Human Behavior E-Book

Michael G. Vaughn

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1002

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

A unique approach to human behavior

that integrates and interprets the latest research from cell to society

Incorporating principles and findings from molecular biology, neuroscience, and psychological and sociocultural sciences, Human Behavior employs a decidedly integrative biosocial, multiple-levels-of-influence approach. This approach allows students to appreciate the transactional forces shaping life course opportunities and challenges among diverse populations in the United States and around the world.

Human Behavior includes case studies, Spotlight topics, and Expert's Corner features that augment the theme of each chapter. This book is rooted in the principles of empirical science and the evidence-based paradigm, with coverage of:

• Genes and behavior
• Stress and adaptation
• Executive functions
• Temperament
• Personality and the social work profession
• Social exchange and cooperation
• Social networks and psychosocial relations
• Technology
• The physical environment
• Institutions
• Belief systems and ideology

Unique in its orientation, Human Behavior proposes a new integrative perspective representing a leap forward in the advancement of human behavior for the helping professions.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Praise Page

Title Page

Copyright

Preface

Acknowledgments

Human Behavior and the Core Competencies (EPAS)

About the Authors

Chapter 1: Introducing the Cell to Society Framework

On the Importance of Transdisciplinary Approaches

Change and Adaptation: Biological and Cultural Evolution

Components of the Cell to Society Framework

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 2: Genes and Behavior

Distal Context

Proximal Mechanisms

Genes and Behavior Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 3: Stress and Adaptation

Distal Context

Proximal Mechanisms

Stress and Adaptation Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 4: Emotion

Distal Context

Proximal Mechanisms

Emotional Development and Psychosocial Relations Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 5: Executive Functions

Distal Context

Proximal Mechanisms

Executive Functions and Psychosocial Relations Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 6: Temperament

Distal Context

Theories of Temperament

Proximal Mechanisms

Disorders Related to Temperament

Temperament Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 7: Personality

Distal Context

Proximal Mechanisms

Personality Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 8: Cognition and Learning

Distal Context

Intelligence

Learning

Motivation

Interpersonal Neurobiology

Technological Advances to Understand the Mind

Cognitive Development Across the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 9: Social Exchange and Cooperation

Distal Context

Game Theory

Cooperation

Homans's Elementary Forms of Social Behavior

Emotion and Social Exchange

Experiments Involving Social Exchange

Reciprocity and Fairness

Neuroscience of Social Exchange and Cooperation

Power

Altruism

Exchange and Cooperation Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 10: Social Networks and Psychosocial Relations

Distal Context

Attachment: The Developing Self in the Context of Others

Social Relationships Across the Life Course

Social Networks: Peers, Family, and Community

Current Innovations in Community Building

Hierarchies and Power

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 11: Technology

Distal Context

Technology and Society: Major Theoretical Frameworks

Technological Determinism

Technology and Its Distribution in a Society

Computers and Information Technology

Social Media

The Dark Side of Internet and Computer Use

Integrating Technology Into Behavioral Interventions

Technology Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 12: The Physical Environment

Distal Context

Geography and Economics Intersect

Diffusion of Religion Around the Globe

Ecosystems Theory

Steward's Cultural Ecology

Climate

Natural Disasters

Urban Ecology

Built Environment

The Effect of Setting: Jails and Prisons

Office Spaces and Productivity

Tools for Spatial Analysis

Spatial Effects and Variation Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 13: Institutions

Background and Distal Context

Proximal Mechanisms

Example: Conflict and Energy

Juvenile Justice Through Supreme Court Decisions

Impact of Economic Institutions on Human Behavior

Institutions Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Chapter 14: Belief Systems and Ideology

Distal Context

Patriotism and Nationalism

Religious Ideology

Race, Gender, and Class Ideologies

What Is Culture?

A Brief History of the Culture Concept

The Culture Concept in Classical Antiquity

Practice Implications

The Problem of Confirmatory Bias

Belief Systems and Ideology Over the Life Course

Summary

Key Terms

Glossary

References

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Author Index

Subject Index

Praise for Human Behavior: A Cell to Society Approach

“Human Behavior: A Cell to Society Approach represents the most contemporary knowledge about the role both biology and technology play in human development and behavior. The material is represented in a way that is intellectually challenging yet accessible, and the use of the case studies, spotlight topics, and expert's corner keep the reader interested and engaged.”

Rachel A. Fusco, Assistant ProfessorUniversity of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work

“The authors provide social workers with an essential tool to navigate the new cross-disciplinary environment. Their take on HBSE content will enable students to communicate with researchers and practitioners across disciplines about the complex factors impacting health and well-being in today's world.”

Sarah Gehlert, PhDE. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity at the Brown School of Social Work, Washington University

“Human Behavior: A Cell to Society Approach provides social workers in training with foundational knowledge about human adaptation to the social environment from neurobiological through psychosocial perspectives across the life-cycle. Information and illustrations are well organized and clearly communicated, derived from classic and cutting-edge theory and research, and include case vignettes and attention to technology. This knowledge broadens reader understanding of client, family and community, and social problems, and prompts consideration of multiple congruent intervention approaches.”

Kurt C. Organista, PhD, Professor,University of California, Berkeley, School of Social Welfare

“This bold new approach brings Human Behavior in the Social Environment into the 21st Century. Highly recommended.”

Paul T. Shattuck, PhDAssociate ProfessorBrown School of Social Work, Washington University

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Images: (head) © iStockphoto.com/Volodymyr Grinko; (neurons) © iStockphoto.com/Guido Vrola; (DNA molecule) © iStockphoto.com/Sergey Yeremin

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Vaughn, Michael G.

Human behavior: a cell to society approach / Michael G. Vaughn, Matt DeLisi, Holly C. Matto.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-12154-2 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-1-118-63968-9 (ebk.)

ISBN 978-1-118-41625-9 (ebk.)

ISBN 978-1-118-41896-3 (ebk.)

