Psychology

Over the past several decades, a change has been seen in the field of psychology as interest in community psychology continues to grow internationally. This is due to the growing dissatisfaction of clinical psychologists toward traditional psychology as they observe that it focuses more on the individual and fails to consider the surrounding factors affecting the mental health of an individual.

In this paper, the concept and application of community psychology is discussed. This essay will also address other psychological and sociological concepts that affect the community psychological approach.

Part I
According to Orford (2008), community psychology can be described as a psychological approach that deals with the social context of peoples lives. In order to have a better understanding of the concept of community psychology, it is first necessary to differentiate it from traditional and mainstream psychology.

Some of the similarities between community and traditional psychology include its aim to promote human welfare, the orientation toward preventive measures, and taking a group or systems approach to understanding human behavior. One glaring difference is that community psychology is more concerned with the relationship between social systems and individual well-being in the community context.

Furthermore, Orford (2008) states in his book that community psychology is marginally different from traditional psychological approaches because of the questions it is interested in asking and finding answers to. One of the key aspects of community psychology that was mentioned in the book is its aim of finding ways to help people combat inequality and injustice. Unlike other psychological and sociological studies, it is not focused on simply analyzing power and the way it is exercised, rather it is oriented toward helping people resist oppression and the struggle to create a better world.

Another notable aspect of community psychology is its emphasis on prevention, intervention and policy change at a non-individual level, rather than focusing on personal treatment. Orford (2008) explains it further by stating that

In order to promote individual and collective health and well-being and to reduce distress and difficulties, it is necessary to promote change in the social, economic and environmental arrangements that give rise to such problems (xiii).

The field of psychology as a whole has been receiving a lot of criticism for the past several years, mostly from psychologists themselves, as they find that psychology has taken a highly individualistic route and neglecting whole domains of its legitimate subject matter. Duncan et al. (2007) posits that what gave rise to the emergence of community psychology is the dissatisfaction found in mainstream psychology, particularly its inability, neglect or disregard to adequately address the growing psychosocial needs of marginalized communities and groups. In the case of traditional psychology, it has been observed that it is geared more towards mainstream, individual-oriented models of conceptualizing and understanding human behavior.

To further illustrate how community psychology is different from traditional psychology, a comparison is provided based on several factors. In terms of theory philosophy, clinical health psychology is oriented towards the biopsychosocial model, where health is the product of a combination of factors such as biological, behavioral and social. Meanwhile, community health psychology operates under the social and economic model, which indicates that changes are needed at both individual and systems levels. In terms of values, clinical psychology focuses on the use of ethical intervention to achieve its goal of increasing or maintaining the autonomy of the individual, while community psychology values applies social action to create or increase the autonomy of disadvantaged and oppressed people. Another difference between the two is their focus as clinical psychology deals with physical illness and dysfunction, while community psychology is concerned toward physical and mental health promotion (Orford, 2008).

Another psychological theory that is closely allied with community psychology is critical psychology. Fox et al. (2009) defines it as a psychological theory that focuses on social justice and human wellbeing by advocating not just minor reform but fundamentally different social structures that can lead to it. Basically, it imagines and explores alternatives with the aim of making psychology perform better.

Orford (2008) explains it further by stating that the focus of critical psychology is the need to engage in social action. This is done by observing values such as the promotion of social justice, freedom and emancipation exposing and working to eliminate oppression and placing emphasis on the interests of the poor, oppressed and disenfranchised.

Community psychology and critical psychology are similar in that they challenged traditional and mainstream psychology assumptions and methods toward human wellbeing. Fox et al. (2009) lists several concerns related to traditional and mainstream psychology that are addressed by critical psychology. The first is that mainstream and traditional psychology focuses on the individual rather than the group and larger society, resulting in the overemphasizing of individualistic values. This perspective also hinders the realization of mutuality and community and, at the same time, strengthens unjust institutions. Another concern is that the underlying assumptions and institutional allegiances of mainstream psychology negatively affects the members of powerless and marginalized groups as it causes the facilitation of inequality and oppression. 

