{"id":1,"date":"2011-09-12T19:38:19","date_gmt":"2011-09-12T19:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/?p=1"},"modified":"2025-04-10T14:58:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T19:58:56","slug":"intro-to-community-psychology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/2011\/09\/intro-to-community-psychology\/","title":{"rendered":"AN INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>AN INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY<\/p>\n<p>By Douglas D. Perkins<\/p>\n<p>Founding Director of Graduate Studies, <a href=\"http:\/\/vu.edu\/hod\">Department of Human &amp; Organizational Development<\/a>, and of PhD Program in <a href=\"http:\/\/vu.edu\/cra\">Community Research &amp; Action<\/a>, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University<\/p>\n<p>(see also: <a title=\"What is Community Psychology?\" href=\"http:\/\/www.scra27.org\/what-we-do\/what-community-psychology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Information from the <em>Society for Community Research &amp; Action<\/em> on:)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">What Is Community Psychology?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>To read any introductory text in the field of psychology, one would guess that the typical psychologist spends all of his or her time dreaming up and conducting arcane laboratory experiments, often of questionable relevance to pressing real world concerns. On the contrary, however, most psychologists work in naturally occurring situations and settings. In addition to the clinical and testing psychologists, with whom the public is most familiar, many people&#8211;at all levels of professional training&#8211;are entering a relatively new field called community psychology. Community psychology is fundamentally concerned with the relationship between social systems and individual well-being in the community context. Thus, community psychologists grapple with an array of social and mental health problems and they do so through research and interventions in both public and private community settings.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most exciting aspects of community psychology is that the field is developing rapidly and is still in the process of defining itself. It is not easily reduced to the traditional. content categories in psychology for several reasons. Fist, community psychologists simultaneously emphasize both (applied) service delivery to the community and (theory-based) research on social environmental processes. Second, they focus, not just on individual psychological make-up, but on multiple levels of analysis, from individuals and groups to specific programs to organizations and, finally, to whole communities. Third, community psychology covers a broad range of settings and substantive areas. A community psychologist might find herself or himself conducting research in a mental health center on Monday, appearing as an expert witness in a courtroom on Tuesday, evaluating a hospital program on Wednesday, implementing a school-based program on Thursday, and organizing a community board meeting on Friday. For all the above reasons, there is a sense of vibrant urgency and uniqueness among community psychologists&#8211;as if they are as much a part of a social movement as of a professional or scientific discipline.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">What Isn&#8217;t Community Psychology?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It may be useful to describe community psychology by distinguishing it from other disciplines with which it is closely allied. Community psychology is like <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">clinical psychology<\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">community mental health<\/span> in its action orientation. That is, community psychology aims to promote human welfare. But community psychology arose largely out of dissatisfaction with the clinician&#8217;s tendency to locate mental health problems within the individual. Community psychologists are more likely to see threats to mental health in the social environment, or in lack of fit between individuals and their environment. They typically advocate social rather than individual change. They focus on health rather than on illness, and on enhancing individual and community competencies.<\/p>\n<p>Community psychology is like <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">public health<\/span> in adopting a preventive orientation. That is, community psychologists try to prevent problems before they start, rather than waiting for them to become serious and debilitating. But community psychology differs from public health in its concern with <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">mental<\/span> health, social institutions, and the quality of life in general. In many ways, community psychology is like <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">social work<\/span>, except that it has a strong research orientation. While academic social work has become more research-based, even applied, practicing community psychologists are committed to the notion that nothing is more practical than rigorous, well-conceived research directed at social problems.