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The famous French philosopher Rene Descartes (1596–1650) made a statement that has become well known in the annals of intellectual his- tory: “I think, therefore, I am” (Descartes, 2014). This statement guides one to the area of human thought, ways of organizing and clas- sifying human thought, and the various forms of behavior that are then influenced by it. It is this study of human thought and consequent behavior that has come to be known in mod- ern social sciences as “cognitive theory.” Social work and other helping professions use this the- ory for interventions with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations. A dictionary definition of the word “cogni- tion” is “the process of knowing, or the capacity for it” (Merriam & Merriam, 1957, p. 160). The term “cognitive theory” has come to mean the art and science of understanding how humans perceive, think, and process various forms of information and then respond to them. It has emerged as a discipline in sociology, anthro- pology, sociobiology, psychology, biology, soci- olinguistics, and social work. It engages in the study of how humans reason, make judgments, make decisions, and engage in problem solving. It includes how the human mind forms con- cepts that help us respond to various forms of situations. The development of cognitive theory has been significantly influenced by the fields of computer and information technology, with their interest in information-processing and memory. Alternative forms of intelligence, logic, and memory were applied by theorists to the human mind and its processing of mem- ory and cognition. In the social sciences, the rise in popularity of “logical positivism,” with
Cognitive Theory and Social Work Treatment
Pranab Chatterjee and Suzanne Brown
Cognitive Theory and Social Work Treatment 81 its focus on phenomena that are empirically verifiable, also contributed significantly to the development of cognitive theory and interven- tions. In the social sciences, logical positivism encouraged movement away from a belief in internal drives and unconscious forces as causes for human behavior. It pointed toward more observable and measurable phenomena such as environmental events and internal identifiable cognitions. The “personal construct theory” of George Kelly (1958), with its focus on interpre- tation and reasoning, further influenced the development of cognitive theory and interven- tions (Walsh, 2008). Of special importance here is Kelly’s notion of “personal constructs” (1955), referring to how individuals learn, create, and use important ideas to understand social realities. Kelly (1955) identified three primary con- struct types, or “frames,” through which individuals interpret the world: preemptive con- structs, constellatory constructs, and proposi- tional constructs. The “preemptive constructs” prevent the reexamination or reintegration of new information, and allow individuals and events to be placed only in one realm (Hjelle & Ziegler, 1976). Once an opinion has been made, new information is not utilized to change or modify that opinion, and once a label is applied to a person or event, that label remains fixed. Rigid or fundamentalist belief systems may be considered to be preemptive constructs. In psy- chological terms, the concept of learned help- lessness (cf. Seligman, 1992; Peterson & Ma,
- may be considered a preemptive con- struct. Individuals with learned helplessness have taught themselves over time that their actions are always ineffective, leading to hope- lessness and a sense of helplessness in the face of problems. For these individuals, the preemptive construct of helplessness prevents them from considering alternative actions and generating effective solutions to problems. Like preemptive constructs, Kelly’s (1955) “constellatory constructs” also encourage fixed assignment of individuals or events to one group. However, unlike preemptive constructs, constellatory constructs allow more flexible thinking (Hjelle & Ziegler, 1976). Stereotypes are exemplars of constellatory constructs; an individual who belongs to a certain ethnic group is also assumed to reflect the stereotypes assigned to that group. A “propositional con- struct,” however, allows individuals to change their opinions based on new information and maintains room for the examination of new information and the reinterpretation of events (Hjelle & Ziegler, 1976). Kelly (1958) also iden- tified lesser constructs: comprehensive con- structs, incidental constructs, core constructs, and peripheral constructs. An extension from the idea of personal constructs is the constructs developed and used by groups, communities, and organizations, variously known as collec- tive cognition, groupthink, definition of the sit- uation by a group, or the social construction of reality.