In order to further understand the core concepts and values of community psychology and critical psychology, let us consider the scenario below

A young Pakistani woman living in Great Britain in her early twenties is suffering from serious bouts of depression. She may even be suicidal.  She is married and has two children. Her husband, an unskilled laborer is unemployed and she, herself, has just lost her minimal wage job, perhaps due to the depression. Her husband maintains that she was a victim of racism.

Based on the scenario above, I will now discuss how traditional and community psychology practitioners will act in order to help the woman. Traditional psychologists will most likely focus on the self, illustrating the individualistic bias of psychology. Psychoanalytic theories will be applied to treat the depression of the woman, placing emphasis on the individuals personality and failing to consider the social contexts.  Basically, the psychotherapy treatment for the womans ill-health condition will be based on the idea that the individual is suffering from some disorder or defect that lends itself to individual cure or correction (Orford, 2008). Meanwhile, community psychology practitioners will focus on prevention, specifically, the general enhancement or promotion of health or well-being (15).

The community psychology prevention plan would include a wellness enhancement program designed to prevent similar cases from occurring. Community psychology would also look into the social context and implement programs that would address the living and working conditions of immigrant families and how they are coping. Interventions targeting the poor and unemployed in the community will also be the central focus.

Part II
The following is a discussion of some of the key concepts or values integral to a community psychology perspective.

Prevention deals with the identification of ways to minimize or prevent the problem from ever occurring. Rather than relying on reactionary responses, particularly on individual illness, the goal of prevention is to lessen the demand for treatment. This addresses the communitys concern for those who may otherwise not have the resources or access to such treatment.

Social justice is another core value of community psychology. It deals with the rights all persons are entitled. This is applied towards those who may be marginalized. Basically, it allows privileges in order to effect change and aims toward a more equitable allocation of resources.

Indigenous resources deals with focusing on placing value and collaborating with the expertise within a community. Indigenous people are always overlooked even though they have always existed in a community. Using them as a resource to answer the question of why their existence works and what strengths they can impart are important from a community psychology perspective.

Another key concept of community psychology is citizen participation. The idea behind this is that community members themselves are more aware of their own situation. It follows that they should be a part of the design, implementation and evaluation of any community intervention. Their expertise can have an impact on the efforts of community psychologists to effect change in the community.

These key aspects or values of community psychology can be related to the notions of social construction and power. In order to attain an effective community intervention, collaboration is needed. Social construction, which can be described as the ways in which phenomena are socially constructed, can be connected to community psychology values in that it puts into effect the efforts for social change. Society has the power to effect change and in order to bring that into realization, a sharing of power is needed which can be expressed by involving all members of a community to address and act on the concerns of the community.

These values can help community psychology practitioners in relating to the woman mentioned in the scenario earlier. Community psychologists can trace whether this is a common occurrence in the community and thus implement an effective community intervention program that will address the health and wellbeing of powerless and marginalized groups. Community psychologists can also collaborate with community members to improve the living conditions within the community thus preventing the occurrence of ill conditions among members.

The scenario discussed above shows that social factors affect the health and wellbeing of community members. Being a Pakistani woman, gender, race and social class come into play resulting in oppression and injustice. It is a community psychologists task to address these issues that affect the health of the Pakistani woman and prevent it from happening to others who find themselves in a somewhat similar position.

Part III
The aspect of area has a major influence on the health and well being of an individual. Biases on social position, gender, race, social and economic class are present in every community. An individual that is exposed to this kind of community and has experienced prejudice from any of the factors mentioned above will inevitably cause ill health on the individual. The concept of area in this case would include the neighborhood, the workplace and other venues of social interactions.

By living in Great Britain, the Pakistani woman will undoubtedly experience prejudice based on her and her familys race alone. This is due to the political and economic conflict that her homeland is experiencing with other nations. People would associate this conflict with her and her family resulting in racial prejudice and oppression. Her lack of education and skill incompetency is another mark against her. The familys social class and position is also looked upon and found wanting. All these factors takes a heavy toll on the womans health and well being resulting in the feeling of depression and the development of suicidal tendencies. The area in which she circulates has a hand in what she has become. The core values of community psychology are needed at this point in order to make the community intervention effective.

