Explain how the fundamental attribution error influences our judgments of others.

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Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word (three to four pages) paper in which you consider social behavior.

 

Include the following:

 

·       Explain how our motive to belong influences our group behaviors, both positively and negatively. Consider your Week 2 reading on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

·       Explain how the fundamental attribution error influences our judgments of others. How could becoming more aware of, and correcting this error, change our understanding of others’ behavior?

·       How do assumptions, such as defensive attribution and the just-world hypothesis, influence our sense of control over our lives? How could we correct these but still feel in control?

·       The way we perceive others is quite subjective, and the processes we use to evaluate others are often outside of our awareness. Nonetheless, social interactions exert powerful influences on how we feel and behave. What factors influence our prejudices about people? What factors influence whom we find attractive? How might culture influence perceptions of prejudice and attractiveness?

·       What kinds of things help you see the world in a positive light?

 

Note: You will be assessed on whether your paper is clear and logically organized; whether the content is comprehensive and relevant; whether the language is appropriate to the audience; whether writing is clear and concise; whether grammar, usage, spelling and punctuation follow standard American English, and whether references are consistent with APA guidelines. Be sure to properly cite the resources you use.

 

Format your paper consistent with course-level guidelines.

 

Submit your assignment to the Assignment Files tab.

“Neuroscience Bases of Learning” (pp. 9-15),

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Prior to beginning this journal entry, review the “Cognition: Overview and Recent Trends” (pp. 3-8), “Neuroscience Bases of Learning” (pp. 9-15), and “Learning in a Cross-Cultural Perspective” (pp. 16-22) articles in your text, and read the American Educational Research Association’s Code of Ethics. It is important for you to have already completed your initial post in the “Learning and Cognition Perspectives” discussion before you compose this journal entry. Each week’s journal entry will include four parts. Each part does not need to be lengthy, but should demonstrate your understanding of the course content addressed within the week.

Part 1: Learning acquisition and development is a key area in the study of learning and cognition. Each week, you will include vocabulary from your readings in your journal that was unfamiliar to you or might be unfamiliar to your peers. Identify three to five words from this week’s content and research each word in the context of learning and cognition. Explain, in your own words, what each word means and how it is used in the context of learning and cognition.

Part 2: Based on this week’s discourse and content, access the Ashford University Library and research one peer-reviewed article pertaining to social processing that was published within the last 10 years. Provide a summary explanation of the findings on social processing in the context of your article. What implications should scholars consider based on this information? Support your explanation utilizing your course sources and your researched article.

Part 3: Consider the events from the past week of your life. Did you or someone you know experience anything that supports your conclusions about the effects of emotions and social learning on behaviors? Describe one personal real-life example of an occurrence that supports the implications of social learning on our behaviors and beliefs. As you share this information, consider and apply the professional standards found in “12.06 Anonymity of Sources”found in the AERA Code of Ethics.

Part 4: Based on the AERA Code of Ethics, if you have described an event that occurred with a friend or a colleague, what do your resources suggest may possibly affect how you personally interpret the event? What is the possibility for bias on your part, and how can it be avoided (or should it be)? In what ways can you address your personal biases when explaining observations to be ethical in reporting of the information? How important is this process to the maintenance of professional standards?

Each journal entry should be 400 to 700 words in length and should establish your understanding of the content, apply appropriate methods of ethical practices, and exhibit appropriate scaffolding of personal experience to the week’s content.

Research With Statists

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SOCIAL WORK with Research Experience Only

WK8 Assignment – Agency Memo – Final

Purpose

In this assignment you will be crafting a memo detailing your recommendations for an intervention to use with a client population and developing a single subject design for testing your recommended intervention in a social work setting. The memo should be of professional quality. In other words, it should pass as a document that a master level social worker would provide to a supervisor in practice.

Instructions

Overview
The memo should be between two to three pages single spaced and should be formatted as a memo (a sample format is provided). The memo will detail:

  • the scope of the population/issue;
  • various interventions to improve an aspect of the population/issue;
  • an evaluation of the existing evidence to support the use of each intervention;
  • recommendations on which intervention to choose; and
  • a plan for evaluating the use of the intervention using single subject design within an agency.

Final
The final of the memo is due in the final week of the course (see syllabus). The final is 45% of the Agency Memo assignment grade.

  • The Final must also be completed using the Memo Template form and follow the Memo Structure section below.
  • The final should include/address all Outline and Draft feedback from your instructor.

Memo Structure
Your memo should follow the organization below and should include subheadings.

Scope
You should detail the scope of your population/issue by citing statistics detailing your population and why it is important to assist the population. This section:

  • sets the stage for your entire memo by laying out for your supervisor why your agency should address the needs of your selected population;
  • must be fact based and should contain citations rather than your opinions;
  • should also be short in comparison to the rest of the memo. For example, if you had selected adults with disabilities and wanted to focus on their vocational needs, you would state how many adults have disabilities. You would then document the challenges of adults with disabilities in finding jobs.

