Hudson (1999) further identifies that although the application in psychology appear to be fairly widespread, most of these involve only selected concepts, rather than the methodologies of chaos theory. For example, the use of "butterfly effect" has suggested that "the sources of specific day to day lasting behaviours, as well as the sources of problems and functioning, are not limited only to major events in people's lives, but also include relatively small events, which, over time, can result in significant impact on behaviour" (Duke, 1994). The use of other chaos theory concepts have been more extensively used however, over the last decade, with the formation of the Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences and further developments of the theory in psychology and psychotherapy.
Applications in related fields can be found in decision making and organisational behaviour, group process, as well as in education and sociology (Hudson 1999). Recently, from what I have read, there has been increasing application of the theory to international development and to conflict resolution studies.
An extensive but interesting working paper by Dianne Hendrick in 2009 explores complexity theory in relation to peace research and conflict intervention. She critically explores complexity and chaos concepts, including providing suggestions and insights on how these could inform analysis and intervention. This appears very relevant to social work with children and families.
Violence and conflict (whether they occur within societies or families) have similar characteristics, they are both complex and chaotic. In addition, the challenges facing conflict transformation in a wider context is very similar to those facing social workers when protecting children or vulnerable adults. For these reasons, Hendrick's paper will be revisited in more detail in future posts.
No comments:
Post a Comment