3 The Role of Prosocial Communities in Youth DevelopmentEl Rol de las Comunidades Prosociales en el Desarrollo de la JuventudForrest B. Tyler

17 Relaciones Entre Psicologa Social Comunitaria, Psicologa Crtica y Psicologa de la Liberacin: Una Res-puesta LatinoamericanaRelations Between Community-Social Psychology, Critical-Social Psychology, and Social Psychology of Liberation:A Latin American AnswerMaritza Montero

29 Empoderamiento: Proceso, Nivel y ContextoEmpowerment: Process, Level, and ContextCarmen Silva y Mara Loreto Martnez

41 Evaluacin de una Experiencia Partcipe de Capacitacin en Evaluacin de Programas Para OrganizacionesComunitarias en Puerto RicoEvaluation of a Participatory Training Experience in Program Evaluation for Community Organizations inPuerto RicoIrma Serrano-Garca, Josephine Resto-Olivo y Nelson Varas-Daz

57 Representaciones Sociales de los Chilenos Acerca del 11 de Septiembre de 1973 y su Relacin con laConvivencia Cotidiana y con la Identidad ChilenaChileans Social Representations About September Eleventh 1973 and its Relationship With Daily LivingTogether and Chilean IdentityMara Isabella Prado y Mariane Krause

73 The Evolution of Community-School Bully Prevention Programs: Enabling Participatory Action ResearchLa Evolucin de Programas de Prevencin de Matonaje en Comunidades Escolares: Promoviendo la Investi-gacin-Accin ParticipativaRaymond P. Lorion

85 Expectativas de Autoeficacia y Actitud Prosocial Asociadas a Participacin Ciudadana en JvenesSelf-efficacy Beliefs and Prosocial Attitude as Correlates of Social Involvement in YouthElda Velsquez, M. Loreto Martnez y Patricio Cumsille

99 Universitarios y Voluntariado: Anlisis del Involucramiento en Acciones Filantrpicas de los Alumnos de la PUCUniversity Students and Volunteering: Analysis of the Involvement in Philanthropic Actions of PUC StudentsRen Ros

REVISTA DE LA ESCUELA DE PSICOLOGAFACULTAD DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES

PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATLICA DE CHILE

Volumen 13 - Nmero 2 - Noviembre 2004

ArtculosNmero Especial de Psicologa Social Comunitaria

2117 La Responsabilidad Social: Cmo la Viven Tres Grupos de Estudiantes de Enseanza Media en ChileSocial Responsibility: How it is Experienced by Three Groups of High School Students in ChileNelson Rivera y Mara Rosa Lissi

131 Los Adolescentes Como Agentes de Cambio Social: Algunas Reflexiones Para los Psiclogos SocialesComunitariosAdolescents as Agents of Social Transformation: Reflections for Social Community PsychologistsMaribel Gonalves-de Freitas

143 Subjetividad Adolescente: Tendiendo Puentes Entre la Oferta y Demanda de Apoyo Psicosocial Para JvenesAdolescent Subjectivity: Tending Bridges Between Offer and Demand of Psycho-Social Support for YouthChristian Berger

159 La Relacin de Ayuda con Jvenes Extutelados por la Administracin Catalana: Una IntervencinPsicosocial Basada en la Formacin y Apoyo de Voluntarios que Favorezcan su Integracin SocialThe Assistance Relationship With Youngsters Under Tutelage of the Catalan Administration: A Psycho-Social Intervention Based on the Training and Support of the Volunteers Who Would Favour TheseYoungsters Social IntegrationCludia Turr y Javier Corts

173 Satisfaccin Usuaria: Un Indicador de Calidad del Modelo de Salud Familiar, Evaluada en un Programade Atencin de Familias en Riesgo Biopsicosocial, en la Atencin PrimariaUser Satisfaction: A Quality Indicator of the Family Health Model, Evaluated in an Intervention Programwith Families in Biopsychosocial Risk, in Primary Care HealthCarolina Oliva y Carmen Gloria Hidalgo

187 Entrevista al Dr. Juan Marconi, Creador de la Psiquiatra Intracomunitaria. Reflexiones Acerca de suLegado Para la Psicologa Comunitaria ChilenaInterview With Dr. Juan Marconi, Intracommunity Psychiatry Program Creator. Reflections About hisLegacy for Chilean Psychology CommunitySusana Mendive

201 Layers of Identity: Multiple Psychological Senses of Community Within a Community SettingNiveles de la Identidad: Mltiples Sentidos Psicolgicos de Comunidad en un Entorno ComunitarioAnne E. Brodsky and Christine M. Marx

213 The Role of Neighborhood and Community in Building Developmental Assets for Children and Youth:A National Study of Social Norms Among American AdultsEl Rol del Vecindario y la Comunidad en la Promocin de Competencias Evolutivas en Nios y Jvenes:Un Estudio Nacional de Normas Sociales en Adultos NorteamericanosPeter C. Scales, Peter L. Benson, Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, Nicole R. Hintz, Theresa K. Sullivan, and

Marc Mannes

231 Homenaje a Mabel CondemarnA Tribute to Mabel CondemarnYulan Sun

Copyright 2004 by PsykheISSN 0717-0297

The Role of Prosocial Communities in Youth Development

El Rol de las Comunidades Prosociales en el Desarrollo de la Juventud

Forrest B. TylerUniversity of Maryland

Providing a supportive prosocially oriented socialization for children was emphasized as necessary for their

development as responsible citizens oriented to living in and sustaining their communities. A prosocial community

was defined as one in which its inhabitants are concerned with the well-being of others in the community and the

community as well as with themselves. The failure of current community psychology theory, research, and

projects to address the nature of communities and implications of their work for the development of prosocial

communities and children was addressed. A comprehensive child-centered approach to prosocial community

building which necessarily includes children as participants was outlined. Illustrative youth oriented prosocial

community projects, implications of their outcomes, and suggested research directions were cited.

