COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY.

 LESSON ONE

Demonstrate Understanding of the Basic Concepts of Community Psychology

1.1 Define Basic Concepts

Psychology 

( Psychology is the study of mind and behavior. It icludes the biological influences, social pressures, and environmental factors that affect how people think, act, and feel. 

( Psychology is a broad and diverse field that encompasses the study of human thought, behavior, development, personality, emotion, motivation, and more.

Community 

( Community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as norms, religion, values, customs, identity etc. 

( A community is commonly considered as a social unit (a group of people) who has something in common, such as norms, values, identity, and often a sense of place that is situated in a given geographical area (e.g a village, town, or neighborhood)

( Human communities may share intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, and risks in common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.

( A community is a small or large social unit (a group of living things) that has something in common, such as norms, religion, values, or identity.

Norms 

( Norms are established standards of behavior maintained by a society for example ("the current middle-class norm of two children per family"). There are two types of norms namely formal norms and informal norms. 

Formal norms; refers to norms that have generally been written down, and that specify strict rules for punishment of violators. 

Informal norms; refers to norms that are generally understood, but that are not precisely recorded. 

Religion 

( Is a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny.

( is a human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence.

( Believers and worshippers participate in and are often enjoined to perform devotional or contemplative practices such as prayer, meditation, or particular rituals. 

( Worship, moral conduct, right belief, and participation in religious institutions are among the constituent elements of the religious life.

Values 

( Refer to collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable, and proper or bad, undesirable, and improper in a culture. 

( Examples of values includes safety, self-development, confidence, self-discipline, creativity, relationships, patience, forgiveness to self and others, gratitude, peace of mind, happiness, self-care/hygiene, grooming, integrity, being accountable, freedom, self-reliance, interdependence, non-violence, helpfulness, sharing, flexible cooperatively, empathy, compassion, success, personal truth, wisdom etc. 

Customs 

( Customs are accepted or habitual practice in the society or a specific practice of long standing in a particular society.

( A custom is a pattern of behavior that is followed by members of a particular culture, for example, shaking hands upon meeting someone, bowing, and kissing.

Identity 

( Identity is the individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known or is a group of people living in a particular local area or community may refer to a group of nations having common interest or ownership. 

( Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, town, or neighbourhood) or in virtual space through communication platforms.

Community psychology 

( Is the branch of psychology which concerns with the relationships of individuals with communities and societies

( This is made possible by integrating research with action, it seeks to understand and enhance quality of life for individuals, communities, and societies or 

( Community psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with person environment interactions and the ways society affects individual and community functioning. 

( Community psychology deals mainly with the issues such as empowerment, diversity, civic participation, building a sense of community, problem prevention, health promotion and individual wellness

Social order 

( Refers to a state of stability and consensus (agreement in the judgment or opinion reached by a group as a whole) that exists in the absence of chaos (a state of extreme confusion and disorder) and upheaval (a state of violent disturbance and disorder (as in politics or social conditions generally) Or 

( Social order is a fundamental concept in pychology that refers to the way the various components of society work together to maintain the status quo (the existing state of affairs). 

( Examples social order includes the ancient social order, the feudal social order, and the capitalist social order. 

Sense of community 

( McMillan and Chavis, 1986 defined a sense of community as the feeling that members have of belonging, the feeling that the members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that their needs will be met through their commitment to be together. 

1.2 History of Community Psychology

( Community psychology emerged in different countries throughout the world (Reich et al., 2007). 

( In the US, it began in the 1960s during a time when the nation was faced with protests, demonstrations, urban unrest, and intense struggles over issues such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement.

( Many group of psychologists during the 1960s become dissatisfied with the ability of clinical psychology to address those broader social issues. 

( The recognition that the psychological well-being of individual cannot be understood in isolation from broader social contexts is what influenced the beginning of community psychology as a field. 

( Many psychologists wanted to find ways to help solve these pressing societal issues, and some therapists were becoming increasingly disillusioned with their passive role in solely delivering the medical model, office-based psychotherapy (Cowen, 1973). 

