Dr. Brookins’ Principles and Practice of Ecological/Community Psychology - Course Syllabus (Spring 1995)

Course: Psychology 509 - Principles and Practice of Ecological/Community Psychology Semester: Spring, 1995 Time: Wednesdays, 4:10 PM to 7:00 PM Location: 12 Winston Hall

Instructor: Craig C. Brookins, Ph.D. Office: 726 Poe Hall Phone: (919) 515-1725 Office Hours: Tuesday & Wednesday, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Course Purpose

Psychology 509 aimed to provide students with opportunities to develop and refine their thinking about social problem solving and community research methods. The course focused on introducing students to the historical and conceptual foundations of ecological and community psychology. Special emphasis was placed on developing social problem definition competencies. Throughout the semester, guest speakers and various audio-visual presentations were included to enrich the learning experience.

Format

Each week, the class focused on one general topic. During the first part of the class, the instructor presented brief lectures and directed discussion on the current topic. Students were expected to complete all required readings before each class. Two or three students provided photocopies of their “thought papers” (described below) to all class participants. The end of the weekly sessions focused on issues raised in student thought papers, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

Class Participation

Attendance, preparation, and active participation in class discussions were required. Participation was an excellent way to practice articulating developing ideas. Students were expected to discuss the assigned readings and thought papers during each class period, challenge ideas presented, and integrate ideas presented during class discussions. Students were also encouraged to discuss how the readings related to other experiences and readings from other fields. Attending all classes and speaking up at least once in each class ensured full participation points.

Thought Papers

At the end of each Wednesday class, two or three students submitted copies of a two-page (typed, double-spaced) paper discussing one or two ideas stimulated by the readings for that week. Papers were strictly limited to two pages to encourage conciseness. The writing needed to be direct and build upon the central thought. Students were instructed to assume their audience (others in the class) had read the same material, avoiding detailed summaries of the readings. The best thought papers integrated ideas from the new readings or discussed the relationships between the new readings and previous readings, lectures, and personal experiences.

Completed thought papers were awarded five (5) points. They were not graded for content, so students were encouraged to freely express their thoughts and ideas and take intellectual risks. These papers were intended to be provocative to both the writer and the readers, providing a chance to refine ideas through discussion. Thought papers also served as opportunities to practice and refine expository writing skills. Students were encouraged to produce clear and concise prose. For excellent tips on writing style, students were referred to Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, a classic on writing clear and concise essays.

Prevention Review

During weeks 11 and 12, the course focused on prevention programs. Each student was required to review and provide a written critique of an experimentally evaluated prevention program provided by the instructor. During week 12, the written critique/review was submitted, and the class discussed the prevention program as a whole. An outline and criteria for the prevention review were provided, with more information given later in the semester.

Final Project

The final project was a take-home assignment. Students were required to review and critique a research article within the field of community psychology. The critique asked students to define, describe, and integrate several of the topics discussed during the course.

Literature Review

The major assignment for the class was a thorough literature review paper on a social problem chosen by the student and relevant to the field of community psychology. This literature review needed to adequately define/redefine the social problem, integrate the various concepts discussed throughout the term, and provide a conceptual and methodological critique of the various efforts and/or interventions designed to address the problem. Work on this paper began immediately and included the following required assignments:

1. Topic Selection: Students started reading about social issues that interested them immediately. Students with a primary interest in individual or family problems (e.g., psychopathology, marital relations) were urged to explore the social causes or consequences of those problems. Each week, students reported what they were reading and what they planned to read to help decide on the topic of the literature review. On February 1st, students turned in a one-page proposal for a literature review topic to be approved by the instructor. This proposal included a description of the topic and a brief description of the method for selecting the readings that would be reviewed. Late proposals lost 5 points.
2. Literature Review Sheets and Outline: On March 8th, students turned in photocopies of their literature review sheets or a list of their sources from at least 30 sources (typed in APA style or the official style of their particular discipline) and a detailed outline for writing the literature review. The outline provided a description of the organization of the review and the scope of the topics to be addressed. The instructor provided feedback on the apparent progress of the literature review based on both the reference sources and outline. Late submissions lost 5 points.
3. Literature Review: The literature review was due April 26th. Students were required to make a brief presentation on their paper the last two (2) days of class. Papers were graded according to the following criteria:
   • 5 points: An assessment of the organization, format, grammar, and typographics of the paper. The paper clearly specified the areas being addressed in the review.
   • 5 points: A description of the methods for the literature review.
   • 10 points: An overview and functional definition of the social problem.
   • 10 points: An extensive summary of the literature integrating the ideas and research findings from various sources.
   • 10 points: A conceptual and methodological critique of the literature.
   • 10 points: A summary of the future directions for the research in the area.

