Community Psych Exam

Community Psychology

Community Psychology

Community Psychology concerns the relationship of the individual to communities and society. Through collaborative research and action, community psychologists seek to understand and to enhance quality of life for individuals, communities and society. - Dalton, 2001

[entails] a shift from an emphasis on intrapsychic factors to understanding and changing larger social contexts; adapting such a focus would require new conceptualizations and tactics; amid the major criterion by which these new efforts would be judged was the degree to which they led to a greater psychological sense of community.

Community psychology is, in part, an attempt to find other alternatives for dealing with deviance from societal-based norms. What is sought is an approach that avoids labeling differences as necessarily negative or as requiring social control. Community Psychology, viewed in this way is an attempt to support every person’s right to be different without risk of suffering material and psychological sanctions – Rappaport, 1977.

The field of Community Psychology first formed when/where?

at the Swampscott Conference of 1965

Prilleltensky’s Values for Psychology

Caring and Compassion – promote empathy and well-being among people.

Self-Determination – Promote ability for individuals to choose their own path

Human Diversity – Promote respect and appreciation for diverse social identities

Collaboration and Participation – Promote a meaningful democratic process.

Distributive justice – equitable distribute of resources, power, obligations

Kelly’s Qualities

Coping Effectively with Varied Resources

Commitment to Risk Taking

Metabolic Balance of Patience and Zeal

Giving Away the Byline

Tolerance of Ambiguity

How do values matter?

values dictate how problems are defined in (sometimes) subtle ways

the way a problem is defined dictates how its solutions is conceptualized, and that conceptualization of the solution has real-world implications

qualities of values are…

sometimes elusive

Operate at different levels

Involve choice

Pertain to the desirable (and moral)

Refer to goals

Motivate action

Exist in hierarchies

Do values exist in science, and should they?

yes, they do exist

There is (and perhaps should be) a place for values in science.

“Neutrality” IS a value stance.

Status Quo / Dominant Narrative can be perpetuated through “cloaks of neutrality” , silence, and lack of dissent.

First-order change

“changing the person”

second-order change

“changing the context”

Bottom-up change

grassroots change, as instigated by the “people” of the community

Top-down change

designed by professionals and community leaders

Collective wellness

health of communities and societies

Sense of community

perception of belonging, interdependence, and mutual commitment

Respect for human diversity

strengths of diversity

Social justice

fair and equitable allocation of resources, opportunities, obligations, and power

Empowerment and citizen participation

enhancing possibilities for all people to control their lives

Collaboration and community strengths

“giving away the byline”

Empirical grounding

basing action on research evidence

Caring and Compassion

promote empathy and well-being among people

Person centered problem

person ---→ risky behavior

Person-mediated problem

context--→ person -→ risky behavior

Ecological problem

Context-→ risky behavior

Individualistic view of human behavior is…

Success is attributed to an individual’s strength

Failure is attributed to an individual’s deficits

Context is viewed as a barrier to overcome

Barker’s Behavioral Settings

-Behavioral settings are natural, small social systems (ie restaurants, classrooms, gyms, dining halls)

-Settings foster the same patterns of behaviors irrespective of persons making up the settings

-Settings are characterized by Behavioral “scripts”, which are a set of rules or norms that “script” behavior

-Settings shape behavior

Moos’ Social Climate

Settings are characterized by personalities

Settings can be studied based on how well they foster: Relationships, Personal Development, System maintenance versus change, and Social capital

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological system

settings have multiple, interrelated, parts

ecological levels

Microsystem

Mesosystem

Exosystem

Macrosystem

Microsystem

Microsystem:settings that contain the person (e.g., family, classroom)

Mesosystem

interactions between microsystems (e.g., family-school relation)

Exosystem

formal and informal social structures which do not contain the person (e.g., neighborhood support).

Macrosystem

broad culture or subculture (e.g., dominant gender norms)

Kelly’s Four Ecological Principles (Ecological systems have…)

1. Interdependence

2. Resources

3. Adaptation

4. Succession

Interdependence

a change in one part of a system affects the whole system

resources

A system is understood through examining how resources are defined, used, created, conserved, transformed

adaptation

Individuals cope with constraints by using the resources that are available

Succession

Systems have patterns and they change over time

oppression theory

Members of privileged groups are granted unearned resources, power, and freedom from subordination by the oppressive system not by their own efforts. This regardless of whether they recognize these privileges or consent to them

cultural smog

asymmetry of power and resources is sustained, in part, by widely accepted cultural myths that rationalize it. Members of the dominant group and even the subordinated group may not even realize that the system of oppression exists. They often believe that the injustices created by oppression are natural

Privelege in the context of oppression

Benefits and/or advantage gained from being in a location of higher power within a system of oppression

Can be advantage gained from another groups’ disadvantage

-Positive: good and should be spread

-Negative: if left un-rejected, will reinforce present hierarchies of injustice

McIntosh’s White Privilege

“[A]n invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools , and blank checks.”

It is insufficient to think about inequity without thinking about what “share” of the social resources your own position accords you.

Examples of daily effects of privilege

Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.

I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race

I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.

I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.

the power of visibility

voice is a important metaphor for power

silencing

silencing

a structurally embedded process by which particular groups are not heard

the privilege of invisibility

Having one’s beliefs be the accepted cultural beliefs (and one’s history be the accepted history, etc).