( At the 1965 Swampscott Conference in the US, the term “Community Psychology” was first used, and it signaled new roles and opportunities for psychologists by extending the reach of services to those who had been under-represented, focusing on prevention rather than just treatment of psychological problems, and by actively involving community members in the change process (Bennett et al., 1966). 

( Over the past five decades, the field of community psychology has matured with recurring themes of prevention, social justice, and an ecological understanding of people within their environments. 

  ( The goals of community psychology have been to examine and better understand complex individual–environment interactions in order to bring about social change, particularly for those who have limited resources and opportunities.

( Community psychology emphasizes prevention of social problems over treatment, highlighting competences over weaknesses ,collaboration across disciplines, exploring ecological understanding of people within their environment, promoting diversity, and focusing on community building as a made of intervention.

Swampscott conferences

( U.S community psychology was founded at a conference in Swampscott, Massachusetts, 1965

( The conference spawned a new type of action oriented psychology called community psychology.

( Community psychology became an innovative approach to research and practice, and quickly became a new field of study.

( The field now includes a set of principles and practice competences that have evolved to fit contemporary challenges.

1.3. The Function of Community Psychology 

( Community psychologists have the role of helping the community arrive at a specific goal. Community psychologists can play a key role in helping communities decide on the specific goals for a community improvements effort.

( Community psychologists have the role in assisting community coalitions to clarify what community members want to change.

( Community psychologists have the role of developing strategies for community change.

( To assist communities in improving the well-being of the members of the community

( Community psychologists have the role of recognizing people’s strengths, weakness and resources 

( Community psychologists have the role of breaking down existing social barriers in the society. 

( Emphasize empowerment and collaboration, rather than dictate solutions 

( Community psychologists have the role of promoting the sharing of skills and knowledge.

( Community psychologists have the role of recognizing that all research is value-based. 

( Community psychologists have the role of using both qualitative and quantitative research methods to understand social problems.

LESSON TWO

Interpret Community Psychology Principles to Community Development Practices 

2.1. The Principles of Community Psychology

( Principles are the theoretical assumptions on which a concept (i.e community psychology) is build, or principles are the values that influence and motivate action in the field.

( The framers of these principles hoped to portray what were commonly agreed on fundamentals of community psychology, but they also noted that these were aspirations.

 Ecological Approach 

( Ecology is the branch of biology concerned with the relations between organisms and their environment. 

( Ecological approach involves the characterization of how the environment influences the abundance and availability of a given resource. 

( From the ecological point of view, the environment is a collection of natural factors (physical, chemical, and biological) capable of affecting living organisms. 

( Looks at the ecological systems, including political, cultural, and environmental influences, as well as focusing on institutional and organizational factors.

 System Approach

( Is a paradigm or perspective involving a focus on the whole picture and not just a single element or

( Awareness of the wider context, an appreciation for interactions among different components, and transdisciplinary thinking (Leischow and Milstein, 2006)

 Interdisciplinary Work 

( Interdisciplinary is characterized by participation of two or more fields of study. 

( An interdisciplinary approach involves team members from different disciplines working collaboratively, with a common purpose, to set goals, make decisions and share resources and responsibilities.

( In an interdisciplinary team, specialists work closely together sharing specialist knowledge across disciplines. 

( Each professional takes responsibility for coordinating their information and intervention with that of other members of the team.

( Community Psychology promotes interdisciplinary collaboration with professionals from a diverse array of fields. 

 Empirical Grounding

( It simultaneously stresses the utility of research, not only for theory development, but for program evaluation and policy analysis.

( Community psychology may sound like some kind of social movement or grassroots organization but it is very different due to the value for empirical grounding. 

( Information of community psychology is derived from experiment and observation rather than theory. 

( Evidence from research is mostly empirically based which means “dependent on evidence or consequences that are observable by the senses” (Wikipedia, 2008). 

( Therefore the data collected from community psychology is produced by experiment or observation. 