1. Human behavior. 2. Human behavior—Physiological aspects. I. DeLisi, Matt. II. Matto, Holly C. III. Title.

BF199.V38 2014

150—dc23

2013001788

Preface

We feel there is a need for an evolution, if not revolution, in the human behavior and the social environment (HBSE) curriculum. Despite the widespread acceptance of the person-in-environment conceptualization, there are few advanced approaches that can truly delineate this overall metaphor in a cutting-edge transdisciplinary scientific framework. We propose a new integrative perspective, a cell to society approach, which represents a leap forward in the advancement of human behavior for the helping professions.

Specifically, a cell to society approach to HBSE advances an integrative understanding of human behavior from the cellular level to global institutions, and across human history (e.g., Bowles, Choi, & Hopfensitz, 2002; Fuentes, 2009). The transdisciplinary and historical appreciation of human life experience cultivates an intellectual understanding of behavior beyond what has typically been put forth. Indeed, we know that human behavior is influenced by myriad factors, spanning from communication among neurons that influence brain structure and behavioral regulation to the ways in which structural and environmental conditions and socioeconomic life changes shape life course trajectories over time (e.g., Spear, 2010; Turrell, Lynch, Leite, Raghunathan, & Kaplan, 2007). The cell to society approach can account for complex, multilevel processes that shape human development and well-being. For instance, we can use the approach to reach across disciplines to consider how relationally based self-regulation capacity in infancy, as influenced by institutional and structural conditions, can lead to differential developmental trajectories. The cell to society approach also can enable the understanding of the social networking structure of human service organizations and its impact on persons and populations, as well as geospatial disparities in health and well-being. Although many schools and departments of social work often split the HBSE course sequence into two courses reflecting micro or individual-level orientation and a macro or systemic societal focus, we take a decidedly integrative, biosocial, multiple-level-of-influence approach that allows students to appreciate the transactional forces that shape life course opportunities and challenges among diverse populations in the United States and around the world. Our perspective allows us both to connect students to the roots and principles of the profession and simultaneously to move them forward into the transdisciplinary scientific landscape, where integrative and dynamic modeling of health and well-being of the human condition will transform the ways in which social work professionals work with clients and client systems.

Although a developmental lens is important as a guiding framework for understanding client systems, our current HBSE curricula often have relied solely on this approach at the expense of integrating a more holistic person-environment perspective that is more compatible with our profession's unique principles. Thus, students' criticism has largely been that they already know this information from their undergraduate social sciences classes. What typically follows, then, becomes either earnest attempts to be waived out of the class or to otherwise petition to get out of taking the sequence. However, we see HBSE foundation coursework as an essential core of the MSW curriculum—in fact, one of the most important parts of the curriculum in social work education. It is a place where micro, meso, and macro dimensions can be truly integrated. We see HBSE as a forum and opportunity for students to become transformational thinkers and leaders in the profession. The result is a stronger intellectuality and credibility for the profession as a whole.

We have tremendous respect for those who teach human behavior and HBSE courses. The sheer magnitude of material that is potentially involved could literally encompass multiple courses. Indeed, many of us spend our entire academic careers on these topics yet often feel like we have hardly scratched the surface of all there is to know. Thus, we recognize that there is a tension between being comprehensive and achieving depth. Our goal was to accomplish both. However, we do so not within a conventional textbook style, but one that is meant to be read. Although we cover the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standard (EPAS) competencies and include figures, tables, and informational inserts such as spotlight topics in each chapter, the emphasis is more on engaging concepts and translating research. Our signature Expert's Corner in each chapter highlights the key scholars in a respective discipline on a human behavior topic, bringing together a transdisciplinary network of experts from across the biological and social sciences.

Although this book advances a theoretical perspective, it is ultimately rooted in the principles of empirical science and the evidence-based paradigm. Throughout we review research studies from leading scientific journals to firmly tie cell to society rubrics to leading-edge data. The cell to society perspective is predicated upon a viewpoint of scientific research consisting of empirical and conceptual aims. Empirical aims seek to gather data or facts and to link theoretical constructs with them in a cycle of exchange toward greater interpretation, intervention, and renewed data collection. Conceptual aims relate to implicit or explicit worldviews, assumptions, and strategic commitments that occur prior to theoretical construction and empirical discovery. In science, conceptual aims are usually neglected, either unconsciously or consciously. However, these underlying concepts or ideas still remain to influence scientific findings and theories. As such, rendering them explicitly increases overall clarity for the benefit of others.

Paradigms are essentially worldviews that set forth rules that govern the conduct of knowledge acquisition. They help people in particular arenas solve problems and interpret the world. Can the cell to society approach be evaluated given that it is more of a paradigm? Comparisons and evaluations of paradigms can be performed based on criteria such as logical structure and internal consistency, scope, parsimony, novelty and innovation, and empirical tests or outcomes of scientific theories that emanate from them. Further, paradigms can be examined to the extent they show where and how to intervene and help others and organize preexisting data (Magnarella, 1993). From the outset we believe it is important to clearly render the major assumptions that guide this book. The following five assumptions and strategies serve as a starting point for elaborating the cell to society approach: (a) human behavior and social life are too complex to efficiently understand without a coherent outline or conceptual framework, (b) human behavior is both determined and allows for choice and agency, (c) it is advantageous for helping professionals to utilize scientific models aimed at ameliorating human problems, (d) some paradigms can explain and direct interventions better than others, and (e) human social problems are shaped largely by the practical problems imposed by collective survival.

In our view, social work perspectives and values are compatible with the aims of the cell to society approach. This compatibility is based upon a consistent theme of scientifically understanding the origins of individual and social phenomena within the boundaries or constraints imposed by biology, environment, human institutions, and ideas. Such understanding is cultivated not only for the sake of knowledge, but also to increase human happiness, decrease human suffering, and promote social justice. The lesson is that scientifically credible knowledge can guide more effective solutions. Our hope is that the cell to society approach elaborated in this book provides a foundation for helping professionals to be sophisticated, credible, and (most important) effective agents of social welfare and social change.

