Human Behavior in the Social Environment: A Social Systems Approach

Since the publication of the first edition of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, several generations of students have successfully used this classic text, which takes a social systems approach to human behavior. This systems approach is still widely accepted in the human services disciplines, including social work, education, nursing, psychology, and in human services programs themselves. Its ideas have become the organizing framework for curriculum, as well as fruitful sources for new applications of theory and practice. Among the advantages of the social systems approach is that it permits students and practitioners to see connections between fields of practice, between methods, and across professional disciplines and bodies of theory.

The book serves as a template of the concentric circles of human behavior, with chapters on fields of behavior, beginning with the person and ranging outward to culture and society. Abundant examples from practice and from behavioral patterns are drawn from the social sciences, topical events, literature, and the authors' personal and professional experiences. This volume responds to the needs of students and instructors as these have developed since the publication of the previous edition.

Irl Carter is associate professor emeritus at the School of Social Work, University of Minnesota and served as acting director of the Center for Youth Development in Minneapolis, St. Paul.