Part IV
According to Field (2008), the central thesis of the theory of social capital is that relationships matter. This means that if people work together, they can accomplish and achieve things with ease. The important factor here is to make connections with one another, and ensure that the connections remain over time. This supports the central idea of social capital which is positioning social networks as a valuable asset.

Social cohesion uses networks as a basis due to the fact that they have the capability to make people cooperate with one another for the purpose of mutual advantage. Social capital can be viewed from various perspectives, namely, sociological, economic and political.

The concept of social capital and social capital theory can be applied to the case of the Pakistani woman in the scenario above. In the scenario, it is evident that, due to the factors that were held against her, there wasnt any social connection that was made. The only connection she has formed is with her family and that is not enough. Social networks have not been formed due to the prejudice against her and her family. The social support that was supposed to have been formed from her interactions at her former workplace and also with her neighborhood is non-existent resulting in the development of ill-health conditions in the Pakistani woman. Community psychologists need to encourage the formation of social capital, particularly in communities that are culturally diverse, as part of their community intervention program.

Feminist therapy (FT) arose in the 1960s as a result of womens increasing awareness that discrimination resides in the way traditional psychology views female mental health. It was an attempt to enhance womens autonomy and it was based on the integration of psychology and feminist theory. According to this theory, women form their identity through a perspective of constantly providing care for others at the expense of their own free will and initiative. This view represents the traditional gender role, which is not biologically determined but rather socially derived. FT emphasizes the principle of equality in all aspects of human experience.  Its major tenet is that psychological difficulties arise from political and social causes, namely discriminative attitudes not only towards females but also towards ethnic, cultural, religious and sexual minorities (Landrine, 1995  Worell, 1997).

FT attempts to provide care through a novel perspective which respects the patients wishes and needs instead of rigidly meeting societal expectations according to existing racial and sexist stereotypes. The client holds a central place in the treatment setting, and is encouraged to take initiative and guide the therapeutic process. The therapist is not viewed as an authority but as an equal partner, whose task is to educate and empower the patient.  Therapists aim at demystifying the process of therapy in order to enhance clients sense of power and self-efficacy. In addition, they are particularly careful at avoiding power display in the therapy setting and may frequently use self-disclosure to restore equality and reciprocity in the therapeutic relationship (Worell, 1997).

FT supports the idea that the client knows better than anyone what is best for himher. Its main aim is to increase peoples awareness of internalized stereotypes and replace them with more realistic beliefs, to elaborate on issues of control and power and how they affect human experience and to enhance independent decision-making. Apart from gaining self-awareness and free choice, clients are also encouraged to actively participate in political and social groups, given that personal experiences are considered deeply political and personal evolution can arise only through social change (Landrine, 1995  Worell, 1997).

The vast majority of feminist therapists and clients are women. However, it is a theory that hopes to address issues concerning both genders, ignoring any societal and cultural bias. The principles of FT are fruitfully applied in the field of physical and sexual abuse, eating disorders, body image distortions and issues of somatic health and reproduction. Commonly used techniques include gender-role analysis and intervention, power analysis and intervention, bibliotherapy, assertiveness training and self-disclosure (Landrine 1995,  Worell, 1997).

FT has provided new insights on managing mental health issues through a social and cultural perspective. It has fought prejudice in the practice of psychology, by adopting an egalitarian approach, regardless of gender, race, religious affiliation or sexual orientation and it has focused on the clients individual needs, strengths and wishes. The therapeutic context enhances collaboration and reciprocity and individuals are encouraged to become active members of their society in order to produce change.
However, when placing too much value on cultural and social causes of mental disorders, there is the risk of ignoring the significance of personal factors and intrapsychic phenomena. When all psychological difficulties are considered to stem from the abuse of power and the effect of social prejudice and discrimination, then the individual fails to assume responsibility for hisher experience. In this way, true personal evolution may be sacrificed for the sake of social activism. In addition, the collaborative nature of the therapeutic process and the misuse of self-disclosure by feminist therapists may abolish professional and ethical boundaries and further damage the clients fragile psyche. Finally, this approach may prove extremely frustrating for people and cultures that place great emphasis on traditional societal roles.