Privileged behaviors as just “the way things are”

The more invisible they are, they less likely they are to be targets of change

Sarason

Settings are influenced by the “weight of custom” – we do things because that’s how they have always been done

programmatic regularities

What are the routines, norms, customs, and procedures of a setting or context? In other words, what is “normal” about a particular setting?

behavioral regularities

What are the overt behaviors a setting promotes (and does not promote)? And What is their frequency?

social regularities

“Patterns of social relations, connections, or linkages” •

Include programmatic and behavioral regularities AND they are about social relations between the individual and the environment, such as:

-differences in power and resources; how these regularities vary over time

Multiple levels framework

Changing a system requires understanding social regularities and choosing a level on which to intervene

(individual, population,setting and mesosystem levels)

Individual level framework

Changing the way the person interacts with the social world (Example: Therapy)

Population Level Framework

Targets a group of individuals that share a demographic (e.g., age), and event (e.g., job loss), or a setting (e.g., prison). Changing the way an entire population interfaces with a social issue (Example: Vaccinations)

Setting level framework

Defined broadly as two or more sets of people working over time to achieve certain goals. Focuses on changing the social regularities of the setting (example: programs that serve as alternatives to incarceration)

Mesosystem level framework

changing social relations between systems (example: domestic violence coordinating councils)

Strategies for change

-tuning

-incremental change

-restructuring

tuning

Accommodating or adapting to various people, groups, or settings

Goal: Helps system function better

incremental change

gradual changes over time

Goal: Increase resources

restructuring

Fundamentally restructuring regularities or introducing new ones

Goal: Make existing regularities known and create new ones that promote desired outcomes

Opportunity structures

how environments shape outcomes (ie the cycle of poverty)

Incidence

number of new cases during a specified period, usually one year

prevalence

total number of cases in a population at a given time. Reflects incidence and duration

primary prevention

Targets people at risk, but not yet showing signs of the disorder and addresses incidence (example: vaccination, or Anti-drug use campaigns with current non-users)

secondary prevention

Early discovery and prompt intervention of illness to reduce duration (example: Quick diagnosis of depression and treatment)

-Reduces prevalence but does not address incidence

tertiary prevention

Occurs after the disorder has developed and tries to alleviate the harmful effects (example: Taking care of people with mental illnesses or Harm reduction)

-Associated with “rehabilitation”

-Does not change incidence or prevalence

institute of medicine subtypes

Universal Prevention- Same as primary prevention •

Selective prevention-Targets people at high risk but who do not yet show signs of the disorder

Indicated prevention-Targets people who have detectable signs of disorder, or who have biological markers linked with the disorder.

Promotion

taking efforts to enhance and increase wellness, as opposed to reducing illness

risk

developmental experiences and factors associated with social problems and disease

resilience

developmental experiences and factors associated with overcoming adversity and experiencing healthy development

what is an important aspect of promotion programming?

resilience

Cumulative risk hypothesis

when a child accumulates 4 or more risk factors, it increases likelihood negative outcomes exponentially (ie more likely to have disease, disorder, social problem)

developmental assets

factors within the child of child’s context that promote healthy development

examples of resilience factors

individual:

-cognitive abilities

-Self perceptions of competence and worth

-Temperament and personality

Relationships:

-Parenting quality

-Connections to prosocial peers

Community:

-good schools

-neighborhood quality

principles of effective programs

Theory-driven and evidence based

Comprehensive

Appropriately times

Sociocultural relevant

Behavioral and skills-based

Sufficient dosage

Positive relationships

Second-order change

Support for staff

Program evaluation

Research Cycle

1. Identify the problem, its prevalence, and its course.

2. Review relevant research on the problem

3. Develop and implement innovative pilot interventions and test them

4. Design, implement, and analyze the effectiveness of promising interventions in large-scale field trials

5. implement and continually evaluate prevention programs in the community

Important Considerations when creating an intervention

• Appropriate control groups

• Doing what the people want

• Attrition of participants

• Historical changes not attributable to program

Challenges in evaluation

-assessing risk

-follow-ups

-latrogenesis

-ensuring program integrity

attributable risk

the proportion of new cases of a disorder prevented if a risk factor was eliminated

latrogenesis

the occurrence of unintended negative effects, such as:

Labeling, Overreacting, Net-Widening & dependence on service systems, or Insensitivity to context.

empowerment

An intentional, ongoing process through which people lacking an equal share of resources gain greater access to and control over those resources (Kloos)

A process through which people and communities gain mastery over their own affairs (Rappaport)

what is related to empowerment?

citizen participation and power

citizen participation

A process in which individuals take part in decision making in the institutions programs, and environments that affect them

Types/definitions of Power

Power over – capacity to dominate others of the through control of valued rewards or punishments

Power to – ability of individuals or groups to pursue their own goals and develop capacities

Power from – ability to resist the power or unwanted demands of others

Integrative power – capacity to work together, build groups, bind people together, and inspire loyalty

instruments of power

Controlling resources that can be used to bargain, reward, and punish

Controlling channels for participation in community decisions

Expert power, based on knowledge, skill, experience

Riger’s critiques on empowerment

1. individualism, leading potentially to unmitigated competition and conflict among those who are empowered.

2. a preference for traditionally masculine concepts of mastery, power, and control over traditionally feminine concerns of communion and cooperation.

Cautions in the empowerment movement

Empowerment has been limited to individualistic terms (e.g., “Empower yourself”)

Empowerment as a concept can be used to take social advantage of others

What is “empowerment” in the absence of actual power?