Disciplines and
Political Correctness
Cognitive theory may be used to understand how the individual client or patient thinks about a social reality and how such thought, in turn, influences his or her behavior. It follows that this client can be a group, a family, a commun- ity, or an organization, and a helping process defines or guides ways of assessing and altering their thought and behavior. However, this very process can be turned around to ask: How does the help-provider organize his or her thoughts about the client or the patient? Often an aca- demic or professional discipline may get caught in the appropriateness or “political correctness” (the idea that people should be careful to not use language or behave in a way that could offend individuals or a particular group of individu- als) of a word, a concept, a linguistic usage, and ideas to understand clients or patients, and then some pathways to intervention become “polit- ically correct” while others are seen as “politi- cally incorrect.” Before one ventures into how clients or patients and their cognition should be understood to guide intervention, it is impor- tant to review how the cognition of the help- provider is often immersed in the norms of political correctness of a professional culture. Our first example of such political correct- ness emerges from the professional help pro- vider’s notion of “functional” or “dysfunctional” thought and behavior. Within a modern soci- ety, the United States, for example, disciplines
Cognitive Theory and Social Work Treatment 83 technical training that mandates a calm and problem-solving demeanor. A further development of the ideas of Thomas and Parsons can be found in the trea- tise by Berger and Luckman (1966), where they introduce the idea that “reality” is socially con- structed. An example of this way of thinking can be found in the story of Teresa of Avila dur- ing the Spanish Inquisition. In this story, about 14 nuns were found to be communicating with spirits and other beings that most people could not see or hear. Some professionals in clinical social work today would label this behavior as hallucinations and delusions. The church fathers of the time, however, defined this behav- ior as “evil,” and called for them to be tied to a stake and burned alive. At this point, Teresa is supposed to have said that the nuns should be treated as comas enfermas, meaning that they should be treated as if sick (Bates, 1977, p. 9). In this example, the first construction of real- ity was done by the church fathers when they defined the situation as “evil.” Then, the second construction of reality was done by Teresa of Avila, when she declared that the nuns should not be treated as “evil,” but defined as “sick.” The definition of the situation by the church fathers called for burning the women, whereas that by Teresa called for putting them in the custody of persons qualified to provide treatment. The changing of a definition of the situa- tion by Teresa of Avila from “evil” to “sick” can be called a form of “cognitive restructuring” (Cuncic, 2014). Here, the cognitive structure of the church fathers is being restructured. Later in this book it will be shown that cognitive restructuring is an important technique used by psychologists and social workers. Many individuals past and present believe that the experiences of Teresa of Avila were genuine experiences of God’s actual presence, through which Teresa gained the wisdom and strength to establish convents and monaster- ies throughout Spain. Furthermore, Teresa’s visions are presumed to have led her to a deeper, more reflective spiritual practice, and the dis- semination of her spiritual understanding through inspirational writings. For individuals with more mystical religious beliefs, a situation may be defined as a significant religious or spir- itual experience. Walsh (2008) reminds us of the importance of incorporating this understand- ing into the social work assessment process. The concept of the definition of the situ- ation has seen important usages in current studies of managers in industry (Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1997), who point out that managers in industry learn how to think and solve problems using their own personal, organizational, and other backgrounds. The study of organizational culture today, in order to understand management behavior (Schein,
- and make management effective and effi- cient, evolves from these contributions by soci- ological theorists.
Origins in Anthropology
How humans think and react to a situation was the subject of an elaborate study by the anthro- pologist Malinowski (1955). The variety of ways in which different cultures appraise a situation was the focus of his study. For example, the finality of death is a universal experience in all human groups. However, how to give meaning to death by socially constructed funeral proce- dures varies from culture to culture. A controversial paradigm emerged in anthropology when Lucien Levy-Bruhl (1926) introduced the idea of “cognitive relativism.” His work suggested that all human groups develop a cultural style of adaptation to their environments. This cultural style, in turn, teaches their members how to think. Within the different styles of thought, some are more func- tional (that is, they help in the group’s adap- tation to its environment better) than others. The implication of this is that certain cognitive styles adopted by some cultures may be “supe- rior” to those of others. The contemporaries of Levy-Bruhl saw this theory of cognitive relativ- ism as somewhat ethnocentric. However, even to date, the idea of functional versus dysfunc- tional cognition at the individual level is very much accepted, and current psychologists and clinical social workers engaged in cognitive- behavioral intervention use the idea of func- tional versus dysfunctional cognition (that is, an individual client or patient’s way of thinking is either adaptive or maladaptive) in their pro- fessional practice. The controversy begins when one suggests that the cognitive style taught by
