Community and Social Change

Question 1

Why is social change important?

Answer 1

• The status quo is not a level playing field
• Marginalization perpetuates injustice
• Psychology should not be “apolitical”
• Inequity signals injustice
• Injustice compels action
• We want to focus on approaches to promote change at the level of communities and societies, rather than individuals
• Difficult, complex, long-term, but possible
• Not all changes are positive

Question 2

Spontaneous and unplanned social change

Answer 2

• Unintentional change
• An example is a natural disaster
• Causes stress due to the unknown and the uncontrolled
• Ex: COVID leading to a rise in online aid

Question 3

Planned social change

Answer 3

• Limited in scope
• Directed at enhancing quality of life
• Provides a role for those affected by change
• Guided by a social change
• Ex: neighbourhood safety initiatives

Question 4

Steps of planned social change

Answer 4

1. Identify the issue
2. Research causes
3. Take action
4. Reflect

Question 5

Type of change

Answer 5

• first order change
• second order change

Question 6

First-order change

Answer 6

• Only a portion of a system is changed (person, clients, tool)
• Broader system remains intact
• Ex: Showing kids how to study and not changing the uni system

Question 7

Second-order change

Answer 7

• Changes to the system
• Changes in relationships among component parts of a system
• Changes in the goals, structure, or processes of a system
• Ex: Changing the uni system to be more community based

Question 8

Types of community change

Answer 8

• Community betterment
• Community empowerment

Question 9

Community betterment appraoch

Answer 9

• Attempts to improve specific aspects of community functioning using top down approach
• Treating the public as passive victims

Question 10

Community empowerment model

Answer 10

• Uses bottom up approach in which community members have primary control of change efforts
• Can increase community capacity and strengthen sense of community

Question 11

Instruments of social power

Answer 11

1. Control of resources to bargain, reward, and punish
2. Control of channels for citizen participation in community decisions
3. Ability to shape the definition of a public issue or conflict

Question 12

Approaches to Community and Social Change

Answer 12

• Consciousness Raising
• Social Action (strongest)
• Community development
• Community coalition (weakest)
• Organization consultation
• Alternative settings
• Policy research and advocacy

Question 13

Consciousness raising

Answer 13

• Emphasizes increasing citizen’s awareness of social condition that affect them
• Conscientization: When people become aware of their oppression, and the forces that maintain it
• Focuses on influencing how community problems are defined and explained
• Grassroots, bottom-up approach to community change

Question 14

Social action

Answer 14

• Identifies obstacles to empowerment of disadvantaged groups, and creates constructive conflict to remove these obstacles through direct, nonviolent action
• Focuses on power and conflict
• Based on gaining control of resources
• conflict strategy because cooperation is viewed as being ineffective
• Ex: Protests

Question 15

Alinsky’s Principles

Answer 15

• Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have
• Ridicule is the most potent weapon
• Make enemy live up to his or her own rules
• A good tactic is one that people enjoy
• The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself
• The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative
• Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it
• Ex: The mayor didn’t do anything about homelessness so someone brought all the homeless people to the airport to occupy all the bathrooms so the mayor finally did something

Question 16

Criticism of Alinsky’s approach

Answer 16

• Conflict based and negative
• It’s a very aggressive male kind of approach
• Doesn’t work for everyone and their temperament

Question 17

Community Development

Answer 17

• Process of streghtening 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

Question 18

Objectives of community development

Answer 18

Personal
- Empowerment

Community
- Citizen participation
- Sense of community
- Social learning
- New services or resources

Societal
- Social justice
- Redistribution of resources

Question 19

Organizational Consulation

Answer 19

• Professionals working as consultants with workplaces, for-profit or non-profit, to make changes in the organization’s policies, structure, or practices
• Low level type of change
• Unregulated field

Question 20

Alternative Settings

Answer 20

• Outgrowth of dissatisfaction with mainstream services
• Ex: Street health clinics
• Safe haven and support for individuals experiencing discrimination and injustice
• Potential fertile ground for social change

Question 21

Policy research and advocacy

Answer 21

• 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

Question 22

Professional Change Agents

Answer 22

• Community psychologists as consultants in social change:
  Skilled in
• Community needs assessment
• Community organizing
• Group problem solving
• Action research
• Likely to focus on social systems and institutions rather than individuals

Question 23

Cons to professional change agents

Answer 23

• Private consultants cost money
• University affiliated consultants also need money
• May be limited by academic reward structure
• Funding/project timelines may not fit community timelines