Human Behavior in the Social Environment: A Social Systems Approach (Modern Applications of Social Work) (Modern Applications of Social Work)

Since the publication of the first edition of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, several generations of students have successfully used this classic text, which takes a social systems approach to human behavior. This systems approach is still widely accepted in the human services disciplines, including social work, education, nursing, psychology, and in human services programs themselves. Its ideas have become the organizing framework for curriculum, as well as fruitful sources for new applications of theory and practice. Among the advantages of the social systems approach is that it permits students and practitioners to see connections between fields of practice, between methods, and across professional disciplines and bodies of theory. The book serves as a template of the concentric circles of human behavior, with chapters on fields of behavior, beginning with the person and ranging outward to culture and society. Abundant examples from practice and from behavioral patterns are drawn from the social sciences, topical events, literature, and the authors' personal and professional experiences. This volume responds to the needs of students and instructors as these have developed since the publication of the previous edition. "Completely revised and updated, this fifth edition shows a full sensitivity to the diverse constituencies of the human services. It reflects awareness of the role of varied cultural and ethnic features within the social environment it explores, and of the importance of the lengthened life cycle. The book serves as a template of the nested concentric circles of human behavior, with chapters on fields of behavior, beginning with the person and ranging outward to culture and society. Abundant examples from practice and from behavioral patterns are drawn from the social sciences, topical events, literature, and the authors' personal and professional experiences."--BOOK JACKET. Revised and updated, this fifth edition shows a sensitivity to the diverse constituencies of the human services. It reflects awareness of the role of the varied cultural and ethnic features within the social environment it explores, and of the importance of the lengthened life cycle.