84 Social Work Treatment one culture is more functional than that of another.
Origins in Sociobiology
An important pioneer in sociobiology is Edward O. Wilson (1978), who argued that human cog- nition and behavior cannot be well explained by the ideas of individual development, social environment, or cultural context, and should be understood as having emerged from an evolu- tionary sequence. This means that human cog- nition and behavior originate, not exclusively from individual development (as many psy- chologists suggest) or from group or commun- ity culture (as sociologists, anthropologists, and social workers suggest), but from genetic and biological adaptation. This position created a controversy, and it was hotly disputed by many social scientists who argued that it was close to the ideas suggested by social Darwinism (the belief that persons are subject to the same laws of natural selection as plants and animals) and eugenics during the latter part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries. This idea in sociobiology is especially unpopular in social work, since it leads to a position that many forms of human cognition and behavior are bio- logical in origin, and subsequently not subject to social intervention.
Origins in Psychology
The work of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget is usually seen as an important beginning of cognitive theory in the discipline of psy- chology. Piaget was the first to propose that “schemata” form the basic structures of mind that allow individuals to organize informa- tion and intellectually develop (Piaget, 1932; Robbins, Chatterjee, & Canda, 2012, pp. 264– 277). He further proposed that humans main- tain two biologically inherited cognitive functions: “Organization,” which refers to the tendency to blend and coordinate physical or mental structures into higher-order structures; and “adaptation,” which refers to the ways the mind changes information in order to accom- modate the external environment (Robbins et al., 2012, p. 278). According to Piaget, impor- tant processes in cognitive development include three areas: (1) assimilation, meaning the ways in which new information is assimilated into existing mental schemata; (2) accommodation, which is the development of new schemata through assimilation; and (3) memory, which is the ability to learn and maintain new learning over time. Piaget (1951) further proposed a linear and stage-based model of cognitive develop- ment where each stage is built upon the previ- ous stage. Stages are associated with a specific childhood age, and in each stage, the child is expected to master specific sensorimotor and cognitive tasks. Stage one, the sensorimotor stage, occurs between birth and age two, during which children develop goal-directed behav- ior, gain a sense of objects and permanence, and develop the capacity for symbolic thought and for mentally representing objects (Robbins et al., 2012, pp. 264–266). Stage two, the preop- erational period, occurs between ages two and seven and involves the development of language, increased use of symbolization and mental representations, and increased skill in under- standing interrelationships between objects. In stage three, concrete operations, which occurs between ages seven and eleven, children learn the cognitive functions of reversibility and compensation. They become capable of focus- ing on more than one perception at once (com- pensation) and of undoing or redoing an action in their minds (reversibility). Stage four, formal operations, occurs between ages eleven and fif- teen, and includes the development of reasoning and increased capacity for abstraction. While Piaget also proposed a theory of moral development that included a premoral stage, moral realism, and moral relativism, it was Kohlberg (1969) who proposed a more complex theory of moral development in child- ren. Kohlberg’s is a six-stage theory divided into three levels (Robbins et al., 2012, pp. 276–277). The first level, the preconventional level, includes the obedience and punishment stage and the egoistic orientation stage. This level is distin- guished by its focus on rules, punishment, and rewards as motivators for moral behavior. The second level, the conventional level, includes the stages of the good boy/nice girl orientation and authority-maintaining morality. The focus at this level is on approval from authority figures
86 Social Work Treatment measuring neuronal activity related to cog- nitive functioning such as positron emission typography (PET), which measures cerebral blood flow, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures brain acti- vation, have been widely used over the past 15 years. It is assumed that better understanding of the neurological components of cognition will allow researchers to understand the effects of different types of neuronal activity on informa- tion coding, processing, and interpretation (Morris, Tarassenko, & Kenward, 2006). One important insight regarding cognitive processes established from neurobiological research has been in the area of implicit cognitions. Research has found that separate brain areas are respon- sible for explicit cognitive processing which is reflective and controlled, and for implicit processing which is more impulsive process- ing responsible for automatic appraisals that we may not be aware of (Wiers & Stacy, 2006). This dual cognitive-processing model has informed social workers’ understanding of emotion regu- lation and impulse-control disorders, especially those associated with addiction and trauma (Shapiro & Applegate, 2000). As neurobiologically driven interventions are utilized, some may be concerned that they could make social work interventions obso- lete. However, these