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PSY4134 Community Psychology Final Exam 2025
LATEST QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
pontaneous and Unplanned Social Change Unintentional change An example is a natural disaster Causes stress due to the unknown and the uncontrolled Planned Social Change Limited in Scope: Focused on a particular group of people in a particular place, or the change itself is more limited (not wholesale societal change) Directed at enhancing quality of life Provides a role for those affected by change Guided by a social change agent First-order change Only a portion of a system is changed (person, clients, tool) broader system remains intact Second-order change changes to the system changes in relationships among component parts of a system changes in the goals, structure or processes of a system Types of Community Change
Community betterment approach and Community empowerment model Community betterment approach Top-down Attempts to improve specific aspect of community functioning using top-down approach. people at the 'top' or in power treat those in the community as passive victim Community empowerment model Bottom-up Uses bottom-up approach in which community members have primary control of change efforts. Can increase community capacity and strengthen sense of community. the voice comes from those at the 'bottom' in the community telling people in power/in charge what they need Instruments of Social Power
- Control of resources to bargain, reward, and punish
- Control of channels for citizen participation in community decisions (who controls the money or space)
- Ability to shape the definition of a public issue or conflict Approaches to Community and Social Change Consciousness Raising Social Action Community Development Community Coalition
Threatened to occupy all the toilets in the airport (a shittin) a threat lead to the mayor capitulating Alinsky in Chicago believed in any means necessary when fighting the powerful Community Development Process of strengthening relationships among community members to define community problems, resources, and strategies for solutions Cooperative strategy intended to broaden opportunities for participation and influence in community decision-making Lee's Objectives for Community Development Personal Community Societal Community Coalition Outgrowth of Community Development Broad representation of citizens to address a community problem Can involve: citizens, community organizations, businesses, media, grassroots groups. Typically involve community and organizational leaders Coalitions: develop a mission, write and implement action plans think of two homeless shelters competing for funding Organizational Consultation Professionals working as consultants with workplaces, for-profit or non-profit, to make changes in the organization's policies, structure, or practices
Alternative Settings Outgrowth of dissatisfaction with mainstream services Examples: Consumer/Survivor Initiatives, street health clinics, alternative schools Safe haven and support for individuals experiencing discrimination and injustice Potential fertile ground for social change Policy Research and Advocacy Speaking out in some form to influence decisions, policies, and laws Participation in public decision-making and influencing how an issue is defined or understood in the political arena Persuasion based on research findings and reasoned arguments Often a top-down method of social and community change Risk process factors correlated with problematic individual outcomes distress, mental disorders, behavioral problems Some kind of condition, situation, characteristics, that appears to be associated with some kind of an outcome. There is a correlation, an empirical relationship between a thing and outcome more likely to happen Protective processes strengths or resources associated with positive individual outcomes coping, temperament, supportive relationships Only protective where there is some kind of a threat or challenge. In the process of some kind of challenge we can draw on protective factors to minimze that challenge.
Represent a threatened or actual loss or scarcity of resources May arise from distal factors Poverty, homelessness (both distal) leading to the hassle of transportation to do your laundry Types of Stressors Major life events e.g., job loss, death of a friend, divorce Life transitions e.g., entry into college, retirement Daily hassles e.g., traffic gridlock, family conflict Ambient e.g., poverty, pollution Chronic e.g. a stressful situation in which there is no immediately foreseeable end (death of spouse, elder care, living with certain types of disabilities) Disasters e.g., Hurricanes, floods, nuclear accidents, terrorism and war Microaggressions Defined as "brief, commonplace, daily... indignities... that communicate negative or derogatory slights" personal experience of stress Physiological Emotional Behavioral Cognitive Social Appraisal
The process of constructing the meaning of a stressful situation or event. Is this a big deal, is it a threat to me, what can i do about it. Primary appraisal estimation of the strength or intensity of the stressor Secondary appraisal estimation of the resources and coping options for responding to the stressor Reappraisal Changing perception of stressor's intensity, identifying unrecognized resources, or finding meaning in the situation Coping (Lazarus & Launier, 1978) "efforts, both intrapsychic and action-oriented to manage (i.e., master, tolerate, reduce, minimize) environmental and internal demands and conflicts among them" Types of Coping Emotion-Focused vs. Problem-Solving Focused Coping (Lessen or Strengthen the Emotion vs Change the Environment) Active vs. Avoidant Coping (Try to Solve the Problem vs Try to Escape the Problem) Resilience
Does not necessarily involve behavioural helping in a specific situation Perceived Support Citizen Participation A process in which individuals take part in decision-making in the institutions, programs, and environments that affect them It is both a Means and an Ends Processes of Citizen Participation and Empowerment Sense of community in a locality or relational community Sense of community threatened by a provocation (e.g., closing of school, change in roadway) Provocation produces citizen participation, engagement in an empowering setting, and psychological empowerment of the individual Leads to a response to the provocation and changes in the sense of community Citizen Participation Advantages Participants are likely to have first hand experience with problem People are more likely to accept decisions they that they have contributed to Participation further contributes to sense of community Citizen Participation Disadvantages Not everyone participates Participants may not be representative Participation takes time; risk of burnout Risk of failure; non-viable solutions
