Stages of
Change Model for Social Workers
• Social Learning Theory - Grief and Loss
Managing stress and behaviour.
• Zubin and Spring - The Stress Vulnerability
Model
• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
• General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) - Theory
of Stress
• Diathesis-stress model
Reading Week
• During reading week you will contribute to a
forum DISCUSSION
• Each student needs to research two theories
– These need to be from different areas
• Your task
–
–
–
–
Find a source which relates to your theory
Summarise the theory
Relate it to a case study
You will then need to comment on another students
theory (who have researched the same as you)
• Have you found the same information if not how
• Is their source reliable
– Ensure you each reference your information
accurately and post any links where appropriate