areas of research have informed new clinical interventions that have been adopted by social work practitioners. These include mindfulness-based interventions (Bowen, Chawla, & Marlatt, 2011) and dual- processing models of intervention (Matto & Brown, 2013) that address implicit processing in addictive disorders and relapse. Additionally, neurobiological research on the effects of trauma on cognition support experimental interventions such as movement, art, and music that many social workers integrate into clinical practice (van der Kolk, 2014). Recent research on the effects of environment on cognitive pro- cesses mediated through neurobiological mech- anisms also offers social workers an enhanced evidence base from which to advocate for poli- cies that improve ecological, social, and educa- tional environments that impact neurological and cognitive development (Odom, Pungello, & Gardner-Neblett, 2012).
Language Use and
Cognitive Theory
Begley (2009, p. 31) has summarized several research findings suggesting that language usage may shape cognition. An example given by her is that a very tall bridge in the south of France, the Viaduct de Millau, is seen as femi- nine by German speakers. In French, it is seen as masculine. German speakers see it as a form of beauty, whereas French speakers see it as a powerful structure with an impressive pres- ence. Begley then goes on to suggest that each language is embedded in a culture, and even though she does not use the term “cognitive rel- ativism,” she concludes that each and every lan- guage defines a situation in a unique way that is different when seen in comparison with other languages. Thus, within a language, words cho- sen to define a situation may vary from person to person, from group to group, and from pro- fession to profession. Furthermore, in two dif- ferent languages, as shown in the example cited above, a situation may be defined in one given way in one language and in another way in another language. Another example of linguistic construc- tion of reality comes from how “madness” is defined in English-speaking cultures (Bates,
- and how its translation in Bengali (called paglami) is defined in Bengali-speaking cul- tures. In English-speaking cultures, “madness” essentially has two definitions, and at times they can be overlapping (cf. Kutchins & Kirk, 1997; Watters, 2010). The first leads to defining a person who is not in contact with reality as the larger society knows it, and the person is seen as having hallucinations or delusions. This definition often leads to seeing the person as “sick,” as was done by Teresa (discussed above) during the Spanish Inquisition. This definition often calls for appointing members of the med- ical and psychological professions as custodians of the situation. A second definition also exists in English-speaking cultures, and this leads to defining a person as “deviant” according to the norms of larger society, and requires ostraciz- ing or incarcerating the person. In the latter case, members of the justice system are seen as appropriate custodians of the situation. Thus one can suggest that English-speaking cultures,
Cognitive Theory and Social Work Treatment 87 for the most part, maintain two definitions aris- ing from the use of the word “madness.” In Bengali-speaking cultures, however, the two above-mentioned situations also pre- vail. In addition, the behavior of a person who gives up living as an everyday householder and pursues the meaning of life by deep introspec- tion, or persons who go from village to village engaged in wanderlust and support themselves by begging and singing, may often be framed as additional forms of madness or paglami (Bhattacharya, 1984; Chatterjee, 2009). The act of begging is not seen with stigma in Bengali culture. However, the same act in Europe and America, as done by the Hare Krishna groups (and the ideology of the Hare Krishna group was imported from Bengal to Europe and America) is seen as an annoying form of mild deviance that calls for both expressions of dis- approval and, at times, forcible removal from public spaces by law-enforcement authorities. The implication of this position is that language used by a therapist, a clinical psychologist, or a clinical social worker may guide the cognition of a patient or the ways in which a client thinks and acts. Thus, a therapist’s choice of words may influence the outcome of therapy. Yet another example of language use and cognitive theory can be derived from the use of the Arabic word haram (or haraam). It means “sinful.” In Islam, it can be applied to any act that is forbidden by God (Allah). It is applied to any act or object in the human experience that is prohibited, and carries immense power. In Nigeria, it is used to name the fundamental- ist Islamic group Boko Haram, which means Western education for girls is sinful and pro- hibited. Just the utterance of the word defines a situation as sinful and calls for violent suppres- sion of that situation. Using Kelly’s (1955; 1957) idea of preemp- tive constructs, it can be suggested that a cul- ture may use language to create preemptive constructs. Thus, the word haram may be used as a preemptive construct by Arabic-speaking people, or the word may be imported into other languages where Islam is the eminent religion. Similarly, the word nigger is used by English- speaking people as a preemptive construct to define persons of dark skin, or the word ach- chhut (meaning “untouchable”) may be used by Hindi-speaking people to define persons of certain lower castes. Yet another example is the use of the word asati (meaning “unchaste”) by Bengali-speaking people to describe some women. Just the utterances of these words are used as preemptive constructs.