Acknowledgments

There are a number of people we would like to thank for seeing this book to its completion. First, we would like to thank the team at Wiley, including Rachel Livsey and Amanda Orenstein. They were a pleasure to work with from beginning to end. We would also like to thank research assistants Kristen Peters, for her hard work on several tedious tasks, and Davina Abujudeh, for her input on case studies. Finally, we appreciate the many reviewers who gave their time to read and make numerous thoughtful comments, including Rachel Fusco, Kurt Organista, Carmen Ortiz-Hendricks, Emily Nicklett, Paul Shattuck, Sarah Gehlert, Christy Sarteschi, Brandy Maynard, Christopher Salas-Wright, Michael Mancini, and Shannon Cooper-Sadlo. The book is far better because of their input.

Human Behavior and the Core Competencies (EPAS)

At the outset we would like to note that this book provides coverage of the 10 core competencies in the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, with special emphasis on knowledge of human behavior in the social environment (see Item 7). However, this book exceeds and transcends these core competencies by using the innovative and cutting-edge cell to society approach. The grid at the end displays the 10 competencies and their coverage across the 14 chapters.

10 Core Competencies (CSWE Educational Policy & Accreditation Standards)

1. Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly. (Competency 2.1.1)

2. Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice. (Competency 2.1.2)

3. Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments. (Competency 2.1.3)

4. Engage diversity and difference in practice. (Competency 2.1.4)

5. Advance human rights and social and economic justice. (Competency 2.1.5)

6. Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research. (Competency 2.1.6)

7. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment. (Competency 2.1.7)

8. Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services. (Competency 2.1.8)

9. Respond to contexts that shape practice. (Competency 2.1.9)

10. Engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. (Competency 2.1.10a–d)

Chapter 1: Introducing the Cell to Society Framework

Chapter 1 covers all 10 of the EPAS core competencies, with attention to distinguishing, appraising, and integrating multiple sources of knowledge for use in professional decision making to advance the goals of the profession. The chapter helps readers critically analyze the complexities of how culture and socioenvironmental factors shape life-course development. It draws on the empirical, theoretical, and practice literature to help readers comprehensively understand the needs of social work populations.

Chapter 2: Genes and Behavior

Chapter 2 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 9, with specific attention to using knowledge from the biological and behavioral/social sciences to guide assessment and ethical reasoning in social work practice.

Chapter 3: Stress and Adaptation

Chapter 3 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10, with attention to the role of oppression and marginalization on developmental opportunities across the life course. It emphasizes the detrimental effects of economic and social injustice on human development.

Chapter 4: Emotion

Chapter 4 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 3, 6, 7, 9, and 10, with attention to the use of evidence-based practice to guide assessment, and on judiciously using theories from the biological, behavioral, and social sciences to understand the developmental challenges and opportunities of client populations.

Chapter 5: Executive Functions

Chapter 5 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10, with attention to using the scientific knowledge base to shape the effective delivery of services.

Chapter 6: Temperament

Chapter 6 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10, with attention to the importance of developing culturally informed skills that promote equity and social inclusion.

Chapter 7: Personality

Chapter 7 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, with attention to differential diagnosis and a focus on the interpersonal dynamics and contextual factors that shape professional relationship development.

Chapter 8: Cognition and Learning

Chapter 8 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, with attention to applying the scientific knowledge base to guide assessment and service delivery for diverse social work populations. It emphasizes contextual influences on human development and learning potential.

Chapter 9: Social Exchange and Cooperation

Chapter 9 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, with attention to examining how power and privilege impact social work practice across systems; and on identifying how oppression and discrimination influence client-system behavioral functioning.

Chapter 10: Social Networks and Psychosocial Relations

Chapter 10 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, with attention to understanding current human development and family formation trends across practice contexts, and implications for social work practice.

Chapter 11: Technology

Chapter 11 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, with attention to applying relevant scientific and technological processes to work with client populations. It also develops critical assessment skills to effectively meet the changing needs of diverse social work populations.

Chapter 12: The Physical Environment

Chapter 12 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, with attention to understanding community development trends across contexts and the implications for developing and evaluating programs and policies.

Chapter 13: Institutions

Chapter 13 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, with attention to understanding how laws, policies, and governing agreements influence social work clients' life course trajectories. Attention is focused on identifying and engaging relevant institutional stakeholders to advocate for social and economic well-being.

Chapter 14: Belief Systems and Ideology

Chapter 14 focuses on EPAS Competencies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, with attention to how the political process and social ideologies contribute to advancing or impeding human development. Attention is focused on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of theoretical perspectives applied in macro practice.

The Cell to Society Perspective and EPAS Core Competencies

About the Authors

Michael G. Vaughn is Professor in the School of Social Work at Saint Louis University. A practitioner for many years in the areas of youth development and delinquency prevention, homelessness, and economic self-sufficiency, he continues to provide consultation and service to numerous community and government agencies. His transdisciplinary research, composed of more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, books, and book chapters, has been published across outlets in numerous fields including social work, psychology, psychiatry, criminology, epidemiology, medicine, and general social science.

Matt DeLisi is Professor and Coordinator of Criminal Justice Studies and Affiliate with the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University. Professor DeLisi has nearly 20 years of practitioner and consultant experience in the fields of criminal justice, juvenile justice, and social/human services. A Fellow of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Professor DeLisi has authored more than 200 scholarly publications across several fields in the social and behavioral sciences. A reviewer for nearly 100 journals, Dr. DeLisi is Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Criminal Justice.

Holly C. Matto, Associate Professor, received her MSW from the University of Michigan and her PhD from the University of Maryland. Since 2000, Dr. Matto has taught theories of human behavior, direct practice, and research methods in social work master's and doctoral programs. Dr. Matto has more than 15 years of research and clinical social work practice experience in the addictions field. Her research focuses on both assessment practices and interdisciplinary treatment interventions with diverse substance abuse populations. She is currently conducting a clinical trial with Inova Fairfax Hospital and Georgetown University that uses neuroimaging technology to examine functional and structural brain change associated with behavioral health interventions for substance-dependent adults.