Post-modern Approaches
Post-modern Approaches (PMA) evolved through the influence of post-modernism on the theory and practice of psychotherapy. Traditionally, philosophy and science have been dedicated to the conquest of the absolute truth. Post-modernism suggests that there is no such thing as objectivity and reality is constructed through language. In this view, mental illness is considered a social construct, originating from the dominating societal tendency to dichotomize and label all aspects of human experience (Boston, 2000).

PMA, which include Solution-Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, and Social Constructionism, are client-centered. The therapists role is not to provide authority-driven solutions but to help the client develop a new communication and new interpretation of hisher experience. Contrary to traditional psychotherapeutic views, they do not focus on symptoms and their historical context but on the present and on clients strengths and wishes. Post-modern theories place great value on language as a way of creating reality and consequently as a tool to produce change (Boston, 2000  Walker, 2006).

For example, in Solution-Focused Therapy, clients are encouraged to discuss goals for change and means by which this change can be achieved (Gingerich, 2000  Lethem, 2002). Likewise, in Narrative Therapy the explicit description of the presenting problem allows the client to see hisher difficulties as a matter of personal and societal interpretation, distinct from his self-identity, thus contributing to the formulation of a less dysfunctional narrative (Boston, 2000).  Post-modern Therapy is based on the individuals existing strengths and resources. It frequently uses the technique of exceptions by urging clients to contemplate on paradigms where their difficulties were not so prominent. In this way, it empowers clients and provides them with a glance to future change. Another common technique is coping questioning which reveals effective coping strategies already used by the client, when faced with hisher current problems. Problem-free discussion is also used to address non-problematic domains of the clients experience and enhance hisher sense of self-efficacy and confidence (Gingerich, 2000  Lethem, 2002).

PMA have been successfully used in eating disorders, substance abuse and relationships problems. Psychiatric patients, couples, youth and criminal offenders have benefit from their application. Their techniques, which focus on the person and not the diagnostic label, may enhance the therapeutic alliance and the development of empathy, both associated with better therapy outcomes (Lethem, 2002).

Social Constructionism which suggests that mental illness is a social construct, a product of medical terminology, has contributed to fighting discrimination and stigma. However, it entails the risk of devaluating all achievements in the field of psychiatric research. In addition, the abolishment of the therapists authority may for some individuals produce a sense of insecurity and confusion. Finally, another major disadvantage is that the efficacy of Post-modern Therapy is hard to be scientifically evaluated.

Both FT and PMA have challenged traditional views including the classical Christian axioms (Arlandson, 2010). Nevertheless, their emphasis on equality, empowerment hope and motivation for change, seems to be in agreement with the spirit of the Bibles teachings.

To my opinion, counsellors should take into consideration their clients needs, strengths and aspirations as both FT and PMA dictate. To be effective, the counselling process must focus on the present and the future instead of trying to unravel mysteries of the distal past. Although most clients come to therapy with certain difficulties, a significant therapeutic force regardless of the counsellors theoretical background is the development of an empathetic alliance which can provide a sense of self-efficacy to the client and hope for the future.

Friedman states that there is a relationship between life events and illness (2002, p.114). The more life events, the more likely it would be for illness to be present. Several studies have been conducted to test the claim. However, despite the extensive research done on life change, it still has its flaws.

With life change, certain life events cause more stress than others. This fact made the need for a means to measure life change in the form of the SRRS, or the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. This scale is composed not only of negative events, but positive ones as well. To aid in measuring life change, a checklist of life events is being utilized by most investigators to evaluate a year. The checklist was named the Schedule of Recent Experience or SRE (Friedman, 2002, p.114). The events contained in the SRE are such that call for adjustment in ones way of living.