Late papers lost 10 points and were not accepted after April 28th. The review paper was typed in APA style (see APA’s Publication Manual) or according to the style within the student’s particular discipline. Points were deducted for violations of APA style.

Grading

Final grades for the course were determined by the distribution of total points among the students. Points were earned for completing the following requirements:

Assignment	Points
Class Participation	15
Four (4) Thought Papers	20
Prevention Review/Critique	10
Final Project	50
Literature Topic Proposal	10
Literature Review Sheets	10
Literature Review Outline	10
Literature Review	50
TOTAL	175

The two students with the highest number of points set the grading standard for the class. The two highest scores were averaged, and that average was used to compute final grades:

• 90% of avg. score = 4.0 or A
• 80% of avg. score = 3.0 or B
• 70% of avg. score = 2.0 or C

Required Texts

1. Orford, J. (1992). Community Psychology. Chichester: Wiley.
2. Ryan, W. (1976). Blaming the victim. New York: Vintage Books.
3. Seidman, E., & Rappaport, J. (Eds.) (1986). Redefining social problems. New York: Plenum Press.
4. Course Packet available through the Adams Bookstore in Mission Valley Mall.

Recommended Texts

• Strunk, W. & White, E.B. (1979). Elements of style (3rd ed.). New York MacMillan Publishing.
• American Psychological Association (1983). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Hummel, J. H. & Birchak, B. C. (1989). A short course on APA style for psychology students. APS Observer, 2, 1-9.

Course Schedule & Required Reading List

• = Text Book Chapters, all others are from the course packet ** = Articles removed from the course packet but still on reserve in LRL or D.H. Hill (not required)

Week 1: Class Overview; Introduction to Community Psychology

• Caplan, W., & Nelson, S.D. (1973). On being useful: the nature and consequences of psychological research on social problems. American Psychologist, 28, 199-211.
• Hughes, R. (1992) The fraying of America. Time, February, 44-49.
• *Orford, J. (1992). Community Psychology. Chichester: Wiley. (Chapter 1)
• *Seidman, E., & Rappaport, J. (1986). Framing the issues. In E. Seidman & J. Rappaport (Eds.), Redefining social problems, (pp. 3-8). New York: Plenum Press.
• Srebnik, D. S. (1991). Principles of community psychology. The Community Psychologist, 24, 8.

Week 2: Historical Roots of Community Psychology

• **Chambers, C.A. (1983). Historical considerations: Human services, natural networks, and public policy. In E. Seidman (Ed.), Handbook of social intervention (pp.21-32). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
• Levy, L. (1984). The metamorphosis of clinical psychology. American Psychologist, 39, 486-494.
• *Orford, J. (1992). Community Psychology. Chichester: Wiley.
• Wylie, M. S. (1992). Revising the dream: Whatever happened to community mental health? Networker, July, 11-23.

Week 3: Social Problems and Social Change Issues

• Fairweather, G.W. (1972). Social change: The challenge to survival. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
• *Orford, J. (1992). Community Psychology. Chichester: Wiley. (Chapter 3)
• *Ryan, W. (1976). Blaming the victim. New York: Vintage Books.
• *Seidman & Rappaport (1986). Chapters 2, 3, and 4, (pp. 11-64) and Chapter 14, pp. 235-258.
• ALSO READ ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
  • *Smith, A. (1986). Positive marginality: The experience of black women leaders. In E. Seidman & J. Rappaport (Eds.), Redefining social problems (pp. 101-113). New York: Plenum Press.
  • *Revenson, T.A. (1986). Debunking the myth of loneliness in late life. In E. Seidman & J. Rappaport (Eds.), Redefining social problems (pp. 116-135). New York: Plenum Press.