Se enfatiza el proporcionar a los nios una socializacin que tenga una orientacin prosocial, como un aspecto

necesario para su desarrollo como ciudadanos responsables, orientados a vivir en comunidades y apoyar el

desarrollo de stas. Una comunidad prosocial fue definida como aquella en que sus habitantes estn preocupados del

bienestar de otros miembros de la comunidad, de la comunidad y de ellos mismos. Se aborda el tema del fracaso de

las actuales teoras, investigaciones y proyectos en psicologa comunitaria en la consideracin de la naturaleza de

las comunidades y las implicaciones de su trabajo para el desarrollo de comunidades prosociales. Se presenta un

enfoque comprensivo, centrado en el nio, para la construccin de comunidades prosociales, el cual necesaria-

mente incluye a los nios como participantes. Se mencionan proyectos comunitarios prosociales ilustrativos

orientados a la juventud, implicaciones de sus resultados y lneas de investigacin sugeridas.

PSYKHE

2004, Vol.13, N 2, 3-15

Introduction

The special role and relevance that communitieshave on the well-being of children is the focus ofthis paper. Specifically, prosocial communities areessential to the survival and well-being ofindividuals and the societies in which they live.Simply creating prosocial communities will not solveall the worlds problems nor all the problems ofindividuals. On the other hand, those problemscannot be solved or even substantially alleviatedwithout prosocial communities that value andsupport a benign and nurturing quality of life fortheir members, especially their children. Children areparticularly vulnerable to being harmed bydestructive societal policies and practices andharmful adult conduct. The quality of their lives isdiminished and their socialization leaves them ill-prepared to sustain themselves and contribute to abenign society as adults.

For any society to function effectively, it mustinclude a network of prosocial communities. Thatnetwork must be strong enough to resist the divisiveforces among those communities and its individualmembers and manage relationships constructively(prosocially) with outsiders. For example, in asummary of the past half-century of research onintercultural relations and on nation building, Segall,Dasen, Berry, and Poortinga (1999) noted that in-groups become ethnocentric. However, overarchingidentities can be formed and ethnocentrism andinterethnic conflict reduced by emphasizing culturalsimilarities and increasing proximity andopportunities for equal status contact. Further,when individuals locate themselves in a relativelysmall collectivity that has meaning as an in-groupthey can probably also identify comfortably with alarger collectivity that includes the smaller one (p.295). This point is particularly apt when consideringthe well-being of children and their families as wellas the childrens relationship to their societies.

Defining a Prosocial Community

Understanding the central role of prosocialcommunities begins with peoples common sense

Forrest B. Tyler, Department of Psychology.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed

to Forrest B. Tyler, Department of Psychology, University

of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States

of America. E-mail: Ftyler@psyc.umd.edu

4understandings of themselves, their communities,those around them, and the world in which they live.That general nature of those understandings andtheir importance is outlined in the following sections.

Common Sense Definitions

The following meanings, taken from the RandomHouse Websters Collegiate Dictionary (1999), arederived from Western cultural concepts. However,to the extent that they describe general patterns ofrelationships rather than the particular content ofthose relationships, they have relevance forunderstanding prosocial communities in all cultures.

A community is defined as a group of peoplewho reside in a specific locality, share government,and often have a common cultural and historicalheritage (p. 268). This definition focuses on theties that provide the framework providing communitymembers a way to interact. It does not addresswhether the communitys members share anycommon concerns for each other.

Social is defined as pertaining to, devoted to,or characterized by friendly companionship orrelations (p. 1242). The word social adds theelement of amicable interpersonal relationshipsamong the communitys members. It does not specifythe nature of the amicable relationships involved.

Although the dictionary provides no specificdefinition, from my perspective a prosocialcommunity includes the consideration that everyoneis committed to working together for the well-beingof others and the community as well as forthemselves. People have a sense of collectiveresponsibility for each other and for the community.This definition does not imply that there are noconflicts within the community. Rather, it implies thatno one becomes totally dominant and no one getsultimately defeated and excluded or destroyedbecause of conflicts. The dictionary defines well-being as a good or satisfactory condition ofexistence; a state characterized by health, happiness,and prosperity; welfare (p. 1480) but is silent aboutwhether well-being is an individual or a psychosocialcharacteristic. From a prosocial perspective, well-being is based on consideration of others and thecommunity along with the self.

These definitions provide an initial basis fromwhich to explore the nature of prosocial communities.Even so, they leave us with at least two questionsabout the relationship of individuals to suchcommunities. How and to what extent are individual

well-being and the well-being of the communityinterrelated? How are differences and conflictsbetween individuals understood and managed in theinterests of all concerned? We must answer thesequestions to determine whether prosocialcommunities can be developed and sustained inways that foster their well-being and that of theirinhabitants.

Structural Elements of a Prosocial Community

The question of the relationship between theindividual, other equally autonomous (free)individuals, partially autonomous (free) individualssuch as children, and the community has become afocus of concern in modern society. Everyonesidentity is psychosocial. It is formed in a socialcontext, and all people are influenced by theircontexts even when they seek autonomy andisolation. For people to survive and thrive it isessential that they build on convergences withothers, accept and respect differences, and manageconflicts (Tyler, Brome, & Williams, 1992). The waysthat people perform these tasks provide the structuralelements to guide how they manage their autonomyand relational needs, the communitys well-being(including the socialization of its children), andinteractions with the external world in which it isinternested.

In an earlier text (Tyler, 2001), I identified thenature of a prosocial community and discussed howexisting societal institutions tend to fall short ofmeeting those standards. For example, communitiescontain educational, economic, and socialorganizations to serve specific societal purposes.These organizations provide needed perspectivesand skills to members of the community, but alsoselect out those who do not fulfill their requirementsor, once admitted, do not meet their performancecriteria. This arrangement leaves open the possibilitythat some individuals may not be acceptable to anyof their communitys organizations including theirfamilies i.e., they may even lose their families. Theybecome marginalized and are discriminated againstby the community. Their choices are to remainoutsiders, act in non-socially sanctioned ways tochange society so they can be included, or actagainst the community to maintain their lives andidentities. In large communities, there are oftensubstantial numbers of individuals who engage inantisocial behavior and even create counter-culturecommunities (we often call such groups among

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5children gangs). The most comprehensive alternativefor avoiding these socially destructive possibilitiesis to form prosocial communities in which everyoneis included as a participant, no one is excluded, andall are involved in addressing needed social changes.This inclusion is essential for children. Thecommunity cannot be prosocial for them unless theycan participate in defining and protecting theirinterests and can take on their accompanyingresponsibilities.