Chapter 1

Introducing the Cell to Society Framework

Solving major social problems and making positive changes in the lives of individuals, groups, communities, and societies is a complex task. Humans are a highly social species whose behavior is impacted by biological, psychological, and broad environmental factors. People in the helping professions have the enormously difficult task of intervening across a multitude of levels through a range of practices and policies. To do so effectively, social workers, counselors, public health workers, and other helping professionals require a deep understanding and appreciation of human behavior. Although it has been recognized in social work and related professions that human behavior is a biopsychosocial phenomenon and that people interact within environments, a stronger elaboration of these principles for the benefit of social work is needed. We use the term cell to society to denote that human behavior is impacted by processes ranging from those occurring at the smallest levels of biological organization to the largest levels of social and physical environmental systems. Concomitant with this task is the need to root these theoretical principles in the best scientifically available data. This book combines these two major tasks within an overarching framework to advance the overall effectiveness of helping others.

Many years ago, esteemed scholar Kurt Lewin (1936) wrote a simple equation, B = f(I, E), that simply means behavior (B) is a function (f) of the interaction between the individual (I) and the environment (E). Although the equation is simple, what it entails about the individual and the environment is not. There are many layers to the individual (e.g., biological and psychological) and environment (e.g., climate and political) that are very difficult to apprehend without a map or blueprint to guide the effort. The cell to society framework demonstrates how multiple units of analysis and disciplinary perspectives can be brought to bear for understanding and intervening in human behavior across levels of analysis. From molecular genetics to neuropsychological functioning to psychological traits and conditions to behavior within the modifying effects of technology and environment, the cell to society approach incorporates research from the natural and biological sciences and the social sciences to produce a comprehensive and scientifically accurate account of empirical phenomena for the helping professions.

The cell to society framework is broad and expansive, beginning with genes and moving to larger levels of physiological organization that impact human behavior such as stress, emotion, and executive functions in the human brain. We order these domains to reflect their evolutionary development. For example, emotional centers of the human brain evolved prior to development of rational thinking areas (MacLean, 1990; Massey, 2002). These biologically based domains influence the development of temperament, personality and micro-level social exchanges. However, it should be kept in mind that human development and behavior are plastic, meaning that external input from the environment molds and shapes us in myriad ways. Therefore, the cell to society framework goes beyond individual, biologically based domains to address successive levels of macro-level environmental influences that surround the individual. These levels include the nature of exchange and cooperation between individuals, social networks and psychosocial relations, technology, the physical environment, and belief systems and ideologies. These components are very necessary for collective survival, as every society must produce for itself (and reproduce itself), doing so using technology, institutions, and associated belief systems and ideologies that interact with specific environments.

The cell to society framework we are proposing is justified by virtue of the multidimensional nature of human behavior and the need for a general synthesis that incorporates biological and sociocultural science in a coherent fashion. The cell to society approach is therefore a conceptual strategy designed to integrate cutting-edge developments from multiple disciplines within a biological and cultural evolutionary framework for guiding and advancing knowledge for the helping professions (e.g., social work and public health). As a synthesis, the cell to society framework is ultimately based on seminal research and numerous empirical studies drawn from such diverse fields as anthropology, behavior genetics, neurobiology, cultural geography, economics, psychology, primatology, and macrosociology. The cell to society framework begins at smaller units at the person level (e.g., genes) and builds outward to larger units such as the physical environment and institutions (see Figure 1.1). Unlike many models, the cell to society approach is of broad scope and can inform clinical, individual, community, and global level frameworks.

Figure 1.1 Major Domains in the Cell to Society Approach

In this chapter, we delineate the major conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of the cell to society framework. Namely, we discuss the importance of employing theories and research from multiple disciplines, incorporating biological and cultural evolution, embracing systems thinking and complexity, utilizing science and the scientific method, and taking a life-course perspective. We then provide an overview of the domains that represent the major areas of the cell to society approach, which will be the focus of subsequent chapters: genes and behavior, stress and adaptation, emotion, executive functions, temperament, personality, cognition and learning, exchange and cooperation, social networks and psychosocial relations, technology, the physical environment, and belief systems and ideology.

Case Study: Malia's Different Abilities

Malia is 52 years old and has a spinal cord injury—well, technically, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease.1 All Malia really cares about, though, is walking normally again (without so much tripping and stumbling), and ceasing to be such a burden to her family. Although Malia's speech is becoming slurred and she is progressively finding it difficult to swallow, frequent visits to her nutritionist have helped her by adjusting her diet. She does find the muscle weakness and cramps, fatigue, and pain intolerable at times, but her care team works together to help her when she has flare-ups like this. Although she has difficulty managing the small motor movements required for getting dressed, she winnowed out her wardrobe, retaining only the easiest styles. She has replaced the fancier garments of her recent past, those with buttons, zippers, or fancy fasteners, with simple pull-on shirts and sweaters that help her maintain independence in dressing herself, at least for now. So far, Malia has not lost any cognitive functioning; she is aware of everything that is going on with her bodily functions and has not suffered any memory deterioration or thinking problems. However, when you ask her how she's feeling, she will tell you that she feels increasingly isolated and “down” much of the time. She is not sure if it is depression, but she knows her motivation has decreased and her sense of pleasure in life and relationships is not as full as it once was. At one point recently, when she returned home from a doctor's visit, she expressed the frustration and disappointment of her progressive illness like this: “I feel like I'm the manager of a losing baseball team. You have to show up, but you know you're going to lose.” Some days just mustering the motivation to get up and out of bed can be almost too much for her to bear. Other days, she says, she has a “sunnier disposition” and better perspective on managing her illness.

