Transcript Conceptual Models: Approaches to the Problem

Conceptual Models:
Approaches to the Problem
What are the strengths and
weaknesses of each of the
different conceptual models?
Traditional Conceptual Models
• Psychodynamic Approach (Psychodynamic
Model or Psychoanalytic Model):
• Concerned with hypothetical mental mechanisms and their role in
the developmental process.
• Once the unconscious motivation of behavior is understood, the
problem will be resolved.
• Without understanding of unconscious motivation, the
consequences of the behavior are even more harmful.
Traditional Conceptual Models
• Humanistic Approach (Humanistic Education)
• Self-direction, self-fulfillment, and self-evaluation.
• Ambiguous theoretical underpinnings.
• Postmodernism or Deconstruction in the 1960s and
1970s.
• Holistic Education in the 1990s.
• An emphasis on a personal construction of reality.
• Qualitative as opposed to quantitative.
• Life-impact curriculum: Meaningful experiences,
and flexibility in acceptance of new realities.
Traditional Conceptual Models
• Biogenic Approach
• Human behavior involves neurophysiologic
mechanisms.
• Emotional or behavioral disorders result from
a physiological flaw and can be brought under
control through physiological processes.
• Brain damage, genetic processes, and
metabolic disorders cannot be treated using
the biogenic approach.
Traditional Conceptual Models
• Psychoeducational Approach
– Understanding unconscious motivation and
underlying conflict
– Emphasis on realistic demands of everyday
functioning in different settings.
– Interventions include helping students be
more in control.
• Life Space Interview (LSI) or
• Life Space Crises Intervention (LSCI)
• Students learn to understand their motivations and the
consequences of their actions. They then develop alternative,
acceptable responses.
Traditional Conceptual Models
• Ecological Approach (Ecological Model)
• Based on community psychology; social
transaction between different individuals
across settings.
• Intervention emphasizes behavioral and social
learning concepts.
• Ecobehavioral Analysis—using natural
functional events to improve instruction and
behavior management skills.
Traditional Conceptual Models
• Behavioral Approach (Behavioral Model)
• The problem is the behavior itself.
• Behaviors occur as results of environmental
events.
• Intervention: Rearranging the antecedent
events to replace maladaptive behaviors with
more adaptive behaviors.
• Choose target response, measure it, analyze
environment, and change antecedents to produce
target behavior.
Comparing and Eliminating Models
• To compare models you need to
understand how each model:
– Defines causation,
– Plans intervention, and
– Implements scientific inquiry.
Comparing and Eliminating Models
• New Medical Model:
– Implements scientific inquiry and practice.
– Supplements behavior management.
In contrast,
• Postmodernism is not clearly defined and
many believe that it rejects scientific
thinking.
Developing an Integrated Model
• Selection and use of conceptual models:
• We can:
• Adopt a single model, or
• Adopt a non-evaluative stance, or
• Focus on hypotheses that have been
supported or refuted by empirical
research.
Developing an Integrated Model
• The social-cognitive approach
• Explains complex human behavior from a
natural science perspective.
• Integrates cognitive psychology and
behaviorism.
• Reconceptualizes behavior as a result of the
reciprocal influences of environmental,
personal, and individual behavioral factors.
Developing an Integrated Model
• The social-cognitive approach:
• Considers the developmental features of behavior.
• Behavior that emphasize social retardation may
differ according to the child’s age and his/her social
circumstances
• Focuses on Triadic Reciprocality: emotional or
behavioral disorders can only be understood in
contexts in which they occur.
• Example: In order to understand how a teacher
can improve her behavior management, we must
consider how the students affect their teacher.
A Structure for Discussion
To study the characteristics of the emotional
or
behavior disorders we need to study:
– The behavior,
– Its assessment,
– Its causes, and
– Its effects in simple and manageable
contexts.