Advocates for disadvantaged and excludedindividuals and groups including children oftenemphasize the importance of addressing their needs,at times in ways that seem adversarial in relation tomore advantaged individuals or segments of society.Nelson, Prilleltensky, and MacGillivarys (2001)proposal that community psychologists join withoppressed group members falls short of focusingon the creation of a prosocial community.Prilleltensky (2001), a coauthor of Nelsons, focusedon values and cycles of reflection, research, andsocial action (praxis) as necessary for communitypsychologists to inform their efforts to reducesuffering and promote wellness. He deplored thatrelatively little attention has been paid in psychologyto values, stressed that most community psychologyefforts contribute more to changes in individualsthan in their communities, and emphasized theimportance of attaining social justice as critical forreducing suffering and promoting wellness. Heemphasized the importance of basing communitypsychology efforts on a social justice valuefoundation and balancing the three elements of praxiswhile working to aid the oppressed, but left unclearthe nature of a just community and the status ofchildren in such a community. That is, a communitythat is viewed by its members as treating them fairly.

Prosocial justice. A system of prosocial justicedesigned to treat everyone fairly must thus includemore than attention to disadvantaged communitymembers. It must be fair to everyone and to thecommunity as an ongoing sustaining collective. Forexample, resolutions of differences are consideredto be just only when they meet fairness/equatabilitycriteria in regard to the prosocial status of both thecommunity and the individuals involved. Theimplications of this position for children areparticularly salient as they have seldom been able toexpress and defend their interests. Ennew (2002)highlighted this point at an international conferencein Beijing, China, focused on the rights of childrento participate in decisions about themselves. She

emphasized that children must participate for threereasons, one legal and two practical. In the UnitedNations Declaration on the Rights of Children, theinternational law states that children not only haverights to care and protection from harm, but alsohuman rights as equal members of the human race.Practical reasons for considering childrens rightsinclude that decisions may not have the bestoutcomes if children are not listened to. Plus, theyare uniquely knowledgeable about their own lives.Ennew emphasized that what constitutes appropriatelevels of childrens participation is related to ageand maturity, both of which are social constructs aswell as biological facts, and may differ from cultureto culture. She summarized by saying, listening tochildren does not mean discounting adult knowledgebut rather completes information about communitylife in the same way that womens views complementthose of men (Ennew, 2002, p. 4). Children are notpart of the community (society) unless they areincluded, listened to, and granted appropriate rightsto define their reality and participate in society.

Ennews position complements one on socialjustice formulated by Tyler, Boeckman, Smith, andHuo (1997). Their conclusion was drawn from theirresearch on how individual decisions have anintricate connection with societal outcomes. Theyemphasized how peoples notions about social justiceare derived from personal judgments about whetheran involved persons state is fair/unfair and on thesocial comparisons on which that judgment is based.Four major conceptions about what is involved inarriving at such judgments and determining theirlegitimacy were identified, specifically: relativedeprivation, distributive justice, procedural justice,

and retributive justice. Each of these considerations,its role in shaping our definition of and approach tosocial justice, and the empirical consequences ofour resultant behavior is examined in brief in thefollowing paragraphs.

People make decisions about their sense ofrelative deprivation on the basis of comparisonswith real or imagined external criteria. The criteria formaking these objective-subjective comparisonsdetermine the standards for individual and societalstandards of fairness. For example, children whoseviews are often discounted must be considered iftheir well-being is to be included in efforts tounderstand the nature of justice and its relationshipto the lives and well-being of people and of theircommunities. Questions must also be asked aboutwhat constitutes community justice, an important

THE ROLE OF PROSOCIAL COMMUNITIES

6requirement for a prosocial community. Tyler et al.(1997) examined three theories of justice responsesand their impact on peoples feelings, attitudes, andbehaviors. Those theories concern the remainingthree concepts that are relevant to prosocial justice:distributive, procedural, and retributive justice.They provide a useful basis for answering howpeople and societies decide what is just and what todo to accomplish justice for themselves and theirchildren.

Distributive justice is focused on threeapproaches to how fairness is determined:1. Equity: Justice is served when peoples merits

(work output) and rewards are in balance.2. Equality: Justice is served when each participant

seems to be equally involved in contributing tothe relationship overall, although in distinctiveways; or when available rewards are distributedwith individuals getting equal amounts withoutregard to their merits in producing or attainingthose rewards.

3. Need: Justice is served when resources areallocated to partners according to their needs.The research that is available indicates that

people a) have strong senses of morality andinjustice and b) base their judgments on situationalcontexts, using equity, equality, and need criteriaaccordingly. They also respond differently to indi-vidual, societal, and intermediate group (e.g., ethnic,gender) issues.

People are also concerned with the steps takento arrive at justice outcomes, that is, with proceduraljustice. It has the widest multicultural validity, andseems to be the linchpin in establishing the legitimacyof justice procedures. Research findings indicate thatpeople prefer to have a voice in proceedings evenwhen that voice is time consuming, costly, and weknow that having our voice will have no effect onthe outcome of a dispute. Evidently, fairness inprocedures is important to people personally andalso for holding communities together. Theseprocedures provide a basic sense of social justicethat enables people to identify with their communitiesand are also particularly important in socializingchildren to become prosocially oriented.

Finally, understanding whether our approachesto justice contribute to creating a prosocialcommunity requires considering the consequencesof violating the standards of justice since the rightto fair treatment includes the requirement to respectthe rights of others. Tyler et al. (1997) discussed thebroader societal reasons for retributive justice, for

justifying punitiveness as a means of controllingrule breaking behavior. The most important reasonproved to be social conditions (e.g., beliefs thatfamilies were not adequately socializing children).Peoples three major concerns were: a) fear of crime,b) need to defend group cohesiveness by punishingdeviant rule breakers, and c) concern with linkingjustice evaluations and behaviors to maintain andstrengthen the groups social bonds and contributeto a positive definition of the group. While punitivemeasures may deter crime, it is not clear that aretributive orientation for responding to violatorsserves the goals of creating a prosocial society inwhich people are willing to follow the rules and areconcerned about each others welfare, not just theirown. This last consideration is particularly relevantfor children who have relatively little power toprotect themselves against retribution.