The aforementioned concepts of SRRS and SRE were applied to both retrospective and perspective studies. In both cases of research, a great relationship was found between life change and the occurrence of sudden heart attacks, accidents, athletic injuries, leukemia, tuberculosis, diabetes, and many minor medical complaints (Friedman, 2002, p.115). Some also observed the influences magnitude of life change has on the recovery of certain patients.

Despite having extensive studies, the methods of research have their flaws (Friedman, 2002, p.115-116). First, for the retrospective case, people would search for sources of stress to explain certain phenomena. Second, some studies point to factors other than life events to be more accurate illness predictors. Finally, there are certain life events listed on the SRE that may indicate an impending illness. The life-change approach suffers from many criticisms as it focuses on life changes negative effects and failure to consider the population of those who do not develop illness despite experiencing significant life changes.

1. Do you think PuzzleBrainteaser interviews are an effective method for gathering information about job applicants  Why or why not 

Puzzle or brainteaser interviews are an effective method for gathering information about job applicants because this method allows employers to assess the cognitive ability of an individual.  This method is not conventional and may seem irrelevant, but a closer analysis would make us realize that indeed they are effective and relevant.  A puzzle require problem solving skills similar to a mathematical problem (Peterson, n.d.).  In line with this, skills in problem solving and critical thinking are components of intelligence (IQ tests, n.d.).  Hence, this shows that answers to puzzles provide information on the intelligence of an individual, though for the case of job interviews, information gathered is not comprehensive.  Nevertheless, an individuals ability to answer these puzzles say a lot about his creativity and intelligence.  Through this type of interview, the potential of an individual to think creatively and rationally are evaluated.  These traits are important to most jobs, especially in technological companies, because promising and intelligent individuals contribute a lot to the advancement of companies that continuously need innovativeness from its employees.

2. Do you think that these interviews are more appropriate for some jobs versus others  Why or why not

Yes, these interviews are more appropriate for some jobs than others because not all jobs require complex or high level cognitive abilities.  Specific skills are required for specific job descriptions (Peterson, n.d.).  For example, a computer engineer applying for a job in an IT (information technology) company may be interviewed using this puzzlebrainteaser method because the job requires extensive cognitive abilities.  However, this interview method should not be used for individuals applying for a chef or cook position because the job description require performance abilities and skills more than cognitive abilities.

Pain is a complex concept. No single perspective can fully encapsulate or explain how pain is generated, perceived and healed or taken away. Though one would usually think of a wound or sickness with the issue of pain, pain does not simply take into consideration the body, its parts and processes. Anyone would be familiar with phrases like mind over body and like phrases which take more than the isolated view on pain.

As an attempt to explain pain, Ronald Melzack and P.D. Wall proposed the gate control theory which aims to explain the perception of pain in the psychological sense. Malzack and Wall developed the gate control theory which hypothesized that there are special nerves that carry intense sensation to the spinal column (Friedman, 2002, p. 91). However, these sensations do not simply travel directly to the brain as there is a gate controlled by signals from the brain. Hence, thoughts and feelings have an effect on pain perception.

Another concept that plays upon the phrase mind over body is that of the Hawthorne effect. The Hawthorne effect occurs when attention influences a certain situation regardless of other factors (Friedman, 2002, p.85). This concept is important for doctor-patient interaction because despite few and ineffective forms of treatment, a patient may experience positive effects when an attending physician caters to him or her.

Finally, there is the placebo effect. Shapiro defines a placebo as any therapy that is without specific activity for the condition being treated (as cited in Friedman, 2002, p. 85). A placebos effects may either be psychological or psychophysiological. Placebos work upon an assumed or believed effect on ones physical state by the said placebo to condition the mind of the individual taking it.

Question one
The duties test requires that employees be considered as exempt or not for overtime payment depending with their level of profession. In this case, psychologists can come in and help the businesses determine the eligibility of their workers. They can do this by classifying the work to be done and hence determine whether the work an employee done can be classified as being professional or executive. After identification of the profession of the worker, it will therefore become possible to determine if they should be given overtime pay or not.

