AMERICAN CULTURAL THEMES AND SOCIAL WORK mass of men. The individual has to fit himself EXTERNALISM his designated role or be destroyed by the Here again social work is either parting company state. In America, the individual retains at least with mass culture or leading the way to new evalu me sense of freedom and autonomy. By his voluntary acceptance of new attitudes and actiy. ations. Social work itself has changed in the last ties, he contributes to their general adoption, quarter ot a century. To give one example, the Social workers play one of their chief roles, in standards by which home finders used to appraise house, its size, furnishing and cleanliness. Today society, by assisting their clients to participate they are more concerned with the atmosphere of actively in its dynamism. the home and the warmth of family relationships PLEASURE PRINCIPLE The psychological need for externals has been recognized in relief standards to a certain extent Charity workers in the nineteenth century put provision is made for the status element in food their emphasis, in dealing with their beneficiaries made the first great break with our puritanic past,, e, othing and shelter. But the social worker has on work for work's sake. The social settlements been moving steadily away from the conception of e of doling out things to that of by their insistence that even slum dwellers had a with people. In considering the relationships of right to a full and rich life. They tried to break her clients, her attention has been directed away into the vicious cycle of the working man's day he went from long hours of monotonous labor in from their ranking and competitive aspects to the the factory to equally degrading hours in the satisfactions to be gained at a deeper level of saloon. The provision of opportunities for satis human interaction fying enjoyment, especially for children, has been an important aspect of social work in the past SIMPLE ANSWER three-quarters of a century In the nineteenth century and before, simple One of the interesting developments in case answers were the only ones available but social work in the last twenty-five years has been the work experience fully demonstrated their ineffec- attempt to remove the sense of guilt from the tiveness. "Not alms but a friend"sounded well to acceptance of relief. Social workers have gone Victorian ears, but did not stand up under the farther, to the position that their clients have a scrutiny of intelligent minds trained in the social right to enjoy life, even if they are not completely sciences of the modern age 16 The Travelers Aid ndependent economically. 4 Pleasure is not, how- and the Red Cross have been forced by circum- ever, an end in itself but one means to personality stances to invest short-time contacts with growth. Reference has already been made to the and significance, but where it is at all possible the emphasis upon rewards in the new social learning social-work relationship is given time to develop theory. Gregory Bateson contrasts the Balinese The major change, however, came with the reali ociety in which mens actions are controlled by zation that most personal problems are not just oyment of fear, with the American in mon lays its part but ofte hich the hope of reward is so widely pervasive. symbol of deeper difficulties. The emphasis today He raises the question as to whether we could be is on the complexity of the task of the social urred to maximum effort by " a nameless, shape- worker and the need for her long training and less, unlocated hope of enormous achievement. 5 experience in human relationships. One of the most A social worker would probably reply that for her interesting aspects of social work to watch, is the clients a tangible movie or a new dress or a summer growing development in sharing with clients this acation would probably be more immediately sense of the complexity of their own motivations stimulating. 16 Not alms but a friend motto coined by robert treat paine for the associated Charities of Social Planning and the Con- Boston in the eighteen-nineties g, in Theodore M. Newcomb R. S. Wilson, The Short Contact in Social Work Psychology (New Fork tley (eds ) Readings in Social A Stady of Time-limited Relationships in Social Work and EugeneAMVERICAN CULTURAL THEMES AND SOCIAL WORK 295 the mass of men. The individual has to fit himself into his designated role or be destroyed by the state. In America, the individual retains at least some sense of freedom and autonomy. By his voluntary acceptance of new attitudes and activ￾ities, he contributes to their general adoption. Social workers play one of their chief roles, in trying to ease the strains and tensions of a dynamic society, by assisting their clients to participate actively in its dynamism. PLEASURE PRINCIPLE Charity workers in the nineteenth century put their emphasis, in dealing with their beneficiaries, on work for work's sake. The social settlements made the first great break with our puritanic past, by their insistence that even slum dwellers had a right to a full and rich life. They tried to break into the vicious cycle of the working man's day as he went from long hours of monotonous labor in the factory to equally degrading hours in the saloon. The provision of opportunities for satis￾fying enjoyment, especially for children, has been an important aspect of social work in the past three-quarters of a century. One of the interesting developments in case work in the last twenty-five years has been the attempt to remove the sense of guilt from the acceptance of relief. Social workers have gone farther, to the position that their clients have a right to enjoy life, even if they are not completely independent economically.14 Pleasure is not, how￾ever, an end in itself but one means to personality growth. Reference has already been made to the emphasis upon rewards in the new social learning theory. Gregory Bateson contrasts the Balinese society in which men's actions are controlled by the "enjoyment of fear," with the American in which the hope of reward is so widely pervasive. He raises the question as to whether we could be spurred to maximum effort by "a nameless, shape￾less, unlocated hope of enormous achievement."'5 A social worker would probably reply that for her clients a tangible movie or a new dress or a summer vacation would probably be more immediately stimulating. EXTERNALISM Here again social work is either parting company with mass culture or leading the way to new evalu￾ations. Social work itself has changed in the last quarter of a century. To give one example, the standards by which home finders used to appraise foster homes for children were the externals of the house, its size, furnishing and cleanliness. Today they are more concerned with the atmosphere of the home and the warmth of family relationships. The psychological need for externals has been recognized in relief standards to a certain extent. Provision is made for the status element in food and clothing and shelter. But the social worker has been moving steadily away from the conception of her job as one of doling out things to that of dealing with people. In considering the relationships of her clients, her attention has been directed away from their ranking and competitive aspects to the satisfactions to be gained at a deeper level of human interaction. SIMPLE ANSWERS In the nineteenth century and before, simple answers were the only ones available, but social￾work experience fully demonstrated their ineffec￾tiveness. "Not alms but a friend" sounded well to Victorian ears, but did not stand up under the scrutiny of intelligent minds trained in the social sciences of the modern age.'6 The Travelers Aid and the Red Cross have been forced by circum￾stances to invest short-time contacts with meaning and significance, but where it is at all possible the social-work relationship is given time to develop.17 The major change, however, came with the reali￾zation that most personal problems are not just monetary. Money plays its part but often as a symbol of deeper difficulties. The emphasis today is on the complexity of the task of the social worker and the need for her long training and experience in human relationships. One of the most interesting aspects of social work to watch, is the growing development in sharing with clients this sense of the complexity of their own motivations 14lIbid. 15 Gregory Bateson, "Social Planning and the Con￾cept of 'Deutero-learning'," in Theodore M. Newcomb and Eugene L. Hartley (eds.), Readings in Social Psychology (New York, 1947), pp. 121-128. 16 "Not alms but a friend," was a motto coined by Robert Treat Paine for the Associated Charities of Boston in the eighteen-nineties. 17 R. S. Wilson, The Short Contact in Social Work: A Stuedy of Time-limited Relationships in Social Work (New York, 1937)