The brief summaries here do not convey thedepth and complexity of how justice issues arereflected in our individual and collective behaviorand in their impact on our communities. However,they do make clear that the concept of justice ispsychosocial. They also highlight that anyobligation to children having a role in decidingjustice considerations regarding their situation orwell-being has been little considered.

Human dignity. The idea that humans haveworthiness apart from their value on any specifiableutilitarian criterion is not always included inpsychological accounts. The anthropologist Ennew(2002) underscored that human dignity is the keyconcept in human rights. She stressed that it is onlythrough inclusion of children as participants whenconsidering issues bearing on their lives that theirdignity can be appropriately considered.

Ennew disagreed with those who use therationale that childrens involvement infringes onthe rights of parents and threatens the integrity ofthe family. She emphasized that childrens rightsinclude their responsibilities to honor their limitationsand need for socialization and to respect the rightsand child-rearing responsibilities of their parents.Consequently, only when children are allowed toparticipate will everyone involved learn how theycan serve as participants in the wider society.

Peoples participation in issues that affect theirlives is a human right. It extends to all members of allgroups, and it is possible to create and maintain asense of justice within a community only wheneveryone is included. All people, including children,have discretionary capabilities of judgment and

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7choice, have some level of responsibility for theirown conduct and contribution to their communities,and can exercise that right only when allowed to doso.

Giving consideration to these rudimentarycomponents of justice and of human rights isessential to understanding how individuals relate toeach other within the context of their communitiesand societies. However, its focus is primarily on therights of the individuals in it without explicit concernabout how the community itself is sustained. AsShelbourne (2001) has emphasized, no society cansustain itself if it is based solely on rights. No one isborn as a self-sufficient autonomous individual andno one can survive as one. Everyone is born in andinitially dependent on a social unit, usually a family.To sustain itself that unit forms what Shelbournecalls a civic society held together by a shared civicbond. Further, all of its members have a primary dutyto sustain and monitor the prosocial nature of thatcivic bond and society. Otherwise, they arecontributing to the destruction of the sustainingbasis of their autonomy, their freedom.

Individual prosocial morality (conscience).

Because individuals participate in creating their livesand communities, we need to understand how theyform their conceptions of personal and societalresponsibilities and entitlements. That is, we needto ask how individuals form a conscience, an innersense of what is right or wrong in ones conduct ormotives, impelling one toward right action (RandomHouse, 1999, p. 282). We also need to ask what de-termines whether a persons conscience will includeprosocially constructive, individually self-serving,or antisocial destructive criteria. The followingstudies provide some, albeit incomplete, answers.

Tyler and Blader (2003) studied the relationshipin adults between justice, identity, and behavior.They found that procedural justice approaches thattreat people with dignity yield a sense of pride andrespect. These approaches lead to greater groupidentity and prosocial behavior. The same patternswould seem to be relevant to children, although noresearch with children was cited.

Kochanska (2002) reported on the concept of amutually responsive orientation (MRO) betweenmothers and children as having a positive impact onthe development of a prosocial conscience in children(he does not use that term.). He defined MRO as apositive, close, mutually binding, and cooperativerelationship, which encompasses two components,responsiveness and shared positive affect (Kochanska,

2002, p. 192). His longitudinal studies on the mother-child relationship from early in life into the school ageyears found a direct relationship between an MRO anda strong prosocial conscience in the children. TheirMRO relationships were thought to influence thedevelopment of internal representations for a workingmodel of a cooperative, reciprocal, mutuallyaccommodating relationship in which partners naturallydo things for one another without abrogating theirautonomy (Kochanska, 2002, p. 104).

These findings provide an indication of the kindsof psychosocial dynamics relevant to whether andhow people and communities develop prosocialorientations and conduct themselves accordingly.Unfortunately, psychologists and others interestedin child development have focused their researchprimarily on other issues. Much more needs to beknown about how to accommodate existing societalapproaches to incorporate childrens participationinto their socialization and the effects of suchchanges on them and society.

Scope and context. Without justice we donthave a humane society. Without people who havean internalized sense of commitment to prosocialjustice (prosocial conscience) guiding their perso-nal behavior we cannot develop and sustain thecommunities that are basic integrating elements of ahumane society. Basing exchanges on self-interestalone may deter antisocial interactions. It does notprovide for the development and maintenance ofpatterns of conduct such as prosocial childdevelopment that benefit the community as well aslong term individual interests.

As is often noted, with globalization the entireworld is a community. All communities must respondto the limits of their resources and scope and to thepotentially benign possibilities and threats fromsurrounding communities. They must address theinescapable tensions that exist between the indivi-dual needs and desires of their members and theircollective desire for creating and maintaining a justand nourishing community. Resolving thesetensions in prosocial ways is essential to creatingand maintaining the prosocial nature of anycommunity, large or small.

This individual-group tension within andbetween communities has primarily been depictedin psychology and related fields as metaphoricallylike a community with a commons, an area (such as agrazing area) held by its members for their commonuse. Tension arises from the shared knowledge thatit is to the short term benefit of each community

THE ROLE OF PROSOCIAL COMMUNITIES

8member to use the grazing area for as many animalsas s/he can. However, if everyone does so thecommons will be destroyed and everyone will loseaccess to that resource. This model assumes thatpeople are motivated by their own self-interest andhave the unlimited right to behave accordingly. Theirfreedom to use the resource is viewed as independentof and in opposition to their commitment to aprosocial society providing justice for all.

People have reasoned that two goals or valuescannot be maximized at the same time and concludedthat either freedom or justice must be compromisedto prevent the destruction of the commons. Thereare several reasons for challenging this conclusion:(a) All resources are finite, consequently unlimiteduse will necessarily exhaust them; (b) freedom is notlimitless choices, choices are always constrained bya range of factors including resource availability; (c)peoples individual and social concerns are notalways independent; (d) people are active agentsand can free themselves from the limiting effects oftheir histories and the self-destructive aspects oftheir natures; (e) reason and desire (facts and values)are not independent, they are contingent on eachother, and their interrelationships change withcircumstances; and (f) dealing with the commonsproblem involves continually changing andextending our focus, it does not permit of a one-timesolution for eternity. Thus the commons problem isnot insoluble; it can be approached in ways that aremore defensible and that permit it to be addressed.The central argument of this paper is that thisproblem can be resolved constructively. AsShelbourne (2001) has argued, it is imperative thatpeople have a sense of duty as well as a sense ofright. Socializing children accordingly can lead tothe formation of prosocial consciences and to apreference for prosocial communities. In such anapproach adults and children must be included asparticipants with duties as well as rights andprivileges. For example, parents cannot socialize theirown children prosocially unless there is a supportiveenvironment, and they cannot live in a supportiveenvironment unless they contribute to creating andsustaining that environment.

