Chapter 6

Learning Objectives 

After reading this chapter, one should be able to answer the following questions:    

1. What is citizen participation? What is its role in community psychology? 
2. How does psycho-education play a role in community psychology? 
3. What is networking? How might a community psychologist use this? 
4. How does public policy work fit into the role of a community psychologist? 
5. What are some of the skills and/or values of a community psychologist? 

Test your knowledge of this chapter with this quiz!  

Question 1

Cook and Shadish (1994) described social change …

by working in small steps to bring gradual change to the system

by using tested innovations and then promoting their acceptance

through radically changing the structure of the system

all of the above

None

Question 2

Citizen participation is when:

people engage in the social building of their neighborhoods without pay.

individuals try to better their own lot without concern for others.

there is a common belief that everyone should work for the benefit of the individual.

we call on professionals to help in organizing a community.

None

Question 3

Research has found that it took ___________ to produce social activism.

a sense of injustice

a sense of personal power

extroversion

both a and b

None

Question 4

The advantages of weak networks is

their lack of demand for reciprocity.

their openness to other networks.

their monetary basis for return.

All of the above

None

Question 5

Typically, community psychologists might consult with community groups and aid in all of the following BUT NOT

writing grants for independent funding of their work.

help in reframing the task or the question.

serve as collaborators in the process.

provide DSMIV diagnoses for community members.

None

Question 6

Early research on the correlation over time of sense of empowerment and community participation found that

sense of empowerment led to community participation

community participation led to a sense of empowerment

community participation and sense of empowerment were not related over time

All of the above.

None

Question 7

In community evaluation, one of the critical issues is:

Who is the evaluation for, i.e., who is the employer?

What is the use of quantitative data?

Should qualitative data be allowed?

All of the above

None

Question 8

Psychopolitical literacy…

Recognizes the connection between politics and well-being

Focuses on the use of psychology to bring political change

Used education as a kind of political tool

All of the above

None

Question 9

“Best practices” are different from “best processes” in that:

Best practices use scientifically derived techniques

Best practices try to remain objective

Best processes try to have conditions which increase the likelihood of program faithfulness

Best processes look at methodological variations

None

Question 10

Radkin (2003) includes the following in her advice to community psychologists:

Be cool and be current.

Social change is complex, so keep it simple.

The time has come to speak of many things.

All of the above.

None

Time’s up

Study Questions 

1. Select a community issue and describe how a community psychologist might address that issue. Use at least two modalities. 
2. What problems might you anticipate in using one of the community interventions described in this chapter? How might those problems be addressed? 
3. What is the difference between a community psychology skill set and a commu- nity psychology value system? Which would you choose for yourself and why? 
4. Identify some community psychology practice skills. Which do you believe you have? Which would you like to cultivate? 

Additional Resources

• Community Greening 
  • https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCbwqPHuCYHRezwDFXlhkDA  
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EALLATMCvdc 
• Other Resources  
  • Community Development Society’s “Principles of Good Practice”: https://cdsociety.org/about/#aboutprinciples 
  • Community Stories: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/community-stories  
  • Community Toolbox: https://ctb.ku.edu/en  
  • Harvard’s Gen-Z Student Activism Survey: https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/gen-z-activism-survey/ 
  • The Office of Science, Innovation, National Laboratories, and Global Initiatives: https://sing.uchicago.edu/about/ 
  • World Population Review election data: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/voter-turnout-by-country 
• Videos 
  • Community Psychology Keynote Address by Leonard A. Jason: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYAtT8gQZs8  
  • SCRA Webinar #4 – Coalition-Building and Collaborative Solutions: Dr. Tom Wolff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3J_RSMZtyU