( Research done in community psychology is carefully carried out and therefore has the respect, and is as valued as, other areas of psychology.

 Evaluation Approach

( is an act of ascertaining or fixing the value or worth of something or an appraisal of the value of something.

( Evaluation is seen as an essential element of social change and social innovation. 

( Community psychologists believe that it is important to evaluate whether their policy and social change preventive interventions have been successful in meeting their objectives, and the voice of the community should be brought into these evaluation efforts. 

( They conduct community-based action-oriented research and often employ multiple methods including what are called qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research.

( Sometimes additional training and support for local people in carrying out evaluations will be required, and this is a key component of community psychological work. 

 Community Prevention and Action 

 ( Prevention and action as a principle of community psychology they emphasize mainly on; 

Prevention from child maltreatment 

Prevention from mental health problems

Allowing competence building 

Prevention through risk reduction 

Prevention from HIV/AIDS and other social problems 

Promotion of community based health

2.2 The Importance of Psychology Principles to Human Behavior

( It advocates social changes rather than individual change in the respected area.

( It makes human services and organizations more effective and human

( It understands, explain, and predict the thought, emotions, and the behavior of man.

( It emphasizes ecological thinking, which leads to change of individuals.

( It insist on prevention rather than awaiting the problem arises

( It emphasizes intervention on the larger context within the all members of the community.

( It helps to deal with diverse of people with different behaviors.

LESSON THREE

To Demonstrate Understanding of Psychology Theories in Social Change

3.1 The values of community psychology

Empowerment 

( Empowerment refers to the process by which people gain control over the factors and decisions that shape their lives. 

( It is the process by which they increase their assets and attributes and build capacities to gain access, partners, networks and/or a voice, in order to gain control.

Social Justice

 ( A core value of community psychology is seeking social justice through research and actions.

( Community psychologists are often advocates for equality and policies that allow for the wellbeing of all people, particularly marginalized populations.

( Social justice is a process not an outcome. That’s why seeks fair distribution of resources, opportunity as well as responsibilities.

( Social justice challenges the roots of oppression and injustice. Also it empowers all people to exercise self determination and realize their full potential. 

( Along with building social solidarity and community capacity for collaborative action

( Justice means judgment involved in the determination of rights and the assignment of rewards and punishments.

( Social justice may be fair treatment and an equal share of the benefits of society. 

( Community psychology emphasizes social justice through research and action. 

( They advocate for equality in policies that allow the well-being of all members in the society. 

( Social justice underpins a number of human rights. These include:

Right to have a more equal and equitable distribution of resources.

Right to live in peace and in freedom from constraints 

Right to equality and fair treatment

Right to self determination

Community Diversity

( Another value of community psychology involves embracing diversity.

( Diversity means differences.

( While diversity is often a term used to refer specifically to cultural differences, diversity applies to all the qualities that make people different.

( There are four (4) types of diversity that will be examined which are occupation, difference in skills and ability, personality traits, and values and attitudes.

( Community psychology values and celebrates cultural diversity.

( Diversity is about empowering people by respecting and appreciating what makes them different. 

( This is done in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, and national origin 

( Community psychology values a multicultural perspective. 

( Community Psychology has respect for diversity and appreciates the views and norms of groups from different ethnic or racial backgrounds, as well as those of different genders, sexual orientations, and levels of abilities or disabilities

( Community psychologists work to counter oppression such as; 

Racism is the situation whereby white persons have access to resources and opportunities not available to ethnic minorities.

Sexism is the discrimination directed at women. 

Heterosexism is the discrimination toward non-heterosexuals.

Ableism is the discrimination toward those with physical or mental disabilities.

( The task of creating a more equitable society should not fall on the shoulders of those who have directly experienced its inequalities, including ethnic minorities, the disabled, and other underprivileged populations

( Community psychologist positively encourages diversity and seeks to enable people to become empowered through inclusive individual, group and collective action. 

( In their work, community psychologists explore the nature of oppression, in partnership with people marginalised by the social system. 