Question two
Workers who are given an overtime pay end up more encouraged than the salaried workers. These workers will not get the feeling of giving too much time to their jobs without getting any compensation. On the other hand salaried workers may be forced to work for more hours than assigned in order to meet their requirements. They are not motivated in any way to work for longer than the required time and can end up getting the feeling of being used. As a result, a worker who is paid on salary basis can end up giving less quality services to their jobs since they are not motivated in any way.

Whether they work for extra hours or not, their salaries would either way remain stagnant and they end up not getting the urge to work for long. On the other hand, overtime paid work can extend their daily working hours giving the business their services and hence end up earning more. This not only motivates the worker but also increases the total output of the business.

Human aggression and violence are unfortunately very common encounters in our contemporary society and leads to serious costs to the society. Aggression is described as hostile, injurious or destructive behavior which usually results from frustrations which can either be collective or individual. Affiliation on the other hand is the act of becoming formally connected or joined to something.
Studies have indicated that aggression is as a result of stimulation of hypothalamus which is the attack center in the brain. Stimulation of the attack center also results in high levels of stress hormones in the blood. It is therefore evident that aggression is directly related to stress. Below are studies which have been conducted to demonstrate the relationship between the neural structures and hormonal involvement in aggression and affiliation (Adelson, 2004).

Neural structures involved in aggression and affiliation
There are about three different types of aggression which have been explicitly differentiated by the techniques of the lesions and electrical stimulation of the brain. They include offense, defense, and predation. Offensive aggression is further divided into two sub-systems which include competitive and territorial fighting. Defense and offense are brought about by the lesions found in the hypothalamus according to the research which was done in rats. Lesions found on the lateral hypothalamus eliminate offense with no effect on the defense boxing in reaction to foot shock (Carter, Lederhendler  Kirkpatrick, 1999). Lesion found on the medial hypothalamus augments defensive boxing but no effect on the offense. Complete destruction of hypothalamus results in abolition of offense and enhancement of defense (Martin, 2003).

Brainstem lesions are used to differentiate between offense from both defense and predation. Lesions found in vetromedial tegmentum eliminate offense while not affecting predation and defense. Lesions of the midbrain central grey can be used to differentiate defense from offense and predation. In conditions where the lesion involves both the grey central and adjacent tegmentum, all aspects of defense are eliminated completely (Martin, 2003).

A study on male prairie voles displaying mating induced pair bonding showed that they have social affiliation with their female partners and aggression towards unfamiliar voles. The study showed that voles which were pair bonded for two weeks displayed extreme levels of social aggression towards any strange vole but maintained high degree of social affiliation with their bonded female partner (Adelson, 2004). The social interactions results in elevated neural activation in most parts of the brain including bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, medial pre optic area, paraventricular nucleus, anterior cortical, and medial nuclei of the amygdala. From the studies above, we can conclude that dopamine and vasopressin in the anterior hypothalamus may be involved in the regulation of lasting aggression associated with pair bonding in animals. 

Hormones involved in aggression and affiliation
Studies conducted on male rats were done to reveal the association between aggression control centers of the brain and blood levels of stress hormones. It was also aimed at investigating whether high levels of stress hormones in the blood were linked with aggressive behavior provoked by that center (Nelson,  Trainor, 2007). The results of the experiment demonstrated that raising one variable like electrical stimulation of the aggressive centre results in high levels of blood stress hormones. From this study, it has become apparent that stress and aggression work in a positive feedback mechanism. It was also realized that aggression center operates by altering social perceptions, for example, whenever the rats were threatened, they would attack (Gobrogge, Liu, Jia  Wang, 2007).

Conclusion
Aggressive behavior results from the stimulation of the hypothalamus and this in turn raises the levels of stress hormones in the blood. Affiliation is also controlled by hypothalamus. Various studies have been carried out indicating what the major causes of stress are. Aggressive behaviors resulting from stress can be directed more to unfamiliar members than can be done to the known members.