Studying and Intervening in Communities

Studying a community or intervening in it toaccomplish a particular objective requires a changeagent such as a psychologist to assume a complexrole in relation to that community. To function in a

prosocial way, the change agents relationship to thecommunity must be clearly defined. It must addresseveryones respective a) interests and b) statuses asat least quasi members of the community. Further,since changing any community also changes at leastsome aspects of its environs, additional considerationmust be given to meeting responsibilities to thesurrounding environment and other communities.These concerns lead to questions about how prosocialcommunity considerations relate to other relevantcriteria.

A second set of considerations is of a morepragmatic nature. The conditions needed for acommunity to be sufficiently autonomous to changeor be changed and sustain itself at least quasiindependently in relationship to external forces mustbe identified. The essential requirements must alsobe established that enable communities to influencethe larger contexts in which they are nested. In par-ticular, childrens interests and childrensparticipation need to be included in responding toall of these considerations. They are anycommunitys most vulnerable and least listened tomembers.

The Current Situation in Community

Psychology

Community psychology and related fields mustaddress the issues raised above before they cancontribute to building prosocial communities. Thefollowing are a summary of my observations aboutthe relevant status of community psychology withregard to these concerns. It is based on my reviewof the recent Handbook of Community Psychologyby Rappaport and Seidman (2000).

A rich and varied set of writing, research, andchange projects have been undertaken under thegeneral topic of community, and they have produceddesirable outcomes for the individuals and groupsinvolved. However, most community focusedwriting, research, and projects do not address whatis meant by community or what the potentialconsequences prosocial or otherwise of thoseefforts are for the community beyond the segmentthey have targeted. These projects are only looselyrelated to each other, and it is difficult to determinewhether they serve the development of prosocialcommunities. While no study or intervention cantouch on everything, they do not have a communityfocus unless they are explicitly designed, conducted,analyzed, and interpreted in reference to a concept

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9of community. At least some of the undertakingsconsequences for participants, change agentsinvolved, the community at large, and outsiders needto be addressed explicitly. One contributor notedbriefly that social change is complex, difficult toaccomplish, and requires long term efforts. Whiletrue, that observation should not excuse ignoringthe implications of existing social conditions or offindings from ongoing activities. Rather, it shouldunderscore the vital importance of documenting theneed for social changes and undertaking efforts tobring them about and evaluate the consequences ofdoing so.

For example, those involved in most endeavorsdirected to studying diversity as a relevant aspect ofcommunities do not define diversitys relationship andrelevance to a concept of community. Nor do theyindicate what the potential consequences prosocialor otherwise of their efforts are for communities.Consequently, their efforts may or may not be directedtoward their goal of achieve diversity and its desiredeffects.

With regard to children, it is not clear thatempowering them (or any other relatively powerlessgroup) has a constructive effect on making them ortheir community more prosocial. It may contributeto more intracommunity strife and/or to thedisempowerment of other individuals or groupswithin the community. There is relatively littleattention to the lives of children reported in theHandbook. What is there is almost exclusively aboutdeveloping their competencies as their greatestresource for achieving psychological wellness. Thatwellness is emphasized primarily as a bulwark formanaging stress and as a means of achieving primaryprevention of psychological disorder.

In summary, these community efforts are focusedlargely on creating changes in individuals, albeit ata system or community level. Further, when systemschanges are proposed, they tend to be oriented tochanging systems so that they at least do not inhibitthe development of wellness characteristics in thepopulations affected. These emphases are laudatorybut there seems to have been little attention toconsidering whether the changes proposed and thewellness characteristics developed are prosociallyrather than individual autonomy oriented.

Requirements of a Prosocial Community

Efforts to develop a prosocial community or torelate community psychologys (or any other groups)

undertakings to that goal must be evaluated withreference to that overarching conception. For example,the pioneer African American psychologists, KennethB. and Mamie Clark devised and fostered a tenuousbalance between adjustment to ones race andamelioration of a racist society (Lal, 2002, p. 25) intheir work in the predominantly African-AmericanHarlem district (ghetto) of New York City. They soughtto work with victims to offset the destructive impactsof their societys injustices while also creating a morebroadly prosocial society.

K. Clark also sought to address the prosocialresponsibilities of societys oppressors and thebenefits for them as well as the oppressed of creatinga more just society. He subsequently stressed theimportance of society acting to prevent thecontinuing infection of its youth with social groupviolence and hostility. He pointed out that UnitedStates society suppresses empathy and kindness.However, his vision of a solution seems focusedprimarily, if not exclusively, on creating matureindividuals. That is, in Prejudice and your Child(1963) Clark stated his belief that significant socialchanges could be accomplished by informing peopleof the social science research evidence about theharm from prejudiced and discriminatory child rearingpractices and the benefits of changing them.

Targeted Approaches to the Development of

Prosocial Communities

My focus on prosocial community orientedapproaches to changing societies and individualsincludes that those involved acknowledge andaddress injustices and emphasize the benefits to allfrom doing so. Construction of a prosocial societyis impossible unless all segments of the society arebetter served and understand that the changesnecessarily made are in their interests. However, aswas emphasized in the first meeting of the Board ofEthnic and Social Responsibility for Psychology(BSERP), involving the American PsychologicalAssociation (APA) in social justice issues andturning its social and ethical questions on itselfwould create conflict (BSERP, 1973a, p. 4, cited inPickren & Tomes, 2002). Resolving such conflicts isthe central dilemma in the creation of prosocialcommunities. Those committed to change mustconsider its implications for them and for those whooppose change and be as willing to changethemselves as others.

