Macro Perspective Of Poverty Essay

Effects of Poverty from a Micro and Macro Perspective The topic of poverty has been around for many of years, and so has the relationship between poverty and behavioral theory. Behavior theory can be used to understand the impact of poverty amongst children, and it focuses on their lack of financial resources, poor housing and inadequate education. Piaget’s behavioral model also examined the connection between a child’s environment and their response to their environment (Saul, 2007). Piaget’s is used to help gain an understanding of why children that live in poverty suffers from mental health issues, low self-esteem and poor education. There are other ways to examine poverty amongst children and that is to look into their external resources that they may or may not have, such as poor housing, lack of …show more content…
This practice caused individuals of color to move closer to their jobs, and that area soon turned into the “ghetto”, because factory owners moved away, leaving the neighborhood with only immigrants and African Americans (Hilfiker, 2006). Ghettos were the beginning of segregation that led to discrimination of education and job opportunities, which led to years of African Americans being denied the same resources for generations to come (Hilfiker, 2006). There are two individuals that are connected with behavioral theory: John Watson and Ivan Pavlov, and both of them focused their research and studies on observational behaviors (Wilson, 1989). There are 46.7 million Americans that are living below the poverty line (Census Bureau, 2014), and these individuals have financial issues, along with issues maintaining material wants and needs, when viewed by society. However, from a psychological perspective, poverty is “an outcome of inequalities that render certain demographic groups more vulnerable” (APA, 2001). For children, poverty can lead to unequal opportunities compared to their wealthier