<\/p>\n<p>Community psychology is like <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">social psychology<\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">sociology<\/span> in taking a group or systems approach to human behavior, but it is more applied than these disciplines and more concerned with using psychological knowledge to resolve social problems. It borrows many techniques from <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">industrial<\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">organizational psychology<\/span>, but tends to deal with community organizations, human service delivery systems, and support networks. Plus, it focuses simultaneously on the problems of clients and workers as opposed to solely the goals and values of management. It is concerned with issues of social regulation and control, and with enhancing the positive characteristics and coping abilities of relatively powerless social groups such as minorities, children, and the elderly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">What Community Psychologists Do<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The new and disparate areas of community psychology are thus bound together by a singular vision: that of helping the relatively powerless, in and out of institutions, take control over their environment and their lives. This should, in turn, foster in all of us a greater &#8220;psychological sense of community.&#8221; Community psychologists must, however, &#8220;Wear many hats&#8221; in working toward the creation of social systems which: (1) promote individual growth and prevent social and mental health problems before they start; (2) provide immediate and appropriate forms of intervention when and where they are most needed; and (3) enable those who have been labelled as &#8220;deviant&#8221; to live as dignified and self-controlled a life as possible, preferably as a contributing member of the community.<\/p>\n<p>For example, a community psychologist might (1) create and evaluate an array of programs and policies which help people control the stressful aspects of community and organizational environments; (2) assess the needs of a community and teach its members how to recognize an incipient problem and deal with it before it becomes intractable; or (3) study and implement more humane and effective ways for formerly institutionalized populations to live productively in society&#8217;s mainstream.<\/p>\n<p>Community psychology is not only a professional and scientific discipline. It is also an intellectual\/ value orientation that is applicable to virtually any field or profession. The community perspective challenges traditional modes of thought. It looks at whole ecological systems, including political, cultural, and environmental influences, as well as focusing on institutional and organizational factors. It realizes that the &#8220;interaction&#8221; between a person and the environment may have as important an effect on his or her behavior as the effect each factor has separately. The community approach also emphasizes the effects of stress and social support, and the practicality of prevention and self-help. Furthermore, it recognizes the demand for local empowerment and bureaucratic decentralization (and anti-professionalism) and the importance of cultural relativity and diversity. The community perspective simultaneously stresses the utility of research, not only for theory development, but for program evaluation and policy analysis&#8211;and the omni presence of values (implicitly or explicitly) throughout society and even science. An important aspect of the community orientation is its appreciation of the authority of historical and structural contexts. And, finally, it emphasizes community and personal strengths and competency, as opposed to weaknesses and pathology.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Professional and Non-professional Opportunities in Community Psychology<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Any brief introduction to a field as broad and varied as community psychology can give only a superficial flavor of all that it is, and can be, about. For those who want a more in-depth look at all that community psychology has to offer, I recommend an introductory course and\/or the book list, below. Many, if not most, undergraduate institutions across the country now offer a course in community psychology, prevention, or &#8220;community&#8221; courses in social work or sociology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Society for Community Research &amp; Action (SCRA; Division 27 of the American Psychological Association) is the official organization of community psychology (website: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scra27.org\/pulse\">Home &#8211; Society for Community Research and Action &#8211; SCRA<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scra27.org\/\">http:\/\/www.scra27.org<\/a>. There are reduced-cost student memberships. SCRA sponsors excellent regional and national conferences on Community Research and Action. It publishes <em>The Community Psychologist<\/em> newsletter and <em>The American Journal of Community Psychology<\/em>. Other academic journals related to community psychology include <em>J. of Community Psychology, <\/em><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.psychosocial-intervention.org\">Psychosocial Intervention\/Intervenci\u00f3n Psicosocial<\/a><\/em><em>, J. of Prevention &amp; Intervention in the Community (formerly Prevention in Human Services), J. of Community &amp; Applied Social Psychology, Community, Work &amp; Family, J. of Rural Community Psychology, Community Development J., J. of the Community Development Society, Environment &amp; Behavior, J. of Environmental Psychology, J. of Primary Prevention, Prevention Science, J. of Social Issues, J. of Applied Behavioral Sci., J. of Applied Behavioral Analysis<\/em> and many others.