Probably no more apt examples of conflict

THE ROLE OF PROSOCIAL COMMUNITIES

10

resulting from prosocial changes can be found thanthe struggles in the United States amongpsychologists and within psychology over the issueof white racism. The most seminal figure in thosestruggles is Kenneth B. Clark, the first (and still theonly) African-American President of APA. Hisresearch and that of his wife on the effect of racismon the psychosocial development of all childrenwas an integral part of the U. S. Supreme Courts1954 decision to outlaw segregation in publicschools. He was instrumental in making changes inthe APA as a scholar, a public policy figure, and aparticipant in the psychological communitys effortsto clean up its conduct and organization internallyand in relationship to the broader community. Clarkwas an exemplar in his role as an involvedobserver and participant-symbol (Keppel, 2002)in using the colonialist metaphor and defining thecontext by writing that the dark ghetto isinstitutionalized pathology [my italics] (Keppel,2002, p. 34).

As he illustrated, creating a prosocialcommunity requires a) eliminating conceptionsand mechanisms that exclude individuals andgroups, b) creating conceptions and mechanismsthat include all individuals and groups, and c)involving each of us, professionals included, inimposing on ourselves these same requirements.These three issues, particularly the last, are vitalto creating prosocial development possibilities foryouth, as is highlighted in the following selectedexamples.

Eliminating Antisocial Behavior

Olweus (1992) found in his longitudinal study inNorwegian schools that bullying developed andcontinued among the youth for whom it worked. Thebullies did not feel insecure; they had high self-esteem and continued bullying into adulthood unlessstopped. A joint effort that involved coordination ofhome, community, and school programs wasrequired to reduce the bullying. Relevant adults weretaught how to create benign and supportiveenvironments by establishing warm, involved, andpositively interested relationships with the childrenand providing firm, consistent, non-hostile, non-physical sanctions against unacceptable behavior.In short, the community members createdtrustworthy prosocial environments characterized bymodeling and teaching prosocial behaviors.

Resource Exchange and Psychosocial

Competence

In 1970, I designed and conducted a large highschool based collaborative project in the UnitedStates to evaluate and improve a suburban countysgroup counseling program. The program was usedto facilitate racial integration among previouslysegregated students. It was based on the assumptionthat all of those involved, from students to projectsupervisor psychologists, brought resources andneeds to the project and could gain by exchangingtheir resources to help each other. The students wereAfrican American and Anglo, marginal andexemplary. Results supported that a) the approacheffectively created more psychosocially competentand prosocially oriented students, and b) confirmedin a final evaluation that the participants judged eachother as behaving in resource collaborative ways indoing so (F. Tyler, Pargament, & Gatz, 1983).

The Olweus and F. Tyler studies focused on onlya limited aspect of life in a community. Further, theywere initiated by the adults involved rather than inconjunction with the youth. However, theyemphasized collaborative participation and requiredall concerned to apply to themselves theexpectations they imposed on others. Further, theyexamined and sought to change the interrelationsbetween diverse individuals and groups in complexinstitutions (schools) that are central to socializingchildren for adult roles in their communities.

Protecting the Rights of Child Laborers

Recent approaches to the situations of workingchildren and to their rights and responsibilities havetaken on the additional objective of including thechildren in defining and implementing approachesto their rights and responsibilities and on broaderaspects of societal change. It is instructive tohighlight the unique contributions of some of theseundertakings.

In a study commissioned by UNICEF, Hart (1977)and his collaborators focused on childrens rightsand environmentally sustainable development,drawing on examples of children from a variety ofcultures who had participated in societal activities.Their research provides useful principles andexamples about the process involved in workingwith children so that we can engage them in moregenuinely participatory ways (p. x). They noted

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that while there seems to be greater development ofchildrens community participation in less developedcountries, the greatest divide is between adults whodo and do not recognize the capacities and desiresof children to make a meaningful contribution to theirsocieties.

In South East Asia efforts are underway toinstitutionalize childrens rights to participate inpolicy formation and the implementation ofsupportive conditions for their work. The RegionalWorking Group on Child Labor (RWGCL, 2003)compiled a self-study handbook that managers canuse to facilitate childrens participation. Nationalchild and manager workshops were held in thePhilippines, Viet Nam, and Thailand to share insightsand experiences and examine the meaning of,opportunities for, challenges to, and protection fromabuses of childrens participation in labor. Theresultant handbook provides perhaps the best andmost explicit examples of the inclusion of workingchildren as fully participating members of a prosocialcommunity approach to labor.

Programs focused on child labor contribute tothe well-being of the children involved and to theformation of prosocial communities. They do so byincorporating children into the communities as acti-ve participants in their societies and as individualswith the rights and responsibilities that adult citizenshave. At least indirectly, they also contribute tochanging the roles and expectations of the adults,including the communitys leaders and the childrenscaretakers, in a prosocial framework in the area ofwork.

A Comprehensive Child-Centered Approach

to Prosocial Community Building

An example of a multifaceted community andsociety-based program that incorporates the majorcharacteristics of a prosocial community isprovided by Questscope. It is a non-governmentalorganization chartered in England to assistmarginalized children and their families in theMideast. In 1997 Questscopes director, Dr. CurtRhodes, decided to use my prosocial communitymodel (Tyler, 1997) as the model for its programwith marginalized populations in Jordan as wellas for the development and conduct of programactivities. At that time my wife (a nurse/anthropologist) and I began an ongoingcollaborative consultation to assist him.

Questscope has implemented its prosocialcommunity orientation by working only withcommunity groups who request its collaborativeparticipation and agree to the shared goal ofestablishing the groups program as a free standing,prosocial community. It focuses on incorporating allfacets of each community in working collaborativelyto organize, conduct, and evaluate activities, and tointegrate projects into the fabric of the communityso that the community will sustain them. Its prosocialorganization and functioning are highlighted in thefollowing paragraphs.