What helps her, you might ask? Malia says it helps to avoid thinking about the tube feeding and respiratory failure that's bound to come, and to “distract herself from the inevitability” of this incurable illness. She also says lots and lots of support has been very helpful. And she doesn't mean the kind of support that well-intentioned people often give her: help with the door, sympathetic looks, trying to talk for her as she slurs her speech, or underestimating and overlooking the functional capacities she still has. The kind of support that Malia says really helps her is the genuine, silent patience that comes from those friends who slow down and take their time with her. Malia likes best the kind of support that does not underestimate her functional capacity, but does not overlook her functional limitations, either; the kind that balances both, takes time for the relational connections, not just the tasks at hand, and appreciates her continued contributions as a partner in the friendship, as opposed to a dependent to be pitied and cared for. Of course, other, more concrete and tangible levels of support that come from her multidisciplinary care team, like medication to help control her pain, and a computer-based communication aid to help when her speech becomes increasingly difficult to manage, are also helpful to her. Malia has experienced some physical and mental success (muscle management and improved nighttime sleep, respectively) by engaging in physical therapy–directed exercises, such as simple walking and swimming regimens and range of motion and stretching exercises. She has authorized the occupational therapist to make some limited structural alterations to her home, such as a ramp to her door in anticipation of the day she will become reliant on a wheelchair for her mobility, but she is reluctant to do much more than that right now, to keep the environment as a space that reminds her of her independence and, as she puts it, so that the place doesn't end up looking like “the home of a dying disabled person!”

Malia says the social workers she has come in contact with have been very helpful. They have helped her and her family members better understand the medical, emotional, and financial dimensions of the disease, and as she says, they have helped her plan for her future while still helping her live in the moment, day to day, with dignity and purpose. She said her social workers constantly work with her toward her goal of living interdependently and taking what she needs from those who can help, while acknowledging and maximizing what she still has control over. Her social workers have worked with legal counsel in helping her draft a durable power of attorney and a living will, and have located ALS support groups for her caregivers. Her care team has told her about complex rehabilitation technology (CRT): medically necessary customized technology, typically customized mobility devices and services used by people with disabilities, which often require continuous technology assessment, evaluation, and adjustment to tailor the products to individual needs. These are the type of mobility devices she will need in the near future, and they are different than other types of standard medical devices in their specialization and individualized fit requirements. The customized process of product alignment, assessment, continuous evaluation, and adjustment will be done by her interdisciplinary team, which includes a rehab technology professional certified by the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America. Her social workers have told her that professional groups like these are encouraging policy makers to make Medicare changes that would offer unique coverage for CRTs to better meet the needs of people requiring these devices, as part of the Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2012. Advocacy efforts like Roll on Capitol Hill, the United Spinal Association's annual legislative advocacy event, address issues like this that impact the independence and well-being of those living with spinal cord injury and disease.

Malia's doctors have told her that scientists are not certain of the origins of ALS, but some scientific hypotheses are currently being explored: too great an accumulation of free radicals, autoimmune response, or too much glutamate in the bloodstream. Other scientists, like Dr. Moses Chao, professor of cell biology, physiology, neuroscience, and psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine and past president of the Society for Neuroscience, suggest that important new cutting-edge neuroscientific studies are showing successful stimulation of the spinal cord through electrical, chemical, and physical (treadmill) interventions. Dr. Chao believes that such interventions “stimulate the neurons in the spinal cord” in a way that facilitates locomotion and activates the motor system. Malia knows she doesn't have much time, according to current statistics. She hopes these scientific discoveries can be advanced in a timely manner so she might benefit from them. But if she ends up dying before that time, her only hope is that she can live out her final months, weeks, and days in dignity and with those she loves most.

In this case example, we saw how Malia's physical health affected her thinking patterns around what it means to be independent, her emotions and ensuing struggle with mild depression, and her interpersonal relationships as she worked with her professional care team and informal caretakers to try to maintain positive supporters in her life who could help her with the emotional and instrumental aid she needed to get through each day. As Malia's social workers can attest, existential and spiritual questions will continue to emerge as end-of-life care (hospice services) are introduced when Malia's degenerative condition progresses to its final stage. We saw how technological advancements, such as customized rehab technologies that include individually tailored mobility and communication devices, can enhance and prolong independence for those who need such assistance. And we saw how legislative advocacy, such as the United Spinal Association's annual Roll on Capitol Hill, can increase awareness and bring about policy changes, such as advocating for a new Medicare benefit category for conditions that require these customized products and services.

We have also seen a lot of systems at work. We have seen that the human body is a system where the physical outcomes associated with a medical condition can influence the person's psychological response (mood and emotion); and how a person's mood can, in turn, influence the behavioral motivation to make decisions about one's health condition. We have seen other systems at work as well. Malia is part of a family system, some members of whom have taken on the caretaking role to help Malia manage her illness. The strain of caregiving may lead such family members to seek support for themselves, by engaging in an ALS support group where they may receive educational, emotional, and interpersonal support for their care of Malia. The social workers working with Malia are also part of a multidisciplinary care team, a system made up of helping professionals from unique and specialized disciplines organized to help with Malia's physical, psychological, familial, and financial needs. Understanding the patterns of interactions within this system (e.g., the way members from each discipline communicate information and ideas to the rest of the team) will help members influence the way in which the care plan is developed and enacted. Malia also is indirectly affected by the political system. Because Malia is struggling with ALS in 2012, she benefits from the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. But because Malia is struggling with ALS in 2012, she currently is not a beneficiary of a separate Medicare benefit for CRT, a change currently on the legislative advocacy agenda of groups such as the United Spinal Association.

Critical Thinking Questions:

Think about our social institutions (e.g., health care, family, economy/labor market, etc.). How do you think they relate to people with disabilities? In what ways do they promote or hinder the opportunity for people with disabilities to be fully included in and full contributors to our society?Think about the built environment: the physical space you occupy each and every day (your home, neighborhood, community roads and buildings, etc.). What noticeable accommodations have been made in your built environment to promote navigation and accessibility for those with functional limitations? Where could improvements be made? How would you advocate for such improvements?Reflect on Malia's case example. What do you think Malia might be struggling with in relation to identity? How about in terms of interpersonal relationships?As a social worker working with Malia, how might you help her develop a shift in identity to accommodate new statuses and roles? How might you assess her receptivity to and her interface with assistive technologies to support functioning? What would you specifically want to find out about her relationship to her assistive technologies?