Empowerment "A process, a mechanism by which people, organizations, and communities gain mastery over their affairs" (Rappaport, 1987) May lead to citizen participation, accompany it, or result from it Qualities of Empowerment Multilevel: Occurs in individuals, organizations, or communities Bottom-up Perspective: Originate at the "grassroots" among citizens of a community rather than among its leaders or most powerful member Dynamic process that develops over time: Process of acquiring resources, power, influence, or a voice in decision-making Collective context: Occurs through linkages with other individuals. Not a solitary process but proceeds through participation in a group or organization. Psychological Empowerment "Involves cognition, behavioral skills or competence, motivation, commitment to values, and other aspects of the person experiencing empowerment." (Zimmerman, 1995, 2000) a process by which one first increases critical awareness and understanding of the power dynamics that occur at multiple levels in their lives To address these power dynamics, one then develops skills for gaining control, over affected aspects of their lives Elements of Psychological Empowerment Critical awareness about society and one's community Learning to see social regularities Perceptions of influence over community problems
The process of relocating people with serious mental illness from institutions (e.g., psychiatric hospitals) to the community 3 D's of Mental Health Diagnosis Disability Duration Medical model of mental illness Assumption - dysfunction is primarily due to internal, biological processes Focus on illness and defect Role of professional - psychiatrist diagnoses and prescribes treatment (e.g., medication) Role of individual - patient who is expected to follow treatment Rehabilitation model of mental illness Assumption - dysfunction is primarily due to inadequate knowledge and skills Role of professional - professionals identify deficits and develop programs to address these deficits Role of individual - client who is expected to set rehabilitation goals and work with professionals to achieve these goals Recovery model of mental illness Assumption - dysfunction is primarily due to loss of meaningful social roles Role of professional - support individual in working toward personal goals; seek support and resources in community
Role of individual - person who identifies personal goals and assumes normal roles in the community Limitations: Suggests a never-ending process, Overly individualistic and personal view, Ignores how individual and personal struggles are shared by virtue of group membership, Leads to individual-level programming rather than systems change Harm Reduction Specific interventions to reduce adverse effects of behavior [e.g. substance us] rather than prevention or cessation of behavior itself... First used in Liverpool in the 80s as a response to HIV prevention 4 pillars of substance use in Canada Harm reduction Enforcement Treatment Prevention Universal Homelessness Interventions Examples: adequate supply of affordable housing and poverty reduction strategies, such as greater access to affordable child care. Stuff available to everyone Selected Homelessness Interventions Examples: school-based programs and anti-oppression strategies for individuals facing discrimination, in particular Indigenous Peoples; programs aimed at low-income people (e.g., basic income).
Often independent apartments which are scattered throughout the city Portable support provided to the individual Focus on individual empowerment, recovery, and community integration Research evidence of a range of positive outcomes Housing First Linked to supported housing, though may be any form of housing chosen by individual Housing people with no pre-conditions Housing as a right Used to house people who have serious mental illness and experiences of chronic homelessness Intensive, individualized support (ACT or Intensive Case Management) The Community Development Framework Community (CDF)
- Developing a local Committee
- Learning about and from the Neighbourhood
- Prioritizing and Action Planning
- Putting the plan into action
- Evaluation
- Reassessing: Prevention reduction of problems of living, mental disorders, distress, etc prevent new cases from occurring focus on populations, not individuals intentional (theory driven)
Promotion enhancement of well-being in populations Less targetted than prevention What can we do to strengthen individuals an reduce their risk Types of Prevention (Caplan, 1964) Primary prevention Secondary prevention (or early intervention) Tertiary prevention Primary prevention Entire populations, that does not have the disorder or problem Lower rates of new cases (incidence) Secondary prevention (or early intervention) populations showing early signs of disorder or problem (at risk) children who are having academic difficulties risk of stigmatization Tertiary prevention Populations that have a disorder or problem Reducing intensity or duration of disorder or problem
Albee's Equation Incidence of behavioral and emotional disorder in populations = Risk factors on top, risk factors are the numerator. Protective factors on bottom, protective factors are the denominator. Self-efficacy an internal belief in one's innate ability to achieve a desired goal The Four Stages of the Policymaking Process Agenda Setting Policy Formation and Adoption Policy Implementation Policy Evaluation and Revision Agenda Setting The process in which social problems and potential solutions gain or lose the attention of policymakers or the public Kingdon's Model of Policymaking Problem stream: Problems that affect more people will gain more attention Policy stream: Problems that have practical and cost-effective solutions are more likely to make the agenda
Political stream: Problems that have higher public concern are more likely to make it on the agenda Conceptual research Used to educate policymakers and stakeholders on social issues and propose possible solutions (e.g., Research that led to Brown vs Board of Education) Instrumental research Used to persuade policymakers to adopt a policy (e.g., Providing individuals with movement disabilites access to buildings, public transportation, and parking spots) Community organizing The act of engaging in cooperative efforts to promote a community's interests Community coalitions Groups that tackle larger social issues by bringing together a representation of community citizens and organizations - both private and public - situated in a way to address larger social problems at multiple levels within a community. Often agree on a mission, vision, and set of shared values capacity building a process in which communities or organizations work to improve their collective skills and resources Engaging in a capacity building can improve community readiness for members to do the things they need to do for change to happen