The Nature of Questscope

Questscope has a central policy, program, andfiscal organizational structure. Personnel areengaged in a variety of activities from fund raisingto social policy development to workingcollaboratively with community members and thefamilies and children participating in their projects.As with any organization, Questscopes organizationand structure are in part a function of its context.Jordan is part of the Majority World (Kagitcibasi,1996) in being outside of the developed worldeconomically, being a predominantly Muslim society,and being a Hashemite kingdom. However, it isprogressive and responsive to modernizinginfluences of Western societies. For example,Questscopes mosque based program for adolescentgirls could not have been implemented without cle-rical consent, but those clerics have not onlyrequested it but provided their women leaders(deaconnesses) with the autonomy needed toaddress and ameliorate the effects of restrictivecontrols on young women. Related research andprogram development activities by Kagitcibasi (1996)in the area of family and human development inTurkey has provided instructive findings about thesocial context of Majority World societies. They haveled her to conclude that the emerging model ofemotional interdependence characteristic of thosesocieties produces an autonomous-interrelated selfthat is potentially more amenable than the Westernindividual autonomy model as a basis for prosocialindividual and family development. Thus, part of thesuccess of Questscopes prosocial communityoriented projects may be that societies such as Jordanare particularly receptive and supportive of thatmodel.

Questscopes community project activities range

THE ROLE OF PROSOCIAL COMMUNITIES

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from one-to-one mentoring of youth, to youthparticipation in decision making and leadershipdevelopment, to development of economic projectsand national referral linkages. Current programs tofacilitate the psychosocial development of youth inJordan include (a) several with working youth atvarious sites including one in an industrial city, (b)one with unwanted/abandoned, illegitimate, ororphaned youth living in a government facility witha daytime open door policy, (c) one located in amosque with adolescent girls from refugee or lowincome families, and (d) entire refugee camps.

That approach was implemented in the followingway: The pro-social approach emphasizes threeessential facets of community development: localitydevelopment (building consensus on commonconcerns and providing activities that increaseinsight and capabilities), collaborative linkages(involving local organisations and professionals inimproving the lives of those at risk), and civicaction (involving civic authorities in implementingresponsive pro-social policies and practices).

Expansion of Program

Community groups who request Questscopescollaborative participation are expected to agree tothe shared goal of establishing their program as afree standing, prosocial community within five years.During the five years, the groups personnel receiveintense training in Questscopes methods and inrestructuring their program as needed. The groupthen begins to work autonomously, but continuesto participate in a Questscope policy group (prosocialcommunity) to create and maintain other such groups.A core aspect of the groups development is theformation of volunteer-based mentoring programsto work directly with at risk children and families,primarily youth from the ages of 14 to 25. The youthare invited to participate; however, to do so theymust commit to acquiring the necessary skills (fromlearning to read and write to acquiring basic self-respect to learning wood and metal working skills torunning a small business) and integrating into thecommunity in a prosocial fashion.

Implications for Prosocial Community

Development Concepts and Approaches

The worth of the Questscope approach rests onits impact. Rhodes, Mihyar, Al-Bustami, and Al-

Khouli (2004) summarized the value of the mentoringactivities in reporting on a prospective study of 164youth participants who completed pre and postassessments. For example,

The primary means of collaborating withparticipants from disadvantaged backgrounds wasthe establishment of a meaningful personalrelationship: often the first non-exploitativeassociation the participant had ever experienced.Participants responded best to those interventionsthat increased their influence on what happened tothem, provided opportunities to take responsibility,and emphasized mutual cooperation.

Even minimal experience with a mentor wasremarkably effective... Changes were noted insocially adaptive behavior, cognitive skills forproblem solving, development of self-concept/emotional stability, vocational maturity and reductionof substance abuse for all those who shared evenbrief relationship with a mentor (p. 11).

Rhodes and his colleagues also stressed thatmentoring is an appropriate approach for broad-scale, nationwide programmes that can involve highlymotivated volunteers in effective social action intheir neighborhoods - making a difference in the livesof others less fortunate and restoring marginalizedbut talented individuals to effective, productivecitizenship (p. 14). The empirical evidence such asthat cited above from Questscopes outcome studiessupport that conclusion.

It may be that the process of constructingprosocial community programs creates the intrinsicconditions essential to making them effective. In ourprogram evaluation of Questscope (Tyler & Tyler,2002), we found that one of the things the mentorsvalued from their participation was that it providedways for them to contribute to society and to becomebetter parents themselves. This view was shared byadministrative and program personnel as wellbecause they are all educated in how to create andcontribute in a collaborative approach to theirprogram activities. One of the successes of theindustry program has been the changes in thesupervisors in the settings where the youth work.They are no longer resistant to allowing the youthto participate in the program during working hoursbecause doing so has led the youth to become betterworkers. Our numerous visits to homes in refugeecamps and to community and project training centersprovided valuable comments. Supervisors, parents,and mentors detailed the enormous impact on the

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youth, on their respect for and from the youth, andon improved family relationships. The youthdescribed their enhanced self confidence andhopeful perspectives. They also demonstrated theirskills, ranging from reading newspapers to buildingfurniture to managing coffee shops and market stalls.They pointed out other youth they had recruited forparticipation. In short, as people from all aspects ofthese diverse groups participated in the Questscopeactivities, they became more prosocially orientedthemselves and contributed more to the projectsevolution of itself as a prosocial community.

During that same evaluation, we also took partin a Questscope conference of program directorsand representatives from a range of government andnon-government agencies. Included wererepresentatives form the Ministry of Social Services,Family Protection and Anti-narcotics units ofJordans Directory of Public Security, Counselingand Community Services programs of the Universityof Jordan, a womens rights organization, and aprominent social activist Islamic cleric. Theirdeliberations highlighted their shared growinginterest in and adoption of collaborative prosocialcommunity oriented approaches as program policyin their respective agencies and in forming acollaborative group among themselves to bettercoordinate their programs. Questscopes programefforts have also attracted support and positiveevaluations from the European Union, Governmentof Japan, UNICEF, and the World Bank as well asindividual contributors.

These brief paragraphs hardly do justice to thecomplexity of a prosocial community developmentprogram such as that of Questscope. At best, theyhighlight the integrated and self-reinforcing natureof the spiral pattern of prosocial development thatcharacterizes such prosocial program activities.Because of its nature, its internal and externalstructure and dynamics, establishing a prosocialcommunity program of any scope generatesinteractive patterns that further its development. Itdoes so by involving everyone in prosocial activitiesand becoming more prosocially oriented.