( Thus they may draw attention to ways in which people are excluded from full social life or are treated unfairly by professionals and others.

( They try to ensure that their work includes people irrespective of class, race, ethnicity, culture, age and disability. 

( Their ways of working encourage others, too, to welcome diversity.

Community Collaboration

 ( Community collaboration refers to the ability of individuals to have a voice of in decision making, defining and addressing problems, and the dissemination of information gathered on them.

( This is the basis for the usage of participatory action research in community psychology.

( Collaboration means the act of working jointly or the act of cooperating faithless (false) with an enemy that is occupying your country.  

( Community psychology encourages collaboration with community members in order to obtain various resources. 

( When citizens participate in an equal way they may feel empowered. 

( Citizen participation allows people to have a voice in decision-making but requires an ongoing relationship between the researcher and the community. 

Community Participation

( The community approach encourages client/citizen participation and recognizes the demand for local empowerment, bureaucratic decentralization, and self-help/mutual aid.

( Involving community groups and community members in an egalitarian partnership and collaboration is one means of enabling people to re-establish power and control over the obstacles or barriers they confront.

( Community psychology approach shifts the power dynamic so that all parties collaborate by participating in the decision-making. 

( Community members are seen as resources that provide unique points of view about the community and the institutional barriers that might need to be overcome in social justice interventions. 

( All partners are involved equally in the research process in what is called community-based participatory research. 

Emphasis on Personal strengths

( Community psychology emphasizes community and personal strengths and competences, as opposed to weaknesses and pathology. 

Appreciation of the authority of historical and structural contexts.

3.2 The Social Psychological Theories 

What is a theory?

( According to Kerlinger (1986), a theory is a set of interrelated construct (concepts), definition, and propositions that presents systematic view of phenomenon by specifying relations among variables, with the purpose of explaining and predicting phenomena.

( Baron, Byrne and Suls (1989) define social psychology theory as a scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior in social situations’ in community psychology. The following are social psychological theories namely; 

Social Dominance Theory

( The theory was formulated in 1999 by psychology professor and researchers Jim Sidanius and Felicia Pratto. 

( The theory begins with the observation that human social groups tend to be organized according to group based social hierarchies in societies that produce economic surplus.

( Is a theory of intergroup relations that focuses on the maintenance and stability of group based social hierarchy

( According to the theory, group based inequalities are maintained through three primary intergroup behavior namely institutional discrimination, aggregate individual discrimination and behavior asymmetry.

( The theory proposes that widely shared cultural ideologies i.e legitimizing myths provide the moral and intellectual justification for these intergroup behaviors

( Social dominance theory is a multi - level theory of how societies maintain group - based dominance. 

( Nearly all stable societies can be considered group - based dominance hierarchies, in which one social group – often an ethnic, religious, national, or racial one – holds disproportionate power and enjoys special privileges, and at least one other group has relatively little political power or ease in its way of life.

( As examples, consider the relationship between contemporary Western European nations and their immigrant groups and Roma, between the ruling elites of South America and their indigenous peoples, or between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians.

( In all cases, the economic, educational, and health outcomes are superior for members of the dominant groups from what they are for members of the subordinate groups. 

( Moreover, societies recognize the legal rights of dominants and portray their ways of living as virtuous and characteristic of the whole society, whereas subordinates receive little social recognition and are even stigmatized.

( Group dominance societies also feature an intersecting kind of group oppression, namely sexism, men holding disproportionate power and freedoms compared with women, and heterosexism being privileged over other kinds of sexuality. 

( Social dominance theory describes how processes at different levels of social organization, from cultural ideologies and institutional discrimination to gender roles and the psychology of prejudice, work together to produce stable group - based inequality.

Community Constructionist Theory

( Is a theory of knowledge in sociology and communication theory that examines the development of jointly constructed understanding of the world that forms the basis for shared assumptions about reality.

( The founder of the theory is John Dewey (1933/1998) is often cited as the philosophical founder of this approach. 

( Bruner (1990) and Piaget 1972 are considered the chief theorists among the cognitive constructivists.