Week 4 and 5: Ecological Conceptions of Social Issues

• Akbar, N., Saafir, R. K., & Granberry-Stewart, D. (1980). Community psychology and systems interventions. In The Community Clinical Psychology Project of the Southern Regional Education Board (Ed.), Readings for mental health and human service workers in the black community (pp. 97-147). Atlanta: GA: Southern Regional Education Board.
• *Linney, J.A. (1986). Court-ordered school desegregation: Shuffling the deck or playing a different game. In E. Seidman & J. Rapport (Eds.), Redefining social problems (pp. 259-274). New York: Plenum Press.
• *Orford, J. (1992). Community Psychology. Chichester: Wiley. (Chapter 2)
• *Scott, R.R. (1986). Indirect effect of desegregation. In E. Seidman & J. Rappaport (Eds.), Redefining social problems (pp. 275-287). New York: Plenum Press.
• **Stokols, D. (1990). Instrumental and spiritual views of people-environment relations. American Psychologist, 45, 641-646.

Week 6: Multicultural & Gender Perspectives

• *Henley, N. M. (1986). Women as a social problem: Conceptual and practical issues in defining social problems. In E. Seidman & J. Rappaport (Eds.), Redefining social problems (pp. 65-80). New York: Plenum Press.
• Hilliard, T. O. (1988). Prevention of psychopathology of blacks. In G. W. Albee, J. M. Joffe, & L. A. Dusenbury (Eds.), Prevention, powerlessness, and politics: Readings on social change (pp. 342-358). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
• Maruyama, M. (1983). Cross-cultural perspectives on social and community change. In E. Seidman (Ed.). Handbook of Social Intervention, pp. 33-47.
• *Scott-Jones, D., & Nelson-Legall, S. (1986). Defining black families: Past and present. In E. Seidman & J. Rappaport (Eds.), Redefining social problems (pp. 83-100). New York: Plenum Press.
• Vega, W. A. (1992). Theoretical and pragmatic implications of cultural diversity for community research, American Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 375-392.
• *Zane, N., & Sue, S. (1986). Reappraisal of ethnic minority issues: Research alternatives. In E. Seidman & J. Rappaport (Eds.), Redefining social problems (pp. 289-304). New York: Plenum Press.
• Watts, R. J. (1992). Elements of a psychology of human diversity. Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 116-131.

Week 7: Community Research Methods

• Chavis, D.M., Stucky, P.E. & Wandersman, A. (1983). Returning basic research to the community: A relationship between scientists and citizens. American Psychologist, 38, 424-434.
• Linney, J.A. & Ruppucci, N.D. (1982). Research design and methods in community psychology. In P.C. Kendall & J.N. Butcher (Eds.) Handbook of research methods in clinical psychology. New York: Wiley, pp. 535-566.
• Lorion, R.P. (1983). Evaluating preventive interventions: Guidelines for the serious change agent. In Felner et al (Eds.) Preventive psychology: Theory, research and practice, New York: Pergamon, pp 251-272.
• *Orford, J. (1992). Community Psychology. Chichester: Wiley. (Chapter 6)

Week 8: Stress, Coping, and Social Support

• **Allen, L. & Britt, D.W. (1983). Social class, mental health, and mental illness: The impact of resources and feedback. In R.D. Felner, L.A. Jason, J.N. Moritsugu, & S.S. Farber (Eds.), Preventive psychology: Theory, research and practice (pp. 149-161). New York: Pergamon Press.
• *Lewis, D.A., & Riger, S. (1986). Crime as stress: On the internalization of a social problem. In E. Seidman & J. Rappaport (Eds.), Redefining social problems (pp. 185-200). New York: Plenum Press.
• Moritsugu, J. & Sue, S. (1983). Minority status as a stressor. In Felner, R., Jason, L., Moritsugu, J. & Farber, S. (Eds.) Preventive psychology: Theory, research and practice. New York: Pergamon Press, pp. 162-174.
• *Orford, J. (1992). Community Psychology. Chichester: Wiley. (Chapter 4)
• Thompson, M. P., & Norris, F. H. (1992). Crime, social status, and alienation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 97-120.

Week 9: Prevention, Advocacy, and Community Consultation

• Long, B. (1992). Developing a constituency for prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 169-178.
• *Orford, J. (1992). Community Psychology. Chichester: Wiley. (Chapters 7, 8, & 9)