Explanation of Johnson's Theory
Dorothy E. Johnson formulated her Behavioral Systems Model, an analytical theory or approach to the practice of nursing during the 1960s. Deploying a rigorous scientific analysis towards human behavior (as embodied in the psychological approach of B.F. Skinner towards human behavior and psychology) was increasingly popular in Post-World War II American academic research and medical practice. Julia George writes in her textbook Nursing Theories (1994) that Dorothy E. Johnson created her Behavioral System Model to render the patient's behaviors the nurse's primary area of analysis. In other words, what can be observed is what is important when acting as a nurse, rather than the patient's presumed internal state. Treat the patient, not the illness, and see the patient from the perspective of an observer, not an involved emotional participant. In Johnson's view, every human person was a kind of ecosystem, or constellation of behaviors existing in a state of sufficiency or insufficiency in terms of their needs and balance or imbalance in terms of their homeostatic processes. The behavioral system of the human body and mind has seven subsystems in Johnson's approach. All of these diverse subsystems are interrelated, although they can
It is important to remember, however, that when Johnson formulated her theory, nursing was still having trouble achieving status as a recognized health care profession on par with that of physicians. Noting behaviors also means that less experienced nurses, even if they may be uncertain of a diagnosis, can record what they observe, and pass the information on to their superiors. (George, 1994) The phenomena of primary interest to nursing are behaviors, according to Johnson, regardless of the original goal or desired origin, and although a desire for aggression may be an internal state, the nurse can only observe, not pass judgment on how the patient is psychologically motivated to select such behaviors. Johnson believed that all subsystem goals were the same, although what the individual did to achieve these goals could vary considerably, depending on culture or personal inclination. Treatment focuses on changing behaviors, the environment, and the effects of the other subsystems on the system that is in a state of imbalanceDescription of supportive theories from which the selected nursing theory was derivedAs with many early 20th century nursing theories, Florence Nightingale provides the foundation of Johnson's formulation of nursing as a profession and a science. In short, focusing on behavior and training scientific observation is one way to ensure that critical details do not go unnoticed, and that critical care needs are not overlooked. "Skinner's self-described 'radical behaviorist' approach" was "radical in its insistence on extending behaviorist strictures against inward experiential processes to include inner physiological ones as well" (Hauser, 2006). (George, 1994)The behaviors associated with each subsystem arise from basic human instinctual physical and psychological drives related to desired goals and sets of likely responses specific to the individual. Also, because nursing was then a largely female profession, it was also seen as less scientific and reliant upon scientific observation. Furthermore, each subsystem had a finite range of behaviors or inclinations ("Johnson Behavioral System (JBS) Model," 2002). A direct stimulus-response relationship in a response in learning (like pleasure and reward) a nurse like Johnson could apply to the external environment of the patient to identify a need and then treat that need. When one of these systems is unbalanced, or subject to an external or internal stress, such as an infectious disease or a psychological state of anxiety, the stressful stimulus disturbs the equilibrium and causes tension, which the nurse must use observational skills to see, deduce the cause, and then reduce the stressful stimulus. Johnson did not question Nightingale's focus on helping the sick prevent or recover from a physical ailment, infection, or injury as the focus of the nursing profession.
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