On the Importance of Transdisciplinary Approaches

In 1974, the late anthropologist Marvin Harris, commenting on the need to traverse and transcend multiple disciplinary fields to understand the puzzles of human behavior, wrote, “Nothing in nature is quite so separate as two mounds of expertise” (Preface, p. vii). By this, Harris was referring to the tendency of scientific disciplines to develop bodies of knowledge and understanding that are often all but entirely independent of the knowledge of other disciplines. For instance, what psychology has to say about child or adolescent development may be markedly distinct from the perspectives arising from sociology or anthropology. In developing the cell to society framework in this book, we draw from the insights of Harris and other scholars who advocate the utility of an approach that draws from multiple disciplines. We ignore disciplinary boundaries quite simply because human behavior involves processes that are influenced by genetic, physiological, psychological, political, economic, and environmental factors. The history of the study of human behavior is replete with a broad literature strongly supporting the notion that factors exist that occur at multiple levels of analysis (i.e., genetic, cellular, hormonal, individual, family, community, nation). Because the study of human behavior is multidimensional in nature, its understanding necessarily will involve a host of disciplines (e.g., genetics, neuroscience, endocrinology, psychology, sociology, geography). This joining together and transcendence of disciplines toward a common understanding of complex phenomena can be termed transdisciplinary.

Transdisciplinary approaches imply a wider swath of knowledge than the term interdisciplinary and are gaining ascendancy across scientific fields because of their potential ability to solve problems that cut across multiple domains. Indeed, the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) has the mission of integrating behavioral and social science research across the many institutes of the National Institutes of Health, the largest funder of scientific research in the United States. The OBSSR uses a framework that organizes well-being across a continuum of biological and social factors that occur over the life course. Levels of organization range from the genomic to the global economic, with such domains as organ and community levels in between. One example of employing a transdisciplinary approach on a large scale is the funding of 17 mind-body centers in health. Such mind-body centers focus on fostering wellness and treating disease within a framework that takes seriously the connections between our psychological, social, and vocational wellness and our overall health and well-being. This effort involves the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, and several other national institutes with research centers at several universities, including Columbia University, University of California at Berkeley, University of Utah, University of Pittsburgh, and many others, each with a focused investigative topic and ongoing information sharing.

What are the consequences of not using a transdisciplinary approach? Just as Harris has pointed out that nothing in nature is quite as separate as two mounds of expertise, one of the consequences of not using transdisciplinary reasoning is the myopic state of explaining human behavior strictly in terms of a unidisciplinary focus (e.g., just sociology). For instance, trying to understand a complex phenomenon such as interpersonal violence exclusively from a sociological perspective can lead to conclusions that fail to capture the entire problem. Simultaneously considering the nature of violence from the perspectives of behavioral genetics, psychology, anthropology, and even history can facilitate a much more nuanced and multifaceted understanding of why human beings sometimes hurt one another. Additional consequences include a lack of person–environment integration, which prevents isolated studies from being linked together, limits use of new methods, and keeps theories arising from various fields of knowledge fields from communicating with one another. Such communication breakdowns bring to mind the image of two ships passing in the night, both laboring strenuously to advance in their desired direction but entirely unaware of one another's presence and the benefits their communication—and collaboration—might yield. Although scholars often acknowledge the necessity for transdisciplinary approaches for comprehending and intervening in complex human problems (e.g., Caspi & Moffitt, 2006; Laub, 2006), overly narrow disciplinary training and indoctrination often hampers the effective execution of transdisciplinary knowledge gathering, which in turn inhibits theory development and testing. This is not to state that some disciplinary fields have not made major contributions on their own or that any solution is merely the sum of viewpoints from different fields. For some problems, certain disciplines may have more to offer. Despite the dominance of discipline-specific socialization and the tendency to view human behavior from a “strictly sociological,” “psychological,” or “biological” point of view, there is a growing realization that singular perspectives, although useful, are ultimately stagnant and limited.

With respect to social work and the helping professions, a cell to society conceptual framework that can begin to organize theories and research in productive ways is needed to account for individuals' biological structure and dynamics across successive levels of context. This framework also ought to be able to form links across disciplines and identify points of intervention at both the individual and population levels. Although individuals in the helping professions may not be able to intervene across the many levels needed, possessing a fuller understanding and appreciation of human behavior as a transdisciplinary experience allows helping professionals to look beyond their areas of expertise to see new possibilities and collaborations for effecting change at various levels.

Change and Adaptation: Biological and Cultural Evolution

Evolution can be an intimidating concept and often a controversial one when invoked in the study of human behavior. Most people typically think of biology when they see or hear the term evolution. But the word itself refers to change and adaptation over time (more commonly large swaths of time). Historical change and adaptation in human societies, particularly around major changes such as the Industrial Revolution, can be thought of as cultural evolution (Harris, 1979; Sanderson, 1990). For instance, in Western Europe in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, as mechanical production and other technological advancements drew more and more individuals away from traditional agricultural communities and into rapidly expanding urban centers, a tremendous amount of cultural change or so-called “evolution” took place. For people of that era, a profound social evolution transformed the ways they thought about their experiences and how they engaged in work, family and community life, and politics (see Table 1.1). When such changes occur, human behavior adaptations follow. In this way, evolutionary principles can be applied to human behavior vis-à-vis its relations with a given environment.

