OCTH 611 (Theory & Philosophy) Flashcards
Types of knowledge:
Propositional
Professional craft knowledge
Personal knowledge
Propositional Knowledge:
Set of assertions or assumptions that can be
explained studied and transmitted
Generalizable; universal principles
Purely intellectual – associated with Theory
Professional Craft Knowledge:
More than “application of theory”
Context-specific
Personal Knowledge:
Personal worldview; morals; experiences
Theory Defined:
“A a set of interrelated assumptions, concepts, and
definitions that presents a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relationships among
variables, with the purpose of explaining and predicting the phenomena.”
Theory Defined:
“Theory is a way to increase understanding by bridging the gap between concrete experience in the world of observed events, such as falling apples, and the imagined world of hypothetical concepts, such as gravity.”
Theory Construction:
- Philosophical assumptions
- Concepts and constructs
- Principles and postulates
- Theory/framework/model creation
beliefs that are the essence of a culture,
society, discipline, or movement and which supports its decision-making.
Philosophical Assumptions
CONCEPTS AND CONSTRUCTS:
- Concept
Observable characteristics or
structural features or objects - Construct
Abstract, intangible
characteristics that
characterize observations
PRINCIPLES AND POSTULATES:
Relationships between identified concepts and
constructs
REASONS TO STUDY THEORY:
- To validate and guide practice
- To justify reimbursement
- To clarify specialization items
- To enhance the growth of the
profession and the professionalism of
its members - To educate competent practitioners
- To meet accreditation counsel for OT
education (ACOTE) standards
BARRIERS TO USING THEORY IN PRACTICE:
- Ever-increasing pace of change
- Demands on healthcare workers
- Lack of time to explore theoretical ideas in
practice - Minimal exposure to theory during
fieldwork
Philosophy defined:
Concerned “with the meaning of life and
the significance of the world in which humans find
themselves.”
Professional philosophy:
“The system of beliefs and values unique to
each profession, which provides its
members with a sense of identity and
exerts control over theory and practice.”
PHILOSOPHY OF OT:
Represents the profession’s view of the nature and
existence and gives meaning to and guides the actions of the profession. It also provides the fundamental set of values, beliefs, truths, and principles that guide the actions of the
profession’s practitioners
SCHOOLS OF PHILOSOPHY:
- PRAGMATISM
- EXISTENTIALISM
- HUMANISM
- ASCETICISM
“A method or tendency in philosophy…which
determines the meaning of all concepts and tests
their validity by their practical results.”
- Based on the notion that an idea is only true if it
works or “tests out” in real life - Primary author – William James
- Also known as “results-driven” philosophy
Pragmatism (20th centry)
Pragmatism (20th century):
Pragmatists say that life is a process of
discovering the truths of how our actions
work for us. Their question is not so much
“what is true?” or “what ought we to
believe?” but instead “what, if we believe
it, will work best for us?”
Pragmatism:
“Holds that humans’ development proceeds through experience in life with objects and individuals in the environment. Knowledge and
truth are constantly being revised, and interpretation or reality is influenced by individual and collaborative experience.”
A philosophy and literary movement, variously
religious and atheistic“… based on the doctrine that
existence takes precedence over essence and holds that man is totally free and responsible for his acts, and that this responsibility is the source of the dread and anguish that encompasses him.”
Existentialism
Existentialism:
- Less concerned about scientific truths
and more focused on the experience of
the person (e.g., beliefs and feelings) - What is the meaning or purpose of
life? - Kierkegaard – the father of
existentialism; also espoused by Sartre
and Nietzsche - Focus on freedom and responsibility –
humans are ultimately free to do
whatever they choose, but are also,
ultimately, responsible for their choices
“Any system of thought or action-based
on the nature, dignity, interests, and
ideals of man…modern, nontheistic,
rationalist movement that holds that
man is capable of self-fulfillment [and]
ethical conduct…without recourse to
supernaturalism.”
Humanism
Humanism:
- Concerned primarily with the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, values, and concerns of humans.
- Emphasis on humans’ ability and responsibility
to lead lives that are ethical, personally fulfilling, and good for all of humanity.
A philosophy that “exults
work and seriousness at the expense of
leisure and enjoyment.”
Asceticism
Asceticism:
“The religious doctrine that one can
reach a higher spiritual state by rigorous self-discipline and self-denial.”
