Assessing Needs & Risks 2:Family and Environmental factors:

Presentation 1: Structure, determinism and ecological theory

Nathan Loynes

Today’s learning journey:

The assessment ‘triangle’ domain:‘Family & Environmental Factors’

Ecological explanationsof human behaviour & developmentA very brief

history of thought on ‘human nature’

In the main…

1. We will be considering the impact that the family environment has upon ‘parenting capacity’ (covered last time), and ‘child development’ (to be covered next time).

2. The Department of Health (2000) assessment domain ‘family and environmental factors’ was strongly influenced by the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner amongst others

Ecological Systems Theory: Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005)

Before we start…

• What makes us ‘what we are’? Has troubled social scientists and philosophers for thousands of years…

What is determinism? (good at explaining things in the natural sciences)

However, human behaviour…

• As studied in ‘the social sciences’ and related disciplines (Yes! THIS ONE: The one YOU’RE Studying) is much more complex…

• What is complexity? Complexity is hard to define, but might involve ‘a number of interrelated parts, that are constantly changing, that make up a greater whole’.

• (can you come up with a better definition?)

Simple (or simpler)Complex

Many theories place themselves ‘somewhere in between’ however exactly ‘where’ is a whole can of worms!

Determinism• Structure• Conformity• Fate• ‘Fixedness’• Statistics

Free Will• Agency• The individual• Choice• Just deserts• Flexibility• Exception to

the rule

Why do people behave in the way they do? (If they ‘choose’ to then we can

‘blame’ them right…?

How can webe sure that the choiceswe makeare ‘ours’?

How can we ‘know’…?

The Influence of ‘structural’ theories on ecological systems theory

• Presupposes that ‘structure’ (the environment) has a significant influence on our behaviour.

• Our behaviour is not ‘determined’ by structure, but influenced.

• People do tend to live ‘predictable’ lives based on ‘where they came from’.

• Health Warning: This can make people from highly ‘individual’ (like in the UK & USA) cultures feel more than uncomfortable!