Table 1.1Examples of Key Variables That Influence Societal Evolution

Infrastructure Variables: Production

Technological advancements

Road transportation

Food manufacturing

Trail transportation

Textile manufacturing

Water transportation

Chemical manufacturing

Air transportation

Metals manufacturing

Rail transportation

Machinery manufacturing

Fossil fuel reserves

Lumber manufacturing

Crude petroleum

Electrical manufacturing

Coal

Crop production

Natural gas

Farmlands

Animal waste

Livestock production

Geothermal heat

Mineral resources

Hydroelectric power

Territorial size

Climate

Soils and vegetation

Supply and utilization of water

Pollution and deforestation

Infrastructure Variables: Reproduction

Morbidity rates

Population characteristics (age, sex, ethnicity)

Immigration

Fertility

Population density

Disease

Urban/rural

Nurturing of infants

Suicide

Mating patterns

Mortality rates

Migration

Medical control of demographic pattern (conception, abortion, infanticide)

Structural-Institutional Variables

Family composition

Political organizations, clubs,

Corporate structure (leadership,

Family wealth

associations, parties

compensation, hierarchies)

Family debt

Government structure (leadership,

Interest rates

Personal wealth

compensation processes)

Inflation

Personal debt

National division of labor

Gross domestic product

Domestic hierarchies

Taxation

Gross national product

Domestic division of

Income stratification

Foreign aid

labor

War

Banking

Family socialization

Police

Government regulations of business

Social sanctions

Criminal justice

Budgets

Age and sex roles

Law/crime rates

Employment rates and processes

Expenditures

(political/corporate crime)

(unemployment)

Rates of consumption

Tribute

Voting patterns

Ideational Variables

Art forms (aesthetics)

Electronic media

Class ideologies

Music

Print media

Educational values and ideologies

Sports

Literature

Taboos

Recreational activities

Marketing and advertising

Magic

Folklore

Religious practice and ideologies

Superstitions

Myths

Political ideologies

Racial and ethnic ideologies

Rituals

Ethical ideologies

Note: Adapted and expanded from Harris (1979).

Similar to biological evolution with its emphasis on natural selection as a driving force, cultural evolution relies on selection processes, too. An additional component in evolution is chance, which can often be accounted for by mutation or other unidentified factors (Mayr, 1976). Change and adaptation is composed of the tandem of chance and selection processes. As always, behavior cannot be accounted for by a single gene (Greenspan, 1999) and as such each gene can or does participate in a multitude of developmental processes. This failure to identify single genes capable of explaining specific behaviors is in large part due to the impact that socialization and cultural influences have on the developing person. Studies conducted in less complex organisms such as fruit flies indicate that many genes contribute to specific behaviors (Greenspan, 1999). Many selective forces or agents exist naturally in our environments, and some of these agents are a product of human industry. For example, pollution as a byproduct of industrial activity has been shown to contribute to disease, yet the susceptibility to contaminants is variable in humans (Birdsell, 1999).

The study of primate behavior, of which humans are a part due to our genetic, morphological (i.e., outward appearance and internal structure), and behavioral similarities, helps shed light on the origins and contours of human behavior. For instance, recent research synthesizing African field site studies of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) shows evidence of nongenetic transmission of behavior or, in simpler terms, chimpanzee “culture.” For instance, chimpanzee communities in certain regions of Africa regularly use tree leaves as napkins or sponges, whereas chimps in different regions do not do so. Similar differences can be observed in terms of chimpanzees using tools to crack nuts and other profoundly useful behaviors. These examples and countless others highlight the fact that primates, although certainly influenced by their genetic makeup, are also profoundly influenced by social and environmental factors. Research on a lesser-known ape, the bonobo (Pan paniscus), shows additional variability between primate species. For instance, bonobo communities are decidedly different from those of chimpanzees. In contrast to the male-dominated chimpanzee culture, bonobos are a profoundly female-centered species that is quick to use sexual behavior to defuse potential conflicts between groups (de Waal, 1995). Although the fascinating details of primate research could fill a textbook, two takeaway points are particularly important for our understanding. First, primatological research reveals an astounding degree of plasticity and cultural flexibility among primates; second, such research also reveals that change and adaptation do take place among primates and that certain behaviors and social problems are not inevitable or fixed.

One of the key points of contention in the study of evolution involves the difference between acknowledging a role for biology and biological determinism. In 1975, Harvard University biologist Edward Wilson, noted for his studies of ants, published a seminal and controversial book titled “Sociobiology: The New Synthesis.” The goal of sociobiology was to explain human behavior by using principles derived from biological evolution. It was viewed as an approach that was aimed toward reducing or absorbing the social sciences into biology and its overarching paradigm of natural selection. Although sociobiology affords culture an important role (Wilson, 1975), it seemingly does so as a reflex of biology. Sociobiology and Edward Wilson personally were attacked for a variety of reasons. One of the major reasons was that the implication of sociobiology is that the status quo in society is a biologically mandated inevitability. Although Wilson (1975) cautioned against falling into this ethical trap, his work nevertheless contributes to this notion, which of course has real political effects (Sussman, 1999). Wilson has recently written a book on the social conquest of the planet that relies on the relationship between biology and culture (Wilson, 2012). It is certainly the case that reducing human behavior to biological inevitability is simplistic and an easy trap to fall into. On the other hand, determinism can apply both ways, as most social scientists tend to be environmentalists or social determinists. Moving beyond tired, ideological nature-versus-nurture debates and comprehending the rich tapestry of human behavior in ways that can lead to productive outcomes for the helping professions is badly needed.

As previously alluded, societies must produce and capture energy from an environment to survive. We take for granted all the modern conveniences that technology has to offer, but just think about how problematic it is when electricity goes off, water stops running, or one runs out of food and doesn't have sufficient money to buy any. We cannot escape these basic material necessities, upon which contemporary social life depends. Thus, societal evolution is built on these biologically programmed basic survival needs. Examples include sex drive; hunger; thirst; sleep; language; requirements for affective nurturance; nutritional and metabolic processes; and vulnerability to mental and physical disease and to stress from darkness, cold, heat, altitude, moisture, lack of oxygen, and other ecological endangerments (Harris, 1979, 1999). These basic survival needs can be thought of as biopsychological constants of human nature. They are constants because they have always been with us as human beings and are likely always to be with us in the future. Therefore, theories of human behavior that focus strictly on social factors must confront the inescapable importance of these fundamental biological and psychological factors. As such, the necessity for understanding the psychobiological complex that comprises the individual in relation to behavior and environment (social and natural environment) is critical to a comprehensive understanding of human behaviors and human societies. How humans and their culture meet these needs over time via various behavioral adaptations can be thought of as societal or cultural evolution and in many ways is analogous in principle to biological evolution.