Asceticism:
- Renouncing worldly pleasures, typically in order
to pursue a spiritual goal, but may apply to other goals - Restraint is a virtue
- Max Weber was a proponent, as were Buddha and Gandhi
WHY STUDY PHILOSOPHY?
“Through understanding the philosophical foundation of occupational therapy, one is likely
TO BE BETTER ABLE TO UNDERSTAND the profession and its relationship to clients,
to colleagues in other areas of specialization or other professions, and to society to which is it responsible.”
Mental Hygiene Movement:
Included the view that idleness contributes to
mental illness
Slagle, Tracy, and Johnson championed involving
individuals in healthy daily routines
Tasks were graded and environments structured for healthy engagement in occupation
Arts and Crafts Movement:
Based on an appreciation of skilled craftsmen
versus industrialization
Preserving tools and traditions
Hull House in Chicago and the Guildhall in
London
Barton, Tracy, and Slagle emphasized crafts in
OT
represents the knowledge base, values, and worldview upon which occupational therapists can agree through shared experience and that provides a basis for OT practice.
Paradigm
Dunton’s Foundational Assumptions:
- “Occupation is as necessary
to human life as food and
drink.” - “Every human being should
have both physical and
mental occupation.” - “Sick minds, sick bodies, and
sick souls may be healed
through occupations.”
Paradigm of Occupation (1900s-1940s):
Dunton’s foundational notion of occupation as paramount to health and
well-being
Mechanistic Paradigm/Medical Model (1950s-1970s):
◦ Calling for scientific evidence to support the emerging medical model
◦ OT adopts a biomedical worldview at the expense of holism (e.g., man is a
machine, just fix the parts)
◦ OT fragmented by specializations; managed care complicates reimbursement
New Emerging Paradigm (1980s onward):
◦ Return to foundational focus on meaningful occupations as central to well-being and health
◦ Occupation-based models emerge
The Paradigm of Occupation- 1920s:
Habit Training and Reconstruction
Rapid growth in hospitals
More OTs in the field
Slagle and Meyer develop habit training
Reconstruction offered to WWI veterans and to factory workers with industrial accidents
Emergence of rehabilitation focus and the biomechanical model, with activity analysis applied to ADLs and re-entrance to the workforce
1930s: Biomechanical and Behavior
Modification Frames of Reference (FOR):
Scientific influence plus arts and crafts
◦ Use of adapted tasks in handcrafts
OTs able to work in institutions
◦ Respected centers of the latest care
Scientists studying human behavior
◦ Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner
◦ Positive and negative reinforcements
Declining interest in psychoanalysis
1940s: Vocational Training, Activity Analysis, and Rehab:
Vocational rehab needed again after WWII
Social Security (New Deal provision of income for the disabled)
GI Bill (funding for vocational retraining)
◦ For people with physical and mental needs
◦ Sheltered workshops emerge
Physical Dysfunction Models
◦ Kinetic Model (Licht, 1947)
◦ Rehabilitation Model (Spackman, 1947)
1950s: Psychoanalytic and Sensory Motor FOR:
Psychopharmacological advances
◦ Thorazine and Librium
◦ Increased patients’ ability to participate in
OT
Re-emergence of interest in psychoanalytic
application of tasks
Freudian-influenced Object Relations Theory
advocated the “therapeutic use of self”
Neurological advances
◦ Rood, Ayers, and Bobath’s methods for
facilitating motor development
1960s: Social Reform:
Questioning of authority and demonstrations
Deinstitutionalization
◦ Goffman’s 1961 exposé of asylums
◦ Medications to prevent, cure, and manage chronic
conditions
◦ Resocialization (IADL training and opportunity for OT groups)
discussed in publications by Fidler and Mosey
Therapeutic milieu
◦ Community Approach
◦ Collaborative effort between therapist and client
Community Mental Health Act of 1963
Sensory Integration (Ayers, 1968)
1970s: Identity Crisis:
Specialties made it hard to find an OT frame
of reference
◦ Psychosocial
◦ Physical disabilities
◦ Hand therapy
◦ Pediatrics
◦ Geriatrics
AOTA established the Representative Assembly
who published the “Uniform Terminology”
document in 1979
1970s: Emergence of Various Frames of Reference:
Mosey (1970) – 3 Frames of Reference for
Mental Health
◦ Acquisitional: behavior/learning theory
◦ Psychoanalytic: object relations
◦ Developmental: recapitulation of ontogenesis
Llorens (1970) – Facilitating Growth and
Development
◦ Based on a review of contemporary theories of
human development