Social Work Treatment with
Individuals and Families:
Current Ideas
The focus of cognitive theory and intervention is on the conscious thought processes, which are considered the basis for all behavior and emo- tion (Walsh, 2008). The underlying assump- tions of this theory are that behavior is affected by thoughts or cognitions, that these cognitions may be modified, and that behavior change may occur through the modification of these cogni- tions (Dobson, 2001). Albert Ellis, the developer of “rational-emotive” therapy (Ellis & Bernard, 1985), is considered one of the parents of cogni- tive theory in the field of psychology. Trained in psychoanalytic methods, Ellis decided to pursue more active treatment methods. Ellis developed what has come to be known as the “ABC model” for assessing symptoms. This model maintains that an activating event (A), is followed by an individual’s cognition or belief about the event (B), which leads to an individual’s symptoms or consequences (C). This ABC model remains cen- tral to assessment in cognitive therapy. Ellis fur- ther maintained that individuals are irrational, and he identified common beliefs or cognitive distortions to which individuals are vulnerable (Cuncic, 2014; Dobson, 2001). This concept is also central to current cognitive theory, which emphasizes the identification of cognitive dis- tortions in assessment and intervention. During the 1970s, Aaron Beck made sig- nificant strides in the use of cognitive theory to develop interventions for the treatment of individuals with depression and anxiety (Beck, 1976; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979; Beck, Emery, & Greenberg, 1985). Beck developed his cognitive theory initially for the treatment of depression. Trained as a psychoanalyst, Beck attempted to embrace psychoanalytic theories of depression, but he eventually concluded that depression was maintained by negative cogni- tions and negative schemas. These negative
Cognitive Theory and Social Work Treatment 89 Assessment, as informed by cognitive the- ory, includes the identification of cognitive distortions (cf. Grohol, 2014) through Socratic questioning. Cognitive distortions include over- generalizing, negative scanning, personalization, catastrophizing, dichotomous thinking, emo- tional reasoning, magnifying, minimizing, and selective abstraction (Gambrill, 2006; Grohol, 2014; Walsh, 2008). Socratic questioning is done with the purpose of assisting people in identify- ing the distorted aspects of their thinking. Such questioning allows client and worker to under- stand the client’s core beliefs about a situation and to examine the evidence both supporting and refuting those core beliefs. Cognitive ther- apy interventions include cognitive restructur- ing (see Cuncic, 2014), where the worker assists clients in changing their perception of a problem and generating alternative interpretations of it. The task then is to develop and use coping skills that entail learning new behaviors and thought processes such as problem-solving techniques and communication (Walsh, 2006; Walsh, 2008). Case Example Martha is a 34-year- old married mother of three young children. She has been referred to treatment by her primary care physician, who noticed her depressed mood and irritability during her most recent doctor’s visit. When questioned, Martha revealed that she has been feeling “overwhelmed” recently, irritable with her children, and discouraged by what she considered their “bad behavior.” She also complained of mari- tal concerns and a deteriorating relationship with her husband. Martha was referred by her physician to the area outpatient mental health center and was seen by a social worker. During the initial assessment, Martha described herself as depressed and anxious. She had three children under the age of six, and a husband whom she described as “withdrawn” and “unhappy.”