It is easy to cite the direct changes in the youthwho participate in mentoring programs as evidenceof the validity of Questscopes prosocial communitydevelopment approach. The less easily documentedchanges such as those cited in the mentors andemployers also support that conclusion. At a moregeneral level, the adoption of this orientation in their

own programs by other agency directors in Jordanincluding the Department of Public Safety and theadoption of a multi agency prosocial communityorientation for interacting with each other amongthese directors add further support. Further,Questscope and its programs are being endorsedby Jordans Royal Family and religious leaders. Thesedevelopments taken as a whole constitutesubstantial empirical support for the value of thisapproach as not only effective for marginalizedchildren and their families but as a holistic model forcommunity and societal development.

Integration and Summary

Societies need to create prosocial communitiesto enable them to thrive and, in particular, providefor the well-being of their children. Such communitiesare characterized by their inhabitants beingconcerned with the well-being of others in thecommunity and the community as well as themselves.Resolving the tensions and distributing benefits forcommunity members are guided by the way therelationships between their personal well-being andthat of their community are defined. Crucial factorsinclude socialization practices that accord everyonea sense of dignity, promote the development of aprosocial conscience in individuals, and rely on so-cial justice procedures that are considered to be fairto the ongoing community as well as the individualsinvolved. It is of crucial importance that children beaccorded full human rights and included asparticipants in matters concerning their own well-being and that of their communities. They are themost vulnerable members of the community and theleast able to protect themselves, yet also the leastallowed to participate in their own behalf.

In contrast, at present most communitydevelopment efforts tend to focus on how to improvean undesirable situation in some marginalizedsubsection of a community. There seems to be theassumption, at least implicitly, that the quality of lifein the rest of the community will be diminishedbecause the other residents will have to give upsomething to the groups assisted. In most of theseendeavors little attention is given to psychosocialcommunity criteria. One result is that neither changeagents nor community members know whether theirefforts have improved or diminished the communityitself or its children who usually are not included indeciding whether interventions serve their needs.

THE ROLE OF PROSOCIAL COMMUNITIES

14

There are legal, humanistic, and practical reasonsfor according full human dignity status to childrenas members of the community. In particular, it is onlyby doing so that they can be socialized so that theyinternalize prosocial consciences and becomedisposed to contribute to the development andmaintenance of their communities. Unless childrenare included, their communities will remainincompletely prosocial and continue to fosterintergenerational and individual/community conflict.

In addition, investigators and social changeagents mut participate in ways that are consistentwith the requirements of prosocial communities. Theymust become part of the community andacknowledge their individual goals and values aswell as their goals for the community as theyparticipate in its activities. Only then can they accordcommunity members full dignity and respect for theirrights and expect to be accorded the same.

The empirical support cited here for the benefitsof adopting a prosocial community orientedapproach is tentative and suggestive, but it is robust.These examples provide only an outline of the manyways in which such activities can be organized.There is much more to learn about the underlyingsocialization processes that lead to the developmentof such characteristics as a prosocial conscienceand a self characterized by autonomous-relatednessand a prosocial orientation. Studies are needed toidentify the age levels at which children can assumeincreasing levels of autonomy and responsibility.Current criteria are largely based on untestedhistorical and cultural foundations. Other importantareas of research include studies of the processesand steps involved in getting adults to reconsidertheir conceptions of adult/child relationships andhow to change destructive patterns based onauthoritarian and other ideological positions that areinconsistent with existing knowledge.

Finally, each collaborative participatory processmust arise out of its own specific context and reflectthe nature of that context, the people in it, and theirways of living and interrelating. Collaborativeparticipatory projects cannot be routinized. Theirstrength is that they evolve in an organic mannerand can be created only with everyonesinvolvement. In particular, the well-being of children(or any marginalized group) cannot be sustainedwithout their participation. In the long run, neithercan the well-being of those with advantages. Theyall, especially the children, depend on the community

and all must contribute to maintaining an adequateprosocial structure to sustain it. In turn, the childrenwill soon be the parents and leaders who will nurtureor destabilize their families and communities.

References

Clark, K. (1963). Prejudice and your child (3rd edition).

Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.

Ennew, J. (2002, October). Childrens participation:

Experiences and reflections. Keynote address at the

International Workshop on Child Participation Action,

Beijing, China.

Hart, R. A. (1997). Childrens participation: The theory and

practice of involving young citizens in community

development and environmental care. London:

Earthscan.

Kagitcibasi, C. (1996). Family and human development

across cultures. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates.

Keppel, B. (2002). Kenneth B. Clark in the patterns of

American culture. American Psychologist, 57, 29-37.

Kochanska, G. (2002). Mutually responsive orientation

between mothers and their young children: A context for

the early development of conscience. Current Directions

in Psychological Science, 11, 191-195.

Lal, S. (2002). Giving children security: Mamie Phipps Clark

and the Racialization of child psychology. American

Psychologist, 57, 20-28.

Nelson, G., Prilleltensky, I., & MacGillivary, H. (2001).

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oppressed groups. American Journal of Community

Psychology, 29, 649-678.

Olweus, D. (1992). Victimization among schoolchildren:

Intervention and prevention. In G. W. Albee, L. A. Bond,

& T. V. C. Monsey. (Eds.), Improving childrens lives:

Global perspectives on prevention (pp. 279-295). Newbury

Park, CA: Sage.

Pickren, W. E. & Tomes, H. (2002). The legacy of Kenneth

B. Clark to the APA: The Board of Social and Ethical

Responsibility for Psychology. American Psychologist,

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Prilleltensky, I. (2001). Value-based praxis in community

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community psychology. New York: Kluver Academic/

Plenum.

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work together [On-line]. Available at: http:/www.seapa.net/

external/home/home.htm.

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T. (June 7-9, 2004). Assessing mentoring as an approach

to restoring youth competence: A prospective study of

impact in life changes in disadvantaged Arab/Jordanian

children. Presented at Children and Mediterranean

Conference, Genoa, Italy.

Segall, M. H., Dasen, P. R., Berry, J. W., & Poortinga, Y. H.

(1999). Human behavior in global perspective: An

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introduction to cross-cultural psychology (2nd edition).

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Shelbourne, D. (2001). The principle of duty. