PSY 4134: Community Psychology Midterm

Midterm

what is community psychology?

• A field of study

• An approach to psych that aims to be relevant to real world problems

• A values-driven research and action discipline

• A protest movement, w/in psych

• A critique of psychology

aspects of community psych:  aims to be relevant to real world problems

• Addresses social problems that effect our communities

• Generate understanding + solutions in the community

aspects of community psych: a values-driven research and action discipline

• Values of social justice, diversity, inclusion, empowerment, etc. which drives our choices on how + what is studied

• Action-driven = doing stuff in the community + including ppl in the research process

aspects of community psych: a protest movement, w/in psych

• Early psychologist realized community psych isn't enough to deal w/ the challenges in the community in the 60s

• Tries to challenge regular psych in their priorities + emphasis on change

aspects of community psych: a critique of psychology

Turning a critical lens on psychology as a whole and ourselves (includes being critical of community psych itself)

how does community happen?

• Contrast w/ thinking of phenomena in psych as objects w/ dimensions, or elements

• Focuses on actions or events that bring community into being

  • Community can be thought of as something we have, a network of relations

    • However it's something we do

  • Happens as a result of us doing things

• Places question of community into context of environmental factors that can shape, facilitate , or inhibit community

  • Environment is important in creating interaction = community (i.e., creating community in an apartment building vs. a suburb)

  • Physical context promotes or dissuades community

• Invites Qs of how community can happen, or not happen, for diff ppl

  • Such as ppl w/ a disability, newcomers, and homeless

  • Thinking abt our social problems in a process-view and a contextual-view

ralph stacey’s organizational theory

• Organizations exist to the limit of communication

• Organizations are effectively dead when the same conversations happen over and over

  • How do communicates communicate?

  • Who is included in community conversations?

  • Who is excluded?

  • Who influences community conversations?

how does community psych happen?

• Some of it happens the way that other kinds of psych happen

  • Theory

  • Investigator-driven research

• A lot of it happens w/ the involvement of others

  • Community members, services, organizations, decision-makers, etc.

• A lot of it happens outside of the uni

• A lot of it focuses on issues that affect ppl in their daily lives

what is psychology?

• Psychology is often defined in terms of the study of individuals

• Even social phenomena is studied in terms of social cognition (how we interpret social info and is the basis for behaviour)

what are the limitations of studying the individual?

• Our interventions often amount to changing individuals

  • There may not be a true psychology of the individual (how we think abt ourselves is through social tools)

• Our solutions are limited

  • There are no truly individual problems or interventions

  • All problems are social problems to some extent

community psychology

the scientific study of community phenomena

community psychologist

a psychologist who applies scientific discoveries + interventions to the community

community psychology: definition

• Concerns the relationships of individuals w/ organizations, communities, and societies

  • Focuses not on the individual or community alone but on their linkages

• Integrates research + action to understand and enhance quality of life for individuals, communities, and societies

  • Recognition that research is action

  • Doing research in a way that creates positive change

• Guided by core values

• Uses interdisciplinary methods + collaborations

  • Fields of study or practice do not "own" an issue or problem

community psychology is about relationships, groups, organizations, communities, social Policies

• Community psychologists have theories of ppl in relationships, groups, communities, organizations, etc.

• Community psychologists define problems + generate solutions @ many levels, not just with individuals

  • How to implement solutions

  • Broader social policies by raising concerns to politicians to effect change

• Shift from focusing only on individuals to considering how individuals, communities, and societies are intertwined

community psychology is about the real world

• Community psychology studies real-world problems + creates real-world solutions

  • Engaging with communities

• This requires + compels a complex understanding of ppl, the contexts in which they live, and the relationships that define them

fundamental principles of community psychology

• respect for diversity

• required for understanding individuals-in-communities

• attention to the importance of context + the environment

• empowerment means enhancing the possibility that ppl can more actively ctrl their own lives

• empowerment @ individual, group, organizational, and community levels

required for understanding individuals-in-communities (principles of community psych)

• Ethnicity/Race

• Gender

• Sexuality

• Social Class

attention to the importance of context + the environment (principles of community psych)

• B=f(P,E) - Lewin (behaviour is a function of the interaction b/w the person + the environment)

• The importance of settings and of the ppl in them

empowerment means enhancing the possibility that ppl can more actively ctrl their own lives (principles of community psych)

• Respect

• Self-Determination

• Self-Efficacy

  • Sometimes the availability of experts don't actually help as much as it should

  • Rather, supporting individuals in the community w/ the specialized knowledge of experts may be more beneficial

ecological levels of analysis

• microsystems

• mesosystems

• exosystems

• macrosystems

microsystems

 systems that have a direct influence on the individual

• (i.e., the home environment or family)

mesosystems

where microsystems interact (i.e., where school + family come together)