Available Interventions
You should detail various interventions that have been used to improve an aspect of the population/issue. Depending on your topic, you may have many interventions that can be grouped together in a summary or you may have one or two standard interventions that are used. Briefly describe the interventions. Appropriate descriptions may include whether:

  • the intervention is considered evidence-based;
  • the intervention has been tested on various demographic groups (children, non-English speakers, etc);
  • what the intervention purports to change in a client population (improve depression, decrease teen pregnancy, etc.);
  • specialized training is required; and/or 5) the intervention is free to use.

Evidence for Intervention Use
Select two of the most promising interventions and describe in more detail how they have been evaluated to demonstrate evidence that they will work with your client population. Explain how the interventions have been implemented and why researchers have suggested that they are effective.

Recommendation for Intervention
Based on everything you have written above, suggest to your supervisor which recommendation you feel will work best at your agency. This section should be brief in relation to the other sections.

Single Subject Design
Now that you have selected an intervention, design a single subject evaluation that you can use in your practice to evaluate your intervention. Describe a validated measure that you will use to change the target behavior of your client. Describe data collection and potential limitations of your design.

Topic and Group Selection

In the first week of class, you will select one of the five topics: foster care, child maltreatment prevention, substance use treatment, mental health treatment or teen pregnancy prevention. Using this topic, you will begin to search for an intervention that can successfully be used with the population. You can adjust your topic selection to narrow down your population and issue. For instance, if you choose foster care, you have the leeway to narrow your memo topic down to youth aging out of foster care who need jobs.

Based on your topic selection, you will be assigned to a group of students who also selected the same topic. However, this is not a group assignment. The group is a learning community where you will have the opportunity to answer discussion posts related to your topic and engage with your peers also working on your topic. Although you are strongly encouraged to collaborate with your group, you are responsible for writing your own memo.

State how your colleague’s examples of spirituality’s influence in client relationships resonate with you.

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Response 1: Spiritual Development

 

Respond to at least two colleagues in one of the following ways:

 
·      State how your colleague’s examples of spirituality’s influence in client relationships resonate with you. Provide support for your perspective.
 

·      State whether you are likely to use your client’s strategy in your own social work practice, and explain why.

 

Be sure to support your responses with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

 

 

 

Colleague 1: Brooke

 

As future social workers, we are in a unique position to guide our potential clients to their most desireable outcomes, regardless of whether or not we are in agreement.  When we enter into this field, we do so with the understanding that our clients’ beliefs and resulting goals are to be maintained with utmost priority.  It would be a violation of our code of conduct to not conduct client-professional interactions in this manner, and therefore, remaining unbiased when providing counseling and implementing intervention is an integral part of this profession (Code of Ethics of the NASW, 2008).

 

This will become particularly challenging, however, when a client’s spiritual beliefs do not align, or even negate, those of the professional charged with their guidance.  In order to be prepared for these interactions, developing a cultural competence of the client is vital to successful interactions (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2016).  Although this competence is achieved over time, research can be conducted even before meeting with the client to understand the beliefs and values that define their religion.  In the Muslim religion, for example, it is not acceptable for a man to touch a woman, other than his wife.  Knowing this information prior to an initial meeting, the female professional would understand how to properly greet her client, which will most definitely not include a handshake.  Secondly, views regarding abortion are affiliated with specific religions.  Catholics, for example, take a pro life stance on this controversial topic.  This religion strongly asserts than any unborn fetus is a human being and therefore, abortion can be viewed as murderous.  While not every Catholic may hold this unwavering belief, understanding this is a belief held by many practicing Catholics may guide initial interactions with a client carrying an unplanned pregnancy.

 

As a practicing Roman Catholic, my interactions with future clients may also be affected.  While I understand the religion’s position on abortion, I do not necessarily hold the same emphatic views.  This understanding, yet my openness to consider specific circumstances, may help a client whose religion is an impacting factor in a life choice she has to make.  The Catholic religion also denounces adultery, regardless of the circumstances.  I can safely say I, too, do not believe adultery is acceptable.  However, as in any situation, I would feel more comfortable assessing the situation before making judgement.  This may present a challenge if working with a client in the throes of an adulterous relationship.  Each interaction with this client would have to be approached as unbiased and non judgmental.

 

Awareness, above all else, is the foundation of establishing cultural competence, an integral piece of social work practice.  Research of cultures, both environmental and religious, should be the first step, particularly when working with new clients.  It is most important to maintain a professional demeanor of acceptance and understanding, even if specific points are not agreed upon.  Validation of a client’s situation and their life choices does not necessarily indicate agreement, but rather support.  Although we are working to become social workers, there must be a proverbial line drawn between our professional and personal lives, so as to not lose ourselves in our journey of guiding others.

