Psychology is a study of the way a human behaves, their emotions and how they process their thoughts. (Walker et al. , 2012) Psychologists study behaviour. Behaviour is what people do. (Eysenck and Flanagan, 2000) The two theories which are written about in this essay are The Social Learning Theory which is the work of Albert Bandura and Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. Albert Bandura was a behaviourist. The Social learning theory was a behaviourist theory. Behaviourists think that the only thing that matters is behaviour. They study the stimulus and the way people respond to a stimulus.
The Social Learning Theory (SLT) came about between 1991 and 1965. The social learning theory is a mixture of the cognitive learning theory and behavioural learning theory. (Psychologytoday. com, 2015) The Social Learning Theory has 4 phases. Phase one is the attentional phase. This is the first observation of the role model. Everybody has a variety of characteristics and these characteristics affect the attention that is paid by the patient. Phase two is the retention phase. This is the storing of the information that has been collected in the attentional phase.
Phase three is the reproductive phase which is the releasing of the information that was retained in a mental form or as an actual interaction form with a carer. Nurses should be fully aware that this phase is extremely important so that they are encouraging positive behaviour on the ward. The final phase is the motivational phase. This phase is mainly to do with the patient as it determines how nurses and family members can motivate the patient to practice this behaviour. (Social. ocr. org. uk, 2015) If all these stages are carried out correctly this has a good effect on the patient as they feel eassured that they are in safe hands.
To achieve this a therapeutic relationship must be formed between the carer and the patient. A therapeutic relationship is between a health care professional and a patient. It is the process of by which a nurse can gain a patients trust to help the patient identify the difficulties that they have experienced, their range of emotions and to help them get a clear understanding of his or her behaviour. (RCN 2014). Albert Bandura, in 1965, carried out an observation on aggressive behaviour. The experiment was carried out and called bobo dollI. In this experiment Bandura got children to observe how adults behaved with dolls.
So if an adult abused a doll the children would act abusive to the dolls. If an adult was caring towards a doll then the children would have been caring towards the doll. (Eysenck and Flanagan, 2000) This shows that a child learns from an adult which makes clear to nurses to understand how some patients will react to their behaviour. A way for care workers to support peoples behaviour is selecting an appropriate role model for the patient. This will be extremely effective as it means a strong therapeutic relationship will be ormed and the patient will like and respect them.
The care worker should let the patient know what kind of behaviour is acceptable and not acceptable. The carer should ensure that the patient can identify any positive behaviour in the care setting. The social learning theory emphasises how important learning is in a way of trying to explain why people behave a certain way even if there are a variety of social and cognitive factors that influence them. Children behave the way they see adults behave. Mainly they are their family, peers and maybe even people they may see in public.
A big limitation of the social earning theory is that behaviour does not just depend on what people observe. It is based on a persons emotional state, their current situation and what kind of personality they have. (Eysenck and Flanagan, 2000) Abraham Maslow is a humanistic psychologist. He was interested in what motivated everyone. Humanists want to define the final goals of the way humans behave. If people have an abnormality this will have an impact on if they will achieve their goals. People who are normal will strive and successfully achieve their goals. Eysenck and Flanagan, 2000) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory.
It was developed in 1954. (Thompson, 1996) This means that people try to aim for basic needs but in doing so they meet higher needs. This is in the form of a pyramid. This theory is used to predict what the quality of life will be in a variety of places over time. (REF) There are 5 stages in the pyramid. Stage one is the physical needs. This includes comfort, water, air ad nutrients to live. If a patient lacks a basic need they may become ill or irritated. e. g. lack of vitamind can cause rickets. Stage two is safety and shelter.
This stage represents patients need to be ree from danger, to be treated fairly and the need for self preservation. e. g. if a patient is admitted to hospital due to being in an abusive relationship then they can not progress on to the next stage. Stage three is belonging and love. This stage makes people feel accepted in life. This states how important it is for patients to have meaningful relationships with friends, family members and partners. Some patients, particularly the elderly may feel a sense of loneliness due to maybe their spouse dying. Stage four is self esteem. This stage is to encourage independence and confidence.
Not everyone has confidence so this can lead to psychological problems such as depression for a patient. Stage five is self actualization. This is where everyone makes use of their interests and individuality. It helps people to reach their full potential. Sometimes this can have a negative impact on a patient as it can make them feel like there is no meaning in life if they do not have a lot of interests. (Google Scholar, 2015). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is extremely important to health care professionals when they are in a care setting as it helps them understand how a patient is feeling.
For this to work a trong therapeutic relationship is needed between the patient and the care worker. The pyramid allows the care worker to see what needs the patient will need to make them feel more happy and sure of themselves. Some patients may feel depressed and may not listen to instructions that they have been given by the care worker so a motivational response is needed to assure the patients to change their behaviour to an appropriate way. (REF) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has a really important advantage. It focuses only on the positive characteristics, it focuses mainly on health and not on any illnesses.
In conclusion there is a variety of knowledge available for nurses which is extremely helpful in their care setting. This knowledge helps care workers have an insight into why patients behave the way they do. It shows them that behaviour is also based on a person emotional state and their current situation. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is used in a variety of care settings. It would help care professionals understand how a patient is feeling and how they can help them. All this knowledge can make a care worker’s job a bit easier and all the more worthwhile.