• Interactions among diff systems

• The relationships b/w systems

• i.e., how the family environment effects the work environment as seen in long commutes from work to home

exosystem

 include non-immediate, outside influences (i.e., government)

macrosystem

 influence interactions but do not contain specific settings (i.e., the culture)

other central concepts

• prevention (rather than treatment)

• mrazek & haggerty’s classification system

• social justice

• address by

• emphasis on strength + competencies

• social change (efforts to shift community values, attitudes, and expectations)

• action research (designed to resolve social problems)

• an interdisciplinary perspective is best

prevention (rather than treatment) - central concept

• A lot of our services come from waiting for ppl to get bad before intervening late

• Rather, intervening early as a preventive measure is demonstrated to be more effective + inexpensive

• Important part of community psych is preventing problems from happening

mrazek & haggerty’s classification system - central concept

• IOM (Institute of Medicine)

  • Universal - programs which address the general public

  • Selective - programs aimed @ populations at risk for future problems

  • Indicated - programs designed for those beginning to system symptoms of a problem

    • Then they are provided individual-level treatments

social justice - central concept

• Equitable distributions of resources

  • Are resources distributed to those who need it most or those who can get it the easiest?

• Fairness

• Access

address by… - central concept

• Attending to + dealing w/ social processes

• Stopping marginalization + exclusion

emphasis on strength + competencies - central concept

• Competence - a sense of mastery

• Assets - discovering each individual's strengths

• Victim Blaming - not blaming the individual for the problem or disorder

social change (efforts to shift community values, attitudes, and expectations) - central concept

• Can include targeting pathogenic systems

• And may well challenge the status quo

action research (designed to resolve social problems) - central concept

• Should be grounded in theory

• Should involve an active partnership b/w the researcher + community members

an interdisciplinary perspective is best - central concept

• Complex Problems Require Complex Answers

• Collaboration Allows New Perspectives

• Collaboration Helps Prevent Disciplinary Chauvinism

levels of change

• first order

• second order

• It's easier to change 1st order than 2nd bc ppl are more open to changing themselves than others since ppl hate change as they're comfortable in it, even though it may not work

first order change

• Changing individuals to adapt to a system

  • i.e., better study skills, behaviour management, cooking, etc.

  • We improve behaviours so ppl do better in these systems

• Within group change

• Systems stays the same

second order change

• Change in the system

  • Change system so it works better for ppl interacting w/ the system

• Change relationship b/w groups

  • i.e., changing powers in the system so it is shared equitably

• Change in allocation of resources

community psychology: definition

concerns the relationships of individuals w/ communities + societies. By integrating research w/ action, it seeks to understand and enhance quality of life for individuals, communities, and societies

psychology of the individual

• Psychology - study of the individual

• Social Psychology - primarily cognitions + attitudes of individuals

• Abnormal Psychology - individual pathology

• Western (male) cultural framework that emphasizes individual autonomy + independence

roots of community psychology

• Emergence of a preventive perspective adopted from public health (i.e., disease prevention - polio, small pox)

• Emergence of community mental health movement

  • Deinstitutionalization

• Emergence of action research

• Social movements (i.e., civil rights, feminist)

deinstitutionalization

belief that those in mental health institutions are better suited living within society = terrible outcomes

• These ppl lost skills from living in institutions for so long + had no support after leaving (housing, care, etc.) 

conceptual/empirical contributions to community psychology

• Development of ecological theories (i.e., Bronfenbrenner, 1979)

• Identification of significance of social support

• Recognition of behavioural, environmental, structural contributions to health

  • A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians (1974)

  • Achieving Health for All (1986)

• Growth of interdisciplinary study

  • Working with those in various fields studying similar things (i.e., public health and psychology)

• Appreciation for human diversity

political factors contributing to community psychology

• Political activism

  • Civil Rights Movement, Feminist Movement

  • Raised questions about what psychology should be doing in light of these movements

• Funding of macro-level (large-scale)/Demonstration programs

  • Participaction = encouraging Canadians to exercise more

  • Better Beginnings, Better Futures = prevention program for high-risk communities

  • These interventions show good outcomes and that they last

• Funding of community research

professional factors contributing to community psychology

• Community psych largely emerged out of clinical psych

• Challenges to effectiveness of psychotherapy (doubts around 1-to-1 therapy)

• Service needs outstripping resources

• Geographical inequity of services

• Irrelevance of services

• Universities and community outreach

• Psychology emerges out of weird circumstances and community psych emerges bc of all these factors

challenges to effectiveness of psychotherapy (professional factors)

• Eysenck's research

• Research showing we can't fund 1-to-1 therapy to address all the mental illness out there

geographical inequity of services (professional factors)

• Not enough psychologically trained professionals available to address need

• Disparity in urban vs rural areas for mental health services

irrelevance of services (professional factors)

Lack of confidence that therapy will solve problems but knowledge that community psych may work

what do canadian community psychologists study?

• Values + Ethics

• Community Mental Health

• Health Promotion and Prevention

• Social Networks, Mutual Aid, Support Groups

• Inclusion/Diversity

• Social Intervention/Economic Development

• Participatory Action Research

How can these social systems and environments (groups, organizations, communities) be conceptualized to understand their relationships to the ppl who occupy them?

• Support an understanding of how environments or social systems may block personal growth + create problems in daily living OR,

• May promote health, well-being and competence

key assumptions

• Community psychology views problems in living terms of person-environment fit

• Some environments are a good fit for some but not all

what is behaviour in community psychology?

• Behaviour is a function of person and environment (functional relationship)

• Ppl act on an environment and the environment responds to you in some way

B = f(P,E)

behaviour = (person, environment)

• where ppl end up is the product of this interplay

Some environments are a good fit for some but not all

• How well we fit into our environment or our environment fits us

• Some of us can shape the environments we are in but others have less power to shape the environment

• The less power you have to shape the environment, the more you are affected by it and it shapes you

behaviour setting (barker)

 defined by time and space boundaries and by a standing pattern of behaviour (i.e., classroom, sporting event, church service)

• These environments predict certain behaviours

• Settings in the design, behaviour, distribution of power, roles, means that the individuals in the room is defined by the behaviour setting, not the actors in it

example of behaviour setting

at a doctors office, the routines of the office don't change regardless of time (going up to secretary to check in, going to sit in the waiting room and waiting to see the physician for an unknown amount of time)

• at a doctor’s office, the doctor would be in a position of power

elements of behaviour setting

• Behaviour settings have a place, time, and pattern of behaviours

• Ppl in behaviour settings are largely interchangeable

• Patterns of behaviour are guided by explicit or implicit rules

  • Rules not determined by those actors

  • Rules tell us who has the power

synomorphic

a match b/w physical setting + behaviour setting

• The setting is supportive of the activities taking place

goal of barker’s behaviour setting

to identify behaviour settings and to understand the physical features and social circuits (rules) that maintain them

barker’s “manning” theory is also known as

population theory

barker’s “manning” theory

Ppl's behaviour as a consequence of meaningful, desirable roles in a setting

• Ratio of roles in a behaviour setting + the # of ppl available to play them

overpopulated setting (manning theory)

Have more ppl than roles

• Where ppl don't have meaningful involvement, they find ways to have power + connection (could be why ppl break out into groups)

underpopulated settings (manning theory)

 have more roles than participants

optimally populated settings (manning theory)

settings have as many or more participants than roles

• What we want

• Good ratio of ppl for valued roles

bronfenbrenner’s ecological model

• Focus on the ecological levels that influence the developing individual

• Support an understanding of how individual behaviour may be influenced by forces @ multiple levels

• proximal influences

• distal influences

proximal influences (bronfenbrenner)

from systems that are closest to the individual, and involve direct contact

• Proximal = close

• i.e., things in your immediate environment

distal influences (bronfenbrenner)

from systems that are less immediate and that have general efforts on more proximal systems

• Distal = far, at a distance

bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological model

• microsystem

• mesosystem

• exosystem

• macrosystem

microsystem (ecological model)

• Activities, roles, relations in a setting containing the person (i.e., home, work, organization)

  • Systems in which individuals interact directly

mesosystem (ecological model)

• Interrelations among +2 microsystems in which a person participates (i.e., family-work mesosystem; family-school mesosystem)

  • How does one support/relate to the other

exosystem (ecological model)

• +1 settings not involving a person directly but which affects him or her (i.e., friends' social network, university senate)

  • Systems that aren't too far away but will affect your behaviour, just beyond your system (you don't participate, but it's not too far away)

  • i.e., uni senate determines how big classes are or how many TA hours are allocated to the class

macrosystem (ecological model)

• Overarching patterns of the culture or sub-culture/consistencies in the form of lower order systems (micro-, meso-, exo-systems) that exist (i.e., rate of unemployment, gender roles)

  • Broad systems

  • You have no control over

james kelly’s ecological principles

• Based on an analogy to ecosystems

• Thinking about social systems, such as communities or organizations, as though they were ecosystems

  • When we change the ecosystem, some beings are able to adapt while others aren't

  • Changes in our ecosystem affect our behaviour

jame’s kelly’s ecological principles: four principles for thinking about + intervening in community-level problems