Systems Thinking and Complexity

Broadly defined, a system is any set of interrelated elements that influence each other over time (Roberts, Andersen, Deal, Garet, & Shaffer, 1983; Senge, Kleiner, Roberts, Ross, & Smith, 1994). But how do we know something is a system rather than “just a bunch of stuff”? Donella Meadows (2008) posed four questions to help determine whether or not something is a system: (a) Can you identify parts? (b) Do the parts affect each other? (c) Do the parts produce an effect that is different than the effect of each part on its own? (d) Does the effect persist in a variety of circumstances? If the answer is yes to all four questions, then the “bunch of stuff” meets criteria as a system. Although all systems have these characteristics in common, systems are ubiquitous and exist in many forms and sizes. Examples of systems include but are not limited to: the solar system, the human body, a community, a hospital, a football team, a river or stream, and so forth. Exchanges between humans are another kind of system. People interact with each other, for example, in a manner that gives rise to dynamic processes, such as pressures to conform to rules and social situations, decision-making biases, attitudes and changes in attitude, power, and ambition and resulting influence, et cetera. These interactions are often quite complex (Thelen & Smith, 1998). It is important to recognize that individuals behave within a system of successive levels of context and constraint imposed by biological, political-economic, and cultural processes (see Matsumoto, 2007; Peck, 2007; Vaughn, 2007).

The study of systems is guided by a variety of general theoretical approaches (e.g., general systems theory, cybernetics, and system dynamics) that fall under the general rubric called systems theory. They all share the idea that the behavior of systems is generated by its underlying “structure,” or the pattern of interrelationships that constitute the system. An understanding of system structures always presupposes explanations of the dynamic process of interacting parts.

Systems theory is composed of several key concepts that are important to understanding systems. Two of these are positive and negative feedback. Negative feedback refers to any system-maintaining innovation that modifies a change or divergence that preserves the fundamental characteristics of the system. For instance, a simple example of negative feedback is a thermostat, which is designed to regulate a base temperature by turning off a heating system when a house becomes too warm or turning it on if a house becomes too cold. Whereas negative feedback serves to maintain system homeostasis, positive feedback denotes system-changing innovations. Applying the concept to human societies, policies that change the status quo can be thought of as positive feedback. Although the term “positive” seems to imply something that is good, positive feedback in the context of systems theory simply means that the system has changed; the change could be detrimental to the system itself. Although certain innovations in some aspects of a system may result in changing the whole system more than others (e.g., changes in technology or how societies produce energy, food, and water), it is difficult to predict the consequences of these innovations.

Contingency and emergence are two fundamental processes that influence the understanding of complex systems. Contingency means that something occurs as a result of something else. When there are many interactive parts in a system, the contingencies become very complex. Emergent properties are those that appear in complex systems as a result of nonlinearity; that is, they do not appear at any lower level of interactive parts and are a result of complex interactions. Contingency and emergence have to do with the whole being more than the sum of its parts. A classic example is when a sudden severe storm emerges as a result of a number of changing weather conditions such as wind, temperature, moisture, and other environmental pressures, all of which can vary dramatically. As such, both can be thought of as a counterpoint to reductionism in complex systems (Gould, 2003). Science has relied on reductionism to explain complexity by understanding the regularities that govern the parts. Interactions that can be predicted from the knowledge of the parts can be said to be linear in that direct, one-to-one relations or patterns can be observed. Reductionism is inadequate if these emergent properties are necessary to explain any higher order phenomena. Contingency refers to historical events, idiographic cases, and inherent particularism in a given system under study. These cases or events can occur by chance or accident. They are not observable regularities. Approaches that study complex, higher order systems need to confront both emergence and contingencies. Although we tend to think of complex systems as reflective of societies, states, or cities, they can also include psychological traits such as personality and character. According to research by Cloninger and colleagues (Cloninger, 1999, 2004; Cloninger, Svrakic, & Pryzbeck, 1993; Cloninger, Svrakic, & Svrakic, 1997), the relations between temperament and character traits are nonlinear, meaning that more than one configuration can give rise to several character combinations and vice versa. In fact, this research has demonstrated that personality development can follow the nonlinear form of a complex adaptive system. Other basic terms and processes are important in systems thinking. These include transactions (the exchange of information and behavioral interactions among people in their environment), inputs and outputs (the flow of energy—i.e., stimuli—into a person or system is input; the flow outward is output), interface (the point of interaction or target of change), adaptation (the capacity to adjust to changes in the environment), interdependence (mutual reliance between actors in a system and habitat, similar to symbiosis), differentiation (change toward greater complexity in a system), equifinality (many different means to achieve the same end), and multifinality (one starting point leading to many different outcomes).

There is a growing consensus that to intervene in behavioral and social problems (e.g., poverty, development, health and disease, violence), a greater understanding of how various factors occurring at multiple levels influence human behavior is needed (e.g., Galea, Riddle, & Kaplan, 2010; Glass & McAtee, 2008). Most human phenomena are not caused by single factors. In this book we conceptualize human behavior in the social and physical environment in an explicit way to fully view the multiple levels that influence human behaviors over the life course. The cell to society framework is consistent with systems thinking; however, it attempts to move beyond just describing system parts by incorporating scientific findings into each major domain that constitutes the approach. New discoveries in complex systems are fully compatible with the cell to society approach.

Science and Scientific Methods

As Kirk and Reid (2002) have pointed out, social work has used science to deliver rational and structured services and to use scientific evidence as a means to inform social work practice. The dangers for the helping professions of not using science are a loss of credibility and professional standing and a great potential for ineffectiveness. Science is a way of knowing about the world that is based on empiricism and testing. In science, ideas or claims are subject to empirical testing, in which data are gathered and a hypothesis formulated that is subject to falsification. In science, we are trying to disprove rather than prove something is true. Because we will never know the absolute truth, knowledge gained under scientific principles is always tentative and subject to revision. As a process, science consists of deduction and induction. Deduction is when we have an idea or theory about something and then gather data to assess how valid the theory is. Induction works in the opposite direction; we observe facts and form a theory capable of explaining or making sense of our observations.