Assessment
After gathering a complete family, psychiat- ric, and medical history from this client, the social worker began to monitor the cognitive distortions evident in Martha’s thinking. These included over-generalizations such as thinking, “I am a horrible mother,” and “My children hate me.” Magnifying and catastrophizing occurred frequently with Martha. When her eldest child was sent to the principal’s office at school for talking during class, Martha immediately had thoughts such as, “My child is heading for trou- ble,” and “I have failed as a mother and my chil- dren are failing.” The social worker then utilized Socratic questioning to challenge the rationality of Martha’s thought process. The social worker also used an example presented by Martha that described a common and repetitive interaction between Martha and one of her children. Using the client’s own example, the social worker identified the ABCs in this scenario: the activat- ing event, belief about the event, and Martha’s responses of hopelessness and depression.
Intervention
The social worker worked with Martha on cog- nitive restructuring (cf. Cuncic, 2014). Using a typical event—her child spilling his milk at the dinner table—Martha was made to identify her belief that her child was “purposefully trying to get my goat” and the anger and resentment that resulted. This event was usually followed by Martha yelling at this child. Her son would then tell her he hated her (activating event), leading to Martha’s thought that she was a bad mother (core belief) and the resulting hopelessness and depressed mood (emotional consequence). Following an exploration of the ABC process in Martha’s scenario, the social worker encour- aged her to consider other thoughts and inter- pretations with which to replace the identified distortions. The social worker asked Martha to generate and consider other reasons why her son might spill his milk at the dinner table. He asked her: “Can you imagine how you would feel if you thought that David’s behavior was simply an accident or that he was tired from a long day at school? How might you react dif- ferently if these were your thoughts?” In this way, Martha was able to consider alternative interpretations to events and generate differ- ent emotional responses within herself. The social worker attempted to challenge Martha’s irrational beliefs by setting up tasks for her to try in her daily life in order to test the veracity
90 Social Work Treatment of her distortions. The social worker encour- aged Martha to try an experiment at home, and instructed her that “when David spills his milk this week, calmly give him a towel with which to clean up the mess. Then notice the ways in which the outcome of this event changes.” Martha was also instructed in the use of self- instruction training (Meichenbaum, 1996) or positive self-talk. The social worker helped Martha create statements that she could say to herself when upset with her children during dif- ficult parenting moments. These included such statements as “My children are doing the best that they can,” “Everyone makes mistakes, and this one isn’t the end of the world,” and “All in all, I am an adequate mother.” Given that Martha’s depressed mood was also related to marital discord, the social worker rec- ommended couple’s treatment for Martha and her husband, Mark. Following three months of work with Martha individually, the social worker invited Martha’s husband in to engage in the couple’s treatment. Cognitive restructuring, communication skills training, and training in problem solving were utilized with Martha and Mark. Each member of this couple was able to identify distorted core beliefs that affected their interactions with each other. Using Beck’s (1976) model, the social worker helped Martha identify the event—Mark’s withdrawal from her; her automatic thought—“He refuses to help me with the house and kids”; her core belief—“I am unappreciated”; and her emotional reac- tion of depression and resentment toward Mark. Mark identified his automatic thought in response to Martha’s resentment, which was “She’s unhappy with me and I don’t know why.” His core belief was “I am inadequate,” lead- ing to his withdrawal from the relationship. Over time, the social worker helped Mark and Martha use “I” statements in communicating with each other, to reflect back to each other the thoughts and feelings expressed by the other, and to make clear requests of each other.