<\/p>\n<p>The employment prospects for professional community psychologists remain favorable. Part of the reason may be that, as so many social and mental health problems worsen, service administrators are beginning to appreciate the value of people trained to investigate and solve problems at the organizational, as opposed to the individual, level. The demand for community psychologists may also be due to their versatile ability to address problems in virtually any public (and even private) sector setting. What sets community psychologists apart, in this regard, is the emphasis of their training on a set of generic, applied field research methodologies, rather than on a single, substantive content area of empirical &#8220;facts.&#8221; A more mundane, yet still noteworthy, explanation of our relatively high employment rate is that it may reflect a large number of clinical, social, and organizational psychologists who identify themselves as &#8220;community-oriented&#8221; psychologists. Such affiliations have no doubt proved useful since community-related concerns became a &#8220;priority&#8221; area for programmatic and research development. This should not bother &#8220;full-fledged&#8221; community psychologists as long as the others are serious about their community interests and identity.<\/p>\n<p>The reader should note that formal training is not a prerequisite to practicing community psychology. Earlier in this introduction, I mentioned the ways in which the &#8220;community perspective&#8221; can enlighten <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">anyone&#8217;s<\/span> approach to solving psychologically-related problems at work and in their community. Furthermore, the reader is encouraged to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">participate<\/span> in self-help groups, service programs, and community action committees. If these organizations do not exist in your neighborhood or area of concern, then <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">organize<\/span> one yourself. After all, necessity is the &#8220;mother&#8221;&#8211;not only of invention&#8211;but of community psychology as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Graduate Programs in Community Psychology and related fields<\/strong> (see <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scra27.org\/resources\/educationc\/academicpr\">www.scra27.org\/resources\/educationc\/academicpr<\/a><\/span><\/strong> ): For those who might be interested in graduate training in community psychology, there are many different types of academic programs from Master degrees in program evaluation and administration to doctoral programs in community research. Many of these also offer clinical training.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>From an old SCRA homepage:<\/p>\n<p>Welcome! The Society for Communty Research and Action (SCRA), Division 27 of the American Psychological Association, serves many different disciplines that focus on community research and action. Our members have found that, regardless of the professional work they do, the knowledge and professional relationships they gain in the SCRA have been invaluable and invigorating. Membership provides new ideas and strategies for research and action that benefit people and improve institutions and communities. The Society for Community Research and Action was founded on the idea that social systems and environmental influences are important foci for enhancing wellness via preventive research and interventions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The SCRA Mission:<\/strong> The Society is devoted to advancing theory, research and social action to promote positive well\u2011being, increase empowerment, and prevent the development of problems of communities, groups and individuals. The action and research agenda of the field is guided by three broad principles. Community research and action is an active collaboration between researchers, practitioners and community members and utilizes multiple methodologies. Human competencies and problems are best understood by viewing people within their social, cultural and historical context. Change strategies are needed at both the individual and systems levels for effective competence promotion and problem prevention.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SCRA Goals:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To promote the use of social and behavioral sciences for the well\u2011being of people and their communities;<\/p>\n<p>*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To promote theory development and research that increase our understanding of human behavior in its social context;<\/p>\n<p>*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To encourage the exchange of knowledge and skills in community research and action.