1. interdependence

2. cycling of resourcses

3. adaptation

4. succession

interdependence (ecological principles)

• A consideration of how in any system there are multiple inter-related parts

• Actions or changes in part of a system have implications for all others (some anticipated, some unanticipated)

• i.e., a family, Bronfenbrenner's model

  • Each member of the fam all play a part and when one acts out, there are responses + changes on the part of the others

cycling of resources (ecological principles)

• A consideration of how resources are identified, developed, used, and allocated in a system

• A consideration of untapped resources in a system

  • i.e., communication, knowledge, money

adaptation (ecological principles)

• A consideration of how individuals adapt (cope) to changing environments and how environments adapt to their environments

• Every environment demands different skills

• Niche and niche breadth

succession (ecological principles)

• A consideration of how ecologies change over time; a historical perspective on settings or communities

• Different populations may be more successful in a particular at different times

niche

 habitat w/in which a given creature can survive

niche breadth

the range or size of habitats in which a population can survive  

why do we look at environments in the ecological analysis of class using kelly’s principles?

• They can affect health + individual well-being

• Social Justice - Collective Well-Being

  • Power, oppression (can be physical manifestation of oppression)

  • Access to resources (constrain or promote access?)

• Potential Relationships to Well-being

  • Risk factors

  • Protective factors

  • Promotion factors

the effects of neighbourhoods

• digital risk processes

• proximal environmental risk

• protective processes

digital risk processes (the effects of neighbourhoods)

• Neighbourhood characteristics associated w/ individual problems

  • "At risk": about situation, not a person

• Important to define problem @ appropriate levels of analysis

proximal environmental risk (the effects of neighbourhoods)

• Pollution, traffic noise, lead exposure

• Lack resource access (i.e., healthy foods, adequate housing)

• Neighbourhood Disorder

• Affect health, relationships, use of resources

types of neighbourhood disorder

• physical

• social

physical neighbourhood disorder examples:

 broken windows, litter, graffiti

social nieghbourhood disorder examples:

 crime, isolation, lack of trust

protective processes (the effects of neighbourhoods)

• Social processes (social ties, sense of community, safety)

• Interpersonal (parenting styles, mentoring)

• Positive interactions

ecological model + principles of practice in community psychology

• Individual + community problems are framed in terms of a systemic analysis

• Change goals are identified @ multiple levels or in multiple components of a system

• Process of intervention is participatory + collaborative

• System change will have side effects that can not be anticipated - requires vigilance

• Change agents must be creative, flexible, and adaptive + build constructive working relationships w/ multiple groups or partners

• Build on or create capacity in a setting, system, or community to create future change

• Requires long-term perspective, and likely a considerable time commitment 

community psychology and the real-world:

• This real-world focus compels a complex understanding of people, the contexts in which they live, and the relationships that define them

• taking on real-world problems and creating real-world solutions

ecological levels of intervention:

• Program

• Agency

• Community

• Institution

• Society

key principles of community psychology:

• Respect for diversity

• Attention to context + environment

• Empowerment

• Prevention

• Social justice

• Emphasis on strengths & competencies

• Social change

• Action research

• Interdisciplinary perspective

• Sense of community

what are the implications for research?

• Can be negative depending on what we mean 

• Have to think abt epistemology (how we generate knowledge abt stuff) and ontology (assumptions abt how stuff comes into being)

ontology

the nature of stuff, assumptions

epistemology

 after understanding the knowledge, we figure out how to analyze it, methods to study the thing

research methods: philosophy of science:

What we believe abt social phenomenon shapes how we study the social phenomenon

positivism

• Dominant philosophy of science

• Pursuit of objectivity + value-free neutrality in research

  • Influenced by physics (use of methods is very particular)

• Understand cause and effect relationships

• Identify generalized laws of human behaviour

  • Assumption that human behaviour follows some kind of generalized laws

• Experimental, Quasi-Experimental Methods

what research methods is postivism linked to?

• experimental (quantitative) research

• quasi-experimental

post-positivism

• constructivist

• critical

what research methods is post-positivism linked to?

• qualitative research

• participatory action research

constructivist (post-positivism)

• Knowing occurs in relationship, product of social interaction

• Emphasis on knowing through connection, collaboration, mutual understanding

• Linked to qualitative research methods

critical (post-positivism)

• Assume that knowledge is shaped by power relations

• Emphasis on recognizing + questioning one's own power affects research

• Activist stance to create social change

• Linked to participatory + action research methods

  • Focus on relationship w/ others rather than objective, value-free research

  • Built on the constructivist approach that knowledge is a product of social interaction + informs action approaches