Social Work Intervention
with Groups: Current Ideas
At times, the use of the “treatment” metaphor may give an impression (or define the situation) that cognitive theory is more often applicable to social work intervention with individuals and families in clinical social work. This is not true, because cognitive theory is also useful in social work interventions with groups, and such inter- ventions can be done for attaining ends of pri- mary socialization (as in school social work and in neighborhood-based community centers), re-socialization (as in prisons and other settings where juveniles and adults are incarcerated), and treatment (as in purposive group work with patients and substance abusers). Cognitive theory can also be used to accomplish what is called “consciousness-raising.” For example, it can be a useful tool in working with groups of victims of domestic violence, child abuse, or elder abuse. The purpose of such intervention using the method of group work is to change the cognition of the group members from a defini- tion of the situation of “I am a victim” to “I am capable of overcoming a victim role.” The legacy of Grace Coyle (1937) can be sug- gested as an intellectual journey that had its foundations in cognitive theory. Even though formally not referred to as an intervention based on cognitive theory (it was called a paradigm based on theories of socialization), the practice goals of this paradigm were focused on helping a group (like adolescent peer groups and other various types of human groups) change its cog- nitive style. Thus, for example, a group worker dealing with working class adolescents would struggle to teach this group that the pursuit of success in schools and that developing a career is more functional than the pursuit of gang violence. Social work practice with groups has evolved into multiple areas of practice since the pioneering work of Coyle. Today, it can be used in healthcare settings to teach groups about cognition and behavior that contribute to wellness, avoiding addictions, and engaging in prevention of illness. It can be used in pris- ons and juvenile incarceration settings so that inmates in these settings learn how to become productive members of society. It can be used to bolster support groups for victims of domes- tic violence or child abuse. Groups that develop as “cults” or “new religions” often use a new form of cognition to indoctrinate their mem- bers. Thus, for example, the Nation of Islam may teach cognitive styles to its members that
92 Social Work Treatment an entire community culture, or about some important parts of a community culture, like how justice, morality, adolescence, or providing and utilizing mental health services are viewed in this culture. Yet another tradition in community-based work may be called “explorations in different forms and sources of authority.” This tradition focuses on the study of different types of author- ity and their legitimacy in different sociocul- tural situations. Often this tradition is seen as having started with the work of Weber (1999), and his influence on modernization theorists (Jaffee, 1998), on the works in economic sociol- ogy (Swedberg, 1990; 2003), and the work in the social construction of reality by Berger (1977) and Berger and Luckman (1966). The method used here is the tracing of events that show the bedrock of the authority structure in a given social setting, assessing whether that authority is based on tradition or modernity, and imply- ing that authority and methods of production and governance based on modern knowledge are more likely to produce social and economic development.
Social Work Intervention with
Organizations: Current Ideas
While the classic work of Weber (1999) can be seen as a formal beginning of the study of orga- nizations, a current development influencing how organizations should be seen is emerging from the ideas of Schein (2010). At least two types of organizations are important in social work practice: social agencies that are the means of social service delivery (where the personnel are mostly social workers); and organizations built for empowerment of community members (where the members of the organization often are community residents and are clients of social workers). Schein’s work informs us that, in order for organizations of both types to be effective (meaning, is this organization capable of attaining the goals it has set for itself?) and efficient (meaning, is this organization capable of pursuing its goals with efficient use of its resources, or is it caught in efforts that are not always cost-conscious?), organizational culture and the cognitive assumptions that maintain this culture must be considered. Schein’s work is informing social workers that it is important to learn how the “cognitive scaffolding” of an organization may have developed, which, in turn, is sustained by the culture of that orga- nization, and that this cognitive scaffolding is either capable of making an organization effec- tive and efficient or may be caught in its “trained incapacity” (a term coined by Veblen, 1997).
Conclusions
Many disciplines have contributed to the ways in which cognitive theory is used to understand human thought and its consequent behavior, and have fed the development of interventions in the field of social work. The early developments of computer processing and logic, the anthropolog- ical and sociological examinations of culture and society, and the psychological understanding of cognitive development and intervention, have all contributed to the person-in-environment per- spective, encouraging the use of cognitive the- ory at multiple levels. Cognitive theory is a very useful tool in social work practice, community organizing, social casework, and nonprofit man- agement, as well as clinical social work. While it has emerged as a popular form of intervention at the level of social work practice with individuals and families, it also has immense potential for social work practice with groups, communities, and organizations.
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