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SCRA INTERNET LISTSERVS: <\/strong>The <strong>SCRA Listserv<\/strong> enables SCRA members and others to send and receive information and comment about\u00a0various topics of interest such as job postings, grant opportunities, and upcoming SCRA events. In addition, there have been separate listservs for students, students of color, for women&#8217;s issues and for Community Psychology, Spirituality, and Religion.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Sampling of books related to Community Psychology<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Albee, G.W., &amp; Joffe, J.M., &amp; Dusenbury, L.A. (Eds.)(1988). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Prevention, powerlessness and politics: Readings on social change.<\/span> Sage. HM291.P715<\/p>\n<p>Alinsky, S. (1971). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Rules for radicals<\/span>. New York: Random House.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson, L. S., et al. (1966). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community psychology: A report of the Boston Conference on the Education of Psychologists for Community Mental Health<\/span>. Boston University &amp; Quincy Mass. South Shore Mental Health Center.<\/p>\n<p>Barker, R.G. (1964). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Ecological psychology: Concepts and methods for studying the environment of human behavior<\/span>. Stanford: Stanford University Press.<\/p>\n<p>Barker, R. G., &amp; Schoggen, P. (1973). <em>Qualities of community life<\/em> (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.<\/p>\n<p>Bindman, A. J., &amp; Spiegel, A. D. (Eds.). (1969). <em>Perspectives in community mental health<\/em>. Chicago: Aldine.<\/p>\n<p>Bloom, B. (1984). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community mental health: A general introduction<\/span>. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.<\/p>\n<p>Caplan, G. (1974). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Support systems and community mental health<\/span>. Behavioral Publications.<\/p>\n<p>Carr, S. C., &amp; Sloan, T. S. (Eds.). (2003). <em>Poverty and psychology: From global perspective to local practice<\/em>. New York: Kluwer Academic \/ Plenum.<\/p>\n<p>Dohrenwend, B.S., &amp; Dohrenwend, B.P. (Eds.)(1974). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Stressful life events: Their nature and effects<\/span>. NY: Wiley.<\/p>\n<p>Dokecki, P. R. (1996). <em>The tragi-comic professional: Basic considerations for ethical reflective-generative practice<\/em>. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.<\/p>\n<p>Duffy, K.G., &amp; Wong, F.Y. (1996). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community psychology<\/span>. Boston: Allyn &amp; Bacon.<\/p>\n<p>Fairweather, G.W., &amp; Davidson, W.S. (1986). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">An introduction to community experimentation: Theory, methods and practice<\/span>. New York: McGraw-Hill.<\/p>\n<p>Felner, R.D.,et al. (Eds.)(1983). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Preventive psychology: Theory, research, and practice<\/span>. Pergammon.<\/p>\n<p>Fetterman, D.M., Kaftarian, S., &amp; Wandersman, A. (Eds.)(1996). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Empowerment evaluation: Knowledge and tools for self assessment and accountability<\/span>. Beverly Hills: Sage.<\/p>\n<p>Fox, D., Prilleltensky, I., &amp; Austin, S. (Eds.). (2009). <em>Critical psychology: An introduction<\/em> (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.<\/p>\n<p>Francescato, D. (1977). <em>Psicologia di comunit\u00e1a<\/em> (1. ed.). Milano: Feltrinelli.<\/p>\n<p>Freire, P. (1970). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Pedagogy of the oppressed.<\/span> New York: Herder &amp; Herder.<\/p>\n<p>Gibbs, M.S., Lachenmeyer, J.R., &amp; Sigal, J. (Eds.)(1980). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community psychology: Theoretical and empirical approaches<\/span>. New York: Gardner.<\/p>\n<p>Glenwick, D., &amp; Jason, L. (Eds.)(1980). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Behavioral community psychology: Progress and prospects<\/span>. NY: Praeger.<\/p>\n<p>Golann, S. E., &amp; Baker, J. (1975). <em>Current and future trends in community psychology<\/em>. New York,: Human Sciences Press.<\/p>\n<p>Heller, K., Price, R., Reinharz, S., Riger, S., &amp; Wandersman, A. (1984). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Psychology and community change: Challenges of the future<\/span>, 2nd Ed. Dorsey Press.<\/p>\n<p>Hollingshead, A., &amp; Redlich, F. (1958). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Social class and mental illness.<\/span> New York: Wiley.<\/p>\n<p>Hornstein, H.A., et al. (Eds.) (1971). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Social Intervention: A behavioral science approach<\/span>. Free Press.<\/p>\n<p>Iscoe, I., &amp; Spielberger, C. D. (Eds.). (1970). <em>Community psychology: perspectives in training and research<\/em>. New York,: Appleton-Century-Crofts.<\/p>\n<p>Jahoda, M. (1958). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Current concepts of positive mental health<\/span>. NY: Basic.<\/p>\n<p>Jason, L.A., Felner, R.D., Hess, R.E., &amp; Moritsugu, J.N. (Eds.)(1987). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Communities: Contributions from allied disciplines.<\/span> New York: Haworth.<\/p>\n<p>Jason, L.A., Hess, R.E., Felner, R.D., &amp; Moritsugu, J.N. (Eds.)(1987). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Prevention: Toward a multidisciplinary approach.