Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Exploring Conceptual Foundations

Social and behavioral science theories represent a key source of knowledge for social work practice. One core function of social work scholarship is to select, synthesize, and translate this knowledge for specific use within the profession, including research, practice, and social work education. Because these theories have been generated for purposes that are oftentimes loosely related to goals and needs of the social work profession, a complex set of factors shape the “borrowing” process, including assessments of fit between theories and professional values, their evidentiary base, and their applicability and transportability to practice. There is surprisingly little social work literature explicitly addressing theory selection, synthesis, and translation in terms of constructs related to human behavior and development, environmental influences, and their interrelationship (Zaparanick & Wodarski, 2004). Indirect evidence related to theory selection can be culled from research on the HB&SE (human behavior and the social environment) curriculum and related Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) standards. Content analyses of HB&SE syllabi indicate considerable heterogeneity in theoretical approaches utilized as well as overrepresentation of explanatory theory related to human behavior and development relative to theories related to the social environment (Taylor, Austin, & Mulroy, 2004; Taylor, Mulroy, & Austin, 2004). While CSWE standards call for selection of theoretical content related to “reciprocal relationships” between human behavior and social environments, there are few theoretical accounts that elaborate the nature and quality of these relationships (see Wakefield, 1996a, 1996b), though this gap is characteristic of the behavioral and social sciences in general (Lewis, 2000). Even if there was a general consensus around theory selection, the processes related to synthesis and translation still need elaboration. This volume summarizes explanatory theories that are (a) related to human behavior and development in the social environment and (b) can be used to inform social work practice. It represents, in many ways, an important attempt at selection, synthesis (summarizing core theoretical content, assessments of the evidentiary bases of theories), and translation (assessments of applicability to practice). While an introductory chapter to a volume such as this might attempt to classify, compare, and/or integrate the various theories presented, there would need to be shared understanding and definitions of cross-cutting dimensions. We