( While Vgotsky (1978) is the major theorist among the social constructivists.

( Society is based on the social construction of reality. 

( How we define society influences how society actually is. 

( Likewise, how we see other people influences their actions as well as our actions toward them. 

( We all take on various roles throughout our lives, and our social interactions depend on what types of roles we assume, who we assume them with, and the scene where interaction takes place.

( Social constructivism suggests that successful teaching and learning is heavily dependent on interpersonal interaction and discussion, with the primary focus on the students' understanding of the discussion (Prawat, 1992).

( A social construct or construction concerns the meaning, notion, or connotation placed on an object or event by a society, and adopted by the inhabitants of that society with respect to how they view or deal with the object or event.

( In that respect, a social construct as an idea would be widely accepted as natural by the society.

( A major focus of social constructionism is to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the construction of their perceived social reality. 

( Social constructionism involves looking at the ways social phenomena are developed, institutionalized, known, and made into tradition by humans.

An example of a social construct is money or the concept of currency, as people in society have agreed to give it importance/value.

Another example of social construction is beauty or the concept of beauty, as people in the society have agreed that a thin, tall and white girl relate to beauty and approachable person in the society while a fat, short and black girl seems to be agry and inapproachable.  

Another example of a social construction is the concept of self/self-identity. Charles Cooley stated based on his looking-glass self theory: "I am not who you think I am; I am not who I think I am; I am who I think you think I am." 

Another example, your school exists as a school and not just as a building because you and others agree that it is a school or

For example, a teenager who is repeatedly given a label-overachiever, player, bum—might live up to the term even though it initially wasn’t a part of his character.

( This demonstrates how people in society construct ideas or concepts that may not exist without the existence of people or language to validate those concepts.

Community Empowerment Theory

( Community empowerment refers to the process of enabling communities to increase control over their lives.

( Communities are groups of people that may or may not be spatially connected, but who share common interests, concerns or identities.

( The term empowerment originates s from American community psychologists and is associated with the social scientists Julian Rappoport (1981) 

( However, the roots of empowerment theory extend further into history and are linked to Marxist sociological theory.

( Another important feature of community psychology is empowerment, defined as the process by which people and communities who have historically not had control over their lives become masters of their own fate. 

( Empowerment refers to the process by which people gain control over the factors and decisions that shape their lives. 

( It is the process by which they increase their assets and attributes and build capacities to gain access, partners, networks and/or a voice, in order to gain control.

( Community empowerment theory states that people and communities who are empowered have greater autonomy and self-determination, gain more access to resources, participate in community decision-making, and begin to work toward changing oppressive community and societal conditions. 

3.3 The Importance of Community Psychological Theory

( Provide a basis for understanding the mind and behavior.

-Community psychological theories provide a framework for understanding human behavior, thought and development by having a broad base of understanding about the how’s and why’s of human behavior, we can better understand ourselves and others.

( Community psychological theories inspire future research.

- Community psychological theories create a basis for future research. Researchers use theory to form hypothesis that can be tested. As new discoveries are made and incorporated into the original theory, new questions and ideas can be explored. 

( Community psychological theories are important for anyone who is trying to bring about social change.

- They help point us to what is really important to change, versus what might be more trivial and lead to ineffective action.

( Provision of Useful ways of Thinking

- Community psychological theories have provided us with useful ways of thinking about the importance of the individual in relationship to the environment or community.

- The individual is influenced by the environment, which means that we must look beyond just individual factors when we try to analyze social problems or develop community interventions.

( Consideration of Diversities in the Community

- Community psychological theories consider the dynamics among groups, organizations, and whole communities as they relate within certain settings, and help guide thinking around the development of community interventions.

3.4. Relationship Between Community Psychology Theories to Community Development Practices

( Help in identifying issues with members of the community.

( Helps to locate, evaluate and apply information from diverse information sources to new situations.

( It evaluates programs/services, develop evaluation designs.

( It collect, analyse report and interpret evaluation of data.

( It deals with diverse people with different behaviors.