Defining Community Psychology
Community psychology is guided by its core values of individual and family wellness,
sense of community, respect for human diversity, social justice, citizen participation,
collaboration and community strengths, and empirical grounding.
Community Psychology Values and Approaches
Sense of community: This refers to the degree to which community members feel a
sense of belonging or membership in their community.
Ecological perspective: In adopting an ecological perspective, community psychology
is concerned with the fit between people and their environments, as well as the
consequences of not achieving an optimal person–environment fit.
Wellness and prevention. Here, wellness refers to both physical and mental well-
being.
Respect for diversity. Community psychology respects diversity, valuing differences
among people rather than assigning negative and stigmatizing labels to those who
are not members of the dominant group or culture.
Social justice. This value refers to the fair and equitable distribution of resources
and opportunities within society, and advocating for the rights of the least
privileged members of society.
Citizen participation and empowerment: This value refers to helping people to gain
control over their own lives and to take active roles in participating in issues that
affect their communities.
SENSE OF COMMUNITY
1. Membership. This is the idea that a community has geographical or social
boundaries, and we can determine who belongs in the community and who does
not. Membership in a community can bring about a sense of emotional safety,
belonging, and the desire to invest in one’s community.
2. Influence. This refers to the power an individual has within a community and the
power the community has over the individual. Individuals who feel as though their
presence in the community doesn’t make a difference are unlikely to feel a strong
sense of community.
3. Integration and fulfillment of needs. Community members are interdependent.
This refers to the idea of shared values among community members, satisfying each
other’s needs, and sharing goods and resources.
4. Shared emotional connection. Community members in a cohesive community will
feel a shared bond with others within their community. This can be a result of a
spiritual bond, or cultivated through shared experiences, celebrations, or rituals.
The Internet as a source of help. The general movement toward receiving counseling help
or treatment in nonvirtual communities (rather than through hospitalization) is mirrored in
the increasing use of online help for both medical and psychiatric problems, often in the
form of online community self-help groups.
These can provide both factual information and social/emotional support for people
dealing with a common problem.
In many ways, this development reflects the virtual equivalent of well-known nonvirtual
“face-to-face” community groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and those associated with
community crisis centers.
Social exchange theory
In real or anticipated social situations, such as the potential rental situations in our
examples, people will usually (instantly and internally) calculate the anticipated
psychological “rewards” and “costs” of various actions (e.g., renting vs. “getting out
of” renting a room) and then behave according to these personal calculations.
That is, they will ultimately carry out the action perceived as likely to bring lower
psychological costs and/or higher rewards—in effect, leading to the least amount of
hassle.
The Media and Stigmatization
A major concern regarding the problem of stigmatization in the community concerns
the media’s role, particularly with regard to newspaper, television, and movie
portrayals.
News broadcasts seldom report positive or outstanding accomplishments by those
bearing the mental illness label, so there is little to counteract the frequent negative
portrayals of those with serious mental illness.
BRINGING ABOUT SOCIAL CHANGE
Mass mobilization. This describes temporary movements in which large numbers of
people are amassed to bring attention to particular societal issues or problems
Social action. Social action strives to create powerful organizations at the
community level, often through the development and activities of “grassroots
organizations.”
Citizen participation. This strategy aims to get citizens involved in their communities,
for example, by serving as representatives on community panels and boards of
government agencies.
Public advocacy. This usually involves lobbying or applying pressure on public
officials to pass laws or influence social policies.
Popular education. Educating and disseminating information to community
members can be an important strategy for changing attitudes and beliefs and
possibly even behaviors.
Local services development. This refers to a process whereby people provide
services to their own local community, which serves the dual function of
empowering community members and providing needed services.
Using Research to Influence Social Change
Empirical grounding: This refers to the idea that research is an important component
in community psychology and that research and action are seen as strongly
interconnected.
Action research was developed and advocated for use in psychology by Kurt Lewin
“comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social
action and research leading to social action”
The process for a single research project is much more like a straight line.
The planning takes place, the study is carried out, and the project is considered
to be complete when the original plan has been executed and the data have
been analyzed and interpreted.
The data from that study may then be used to evaluate the theory driving the
research.
Lewin also thought that for any social change to be long lasting, the action plan
must be developed based on diagnosis of the problem within the specific social
context (e.g., the local community or factory) and must involve the cooperation
of the people from that setting.
Participatory research involves a very different level of involvement. A study can be said to
be participatory when it requires the involvement of people from the group or community
of interest in some or all of the stages of research.
“participatory research combines three activisties: investigation, education, and
action”
The investigation part of the process is a “social” investigation “involving
participation of oppressed and ordinary people in problem posing and solving”
The participants in the study and the researchers are educated in the process about
the possible causes of the problem “through collective discussion and interaction”
Finally, both the researchers and the participants “join in solidarity to take collective
action, both short and long term”