<\/span> New York: Hawthorne.<\/p>\n<p>Kanter, R.M. (1972). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Commitment and community.<\/span> Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.<\/p>\n<p>Katz, D., &amp; Kahn, R.L. (1978). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The social psychology of organizations<\/span> (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly, J. G. (2006).<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> Becoming ecological: An expedition into community psychology<\/span>. New York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly, J. G., &amp; Song, A. V. (2007). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community psychology in practice: An oral history through the stories of five community psychologists.<\/span> New York: Haworth Press.<\/p>\n<p>Kettner, P., Daley, J.M., &amp; Nichols, A.W. (1985). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Initiating chang in organizations and communities: A macro process model<\/span>. Brooks-Cole.<\/p>\n<p>Klein, D.C., &amp; Susskind, E.C. (Eds.)(1985). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Knowledge building in community psychology<\/span>. Praeger.<\/p>\n<p>Kloos, B., Hill, J., Thomas, E., Wandersman, A., Elias, M. J., &amp; Dalton, J. H. (2012). <em>Community Psychology: Linking Individuals and Communities<\/em> (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth\/Cengage Learning.<\/p>\n<p>Lavanco, G. (2001). <em>Oltre la politica: Psicologia di comunit\u00e1a, giovani e partecipazione [Beyond politics: Community psychology, youth, and participation]<\/em>. Milano, Italy: FrancoAngeli.<\/p>\n<p>Levine, M. (1981). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The history and politics of community mental health<\/span>. NY: Behavioral Publications.<\/p>\n<p>Levine, M., &amp; Levine, A. (1970). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A social history of the helping services: Clinic, court, school and community<\/span>. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.<\/p>\n<p>Levine, M., Perkins, D. D., &amp; Perkins, D. V. (2005). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Principles of community psychology: Perspectives and applications<\/span> (3rd ed.).\u00a0New York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n<p>Lewin, K. (1951). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Field theory in social science.<\/span> New York: Harper &amp; Row.<\/p>\n<p>Mann, P. A. (1978). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community psychology: Concepts and applications<\/span>. New York: Free Press.<\/p>\n<p>Maton, K. I., Schellenbach, C. J., Leadbeater, B. J., &amp; Solarz, A. L. (Eds.). (2004). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Investing in children, youth, families, and communities: Strengths-based research and policy<\/span>. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.<\/p>\n<p>Moos, R.H., &amp; Insel, P.M. (Eds.) (1974). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Issues in social ecology: Human milieus<\/span>. Palo Alto: National Press Books.<\/p>\n<p>Munoz, R.F., et al. (1979). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Social and psychological research in community settings<\/span>. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.<\/p>\n<p>Murrell, S.A. (1973). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community psychology and social systems<\/span>. New York: Behavioral Publications.<\/p>\n<p>Nelson, G., &amp; Prilleltensky, I. (Eds.). (2010). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community Psychology: In Pursuit of Liberation and Well-Being<\/span>. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.<\/p>\n<p>Orford, J. (1992). <em>Community psychology: Theory and practice<\/em>. Chichester, England; New York: Wiley.<\/p>\n<p>Orford, J. (2008). <em>Community psychology: Challenges, controversies and emerging consensus<\/em>. Chichester, England: John Wiley &amp; Sons.<\/p>\n<p>Price, R.H., et al. (1980). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Prevention in mental health: Research, policy and practitice<\/span>. Sage.<\/p>\n<p>Price, R.H., et al. (1988). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Fourteen ounces of prevention: A casebook for practitioners<\/span>. DC: Am. Psych. Assoc..<\/p>\n<p>Price, R.H., &amp; Politser (Eds.)(1980). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Evaluation and action in the social environment<\/span>. New York: Academic Press.<\/p>\n<p>Prilleltensky, I., &amp; Nelson, G. (2002). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Doing psychology critically: Making a difference in diverse settings<\/span>. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave.<\/p>\n<p>Rappaport, J. (1977). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community psychology: Values, research &amp; action<\/span>. NY: Holt, Rinehart, Winston.<\/p>\n<p>Rappaport, J., &amp; Seidman, E. (Eds.)(2000). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Handbook of community psychology<\/span>. Plenum Press.<\/p>\n<p>Rappaport, J., Swift, C., &amp; Hess, R. (Eds.)(1984). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Studies in empowerment: Steps toward understanding and action (Prevention in Human Services, 3<\/span> (2\/3)) Haworth. HM271.S878<\/p>\n<p>Reich, S. M., Riemer, M., Prilleltensky, I., &amp; Montero, M. (Eds.). (2007). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">International community psychology: History and theories<\/span>. Springer.<\/p>\n<p>Revenson, T. A., et al. (Eds.). (2002). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A quarter century of community psychology: Readings from the American Journal of Community Psychology<\/span>. Kluwer Academic\/Plenum Publishers.<\/p>\n<p>Revenson, T. A., et al. (Eds.). (2002). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Ecological research to promote social change: Methodological advances from community psychology<\/span>. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic\/Plenum Publishers.<\/p>\n<p>Rossi, P. H., Lipsey, M. W., &amp; Freeman, H. E. (2004). <em>Evaluation : a systematic approach<\/em> (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.<\/p>\n<p>Rubin, H.J., &amp; Rubin, I.S. (1992). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community organizing and development<\/span> New York: Macmillan.<\/p>\n<p>Rudkin, J. K. (2003). <em>Community psychology: Guiding principles and orienting concepts<\/em>. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.<\/p>\n<p>Ryan, W. (1976). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Blaming the victim<\/span>. New York: Vintage.<\/p>\n<p>Sarason, S.B. (1972). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The creation of settings and the future societies<\/span>. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.<\/p>\n<p>Sarason, S.B. (1974). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology<\/span>. Jossey-Bass.<\/p>\n<p>Santinello, M., &amp; Vieno, A. (Eds.)(2012). <em>\u201cNon \u00e8 giusto:\u201d Psicologia dell\u2019ingiustizia sociale\/\u201cIt\u2019s not fair:\u201d The psychology of social injustice<\/em>. Naples, Italy: Liguori Editore.<\/p>\n<p>Schoggen, P., &amp; Barker, R. G. (1989). <em>Behavior settings: A revision and extension of Roger G. Barker&#8217;s Ecological psychology<\/em>. Stanford University Press.<\/p>\n<p>Scileppi, J. A., Torres, R. D., &amp; Teed, E. L. (2000). <em>Community psychology : a common sense approach to mental health<\/em>. Prentice Hall.<\/p>\n<p>Seedat, M. (Ed.)(2001). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community psychology: Theory, method and practice<\/span>. Oxford: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n<p>Seidman, E. (Ed.)(1983). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Handbook of social intervention<\/span>. Beverly Hills: Sage.<\/p>\n<p>Seidman, E., &amp; Rappaport. J. (Eds.), <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Redefining social problems.<\/span> New York: Plenum.<\/p>\n<p>Shinn, M., &amp; Yoshikawa, H. (Eds.). (2008). <em>Toward Positive Youth Development: Transforming Schools and Community Programs<\/em>. New York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n<p>Srole, L., Langner, T.S. Michael, S.T., Opler, M.K., &amp; Rennie, T.A. (1962). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mental health in the metropolis: The midtown Manhattan study<\/span>. NY: McGraw-Hill.<\/p>\n<p>Susskind, E.C., &amp; Klein, D.C. (1985) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community research: Methods, paradigms, and applications<\/span>. NY: Praeger.<\/p>\n<p>Taylor, R.B. (Ed.) (1986) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Urban neighborhoods: Research and policy.<\/span> New York: Praeger.<\/p>\n<p>Tolan, P., et al. (Eds.) (1990). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Researching community psychology: Issues of theory and methods<\/span>. DC: APA.<\/p>\n<p>Unger, D.G., &amp; Sussman, M.B. (Eds.)(1990). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Families in community settings: Interdisciplinary perspectives.<\/span> Haworth.<\/p>\n<p>Wandersman, A., &amp; Hess, R. (Eds.) (1985). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Beyond the individual: Environmental approaches and prevention.<\/span> New York: Haworth.<\/p>\n<p>Warren, D.I., &amp; Warren, R.B. (1977). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The neighborhood organizer&#8217;s handbook<\/span>. University of Notre Dame Press.<\/p>\n<p>Zald, M.N., &amp; McCarty, J.D. (Eds.)(1977). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The dynamics of social movements: Resource mobilization, social control, and tactics<\/span>. Cambridge, MA: Winthrop.<\/p>\n<p>Zander, A. (1990). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Effective social action by community groups<\/span>. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.<\/p>\n<p>Zigler, E., &amp; Muenchow, S. (1992). <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Head Start: The inside story of America&#8217;s most successful educational experiment.<\/span> New York: Basic.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AN INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY By Douglas D. Perkins Founding Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Human &amp; Organizational Development, and of PhD Program in Community Research &amp; Action, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University (see also: Information from the Society for Community Research &amp; Action on:) What Is Community Psychology? To read any introductory text in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":783,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions\/783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}