 

Colleague 2: Shaneika

 

Spirituality plays a vital role in the lives of many people and whether or not they affiliate themselves with a religion; it somewhat influences their behavior and adds to their diversity. As social workers interact with their clients it is important that there are aware of their clients’ spirituality because it may very well be the contributing factor of their culture that affects the way they seek or receive help from social workers. Being aware, respectful and sensitive to our clients’ spirituality shows them that we are empathetic and looking out for their best interest.

 

Spirituality includes one’s values, beliefs, mission, awareness, subjectivity, experience, sense of purpose and direction; spirituality is an important means by which many people organize their view of the world (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman 2016). While everyone may view the world in different light, a social worker has the role where he/she cannot let their spirituality affect the level of service they offer their client because it is never about them but about the clients. For example, if a member of the LGBTQ community seeks assistance the social worker cannot give them mediocre service because they don’t believe their lifestyle is right because they don’t identify with the norms of our society. Whatever assistance they seek the social worker should implement the GIM so they are able to be fair and cover everything they need to know in regards to the client to meet their needs and empower them.

 

The Asian spirituality and culture portrays them as being tightly knitted so they believe that whatever it is they need to stick together so seeking help from social services goes against what they believe which will make it difficult for them to relate well with the social worker. Their worldview may affect those seeking help because they would seem like a failure if they seek help because that is not what they stand for. Therefore the social worker is going to have to be very sensitive and culturally aware of this population because divulging information will be harder from them; again the GIM will have to be implemented because every bit of information to be able to dissect their case and evaluate the services that they need and present it in such a way that it doesn’t offend them.

 

One way in which my spirituality may support my social work practice is the fact that I believe that everyone should be treated equally and respected for who they are and where they come from. I also believe that not everyone is able to advocate for themselves should have someone to do so for them and this is where I fit in being an agent of change; Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman (2016) states spirituality are the personal search for meaning in life and have a value system. One possible barrier that may arise from my spirituality is not being able to help some clients because some clients may not open up to you once they think your religious affiliation is opposite from theirs and not seeing that religion doesn’t affect my ability to help.

 

One strategy that would be effective for applying an awareness of spirituality to social work practice in general is to host seminars that would provide social workers with an array of information about cultures around the world and to key in on how their spirituality affects their ability to function. Social work has its historical roots in religious organizations where they have an appreciation and respect for religious beliefs that differ from their own beliefs (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2016).The general gist is that a social worker religion should not affect their spirituality because it is in their spirituality that their morals and values are brought out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Response 2: Stakeholders in Health Care Policy

 

Respond  to at least two colleagues in one of the following ways:

 

·      Describe two factors that might make minority groups especially vulnerable in the Medicaid policy your colleague cited. Explain why these groups may not have a voice in the policy-making process.

 

 

·      Offer examples of organized self-help and citizens’ groups as both support mechanisms and potentially powerful lobbies. Describe how these lobbying bodies can help in amending the policy your colleague described.

 

Support your response with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

 

 

Colleague 1: Jesse

 

With the vast improvements in health care the quality and life expectancy has increased. Because of this we have seen an increase in our population both young and old. The increase of the elderly population has caused the government to increase the amount of money is spent on Medicare. Health care expenditure has grown substantially; in 1960 it was $26.9 billion versus in 1990 it was $1,035.1 billion (Acker, 2010). Even with the increase in health care funding, health care has still been limited due to the costs. There have been an increase in insurances; large research grants have driven up costs, and the increase use of prescription drugs have driven pharmaceutical costs up. All of these developments have made the American government raise funding for programs such as Medicaid and other health care programs that aid the lower social classes. Programs like these are necessary because other wise many American’s wouldn’t be able to afford to see doctors, get medications, or even afford to get simple health care preventives like vaccines. With the passing of the affordable health care act Alabama had the option to expand Medicaid but choose not to. This choice has lead to many Alabamians uninsured. I would amend this policy by accepting the expansion of Medicaid. This would make it to wear everyone would be able to be insured whether they are able to pay for insurance and receive a tax credit or be able to receive Medicaid free of charge. There are many stakeholders involved with Medicare and Medicaid in the state of Alabama. There are many hospitals, doctors, and even patients who all have differing positions and opinions on health care policies. I believe that the creation on comprehensive programs is a critical step in advancing our current health care policies.

 

 

Colleague 2: Rachel

 

 

One health care policy in Indiana that can be revised would be Medicaid’s Hoosier Health Care Plan. Historically speaking, Medicaid has come a long way, and has is now providing health care and other amenities to low income families all over Indiana. The Hoosier Health Care Plan is offered to low income families who virtually have no income. The reason why I feel this policy needs to be changed, is because it doesn’t allow people to use their services while trying to become self sufficient while also lack cultural competence to the reasons that contribute to low income families. One of those contributions is addiction and substance abuse, and this health care plan does not allow for people to use substances or alcohol. However with stakeholders oppose to funding those that are under substances thus programs that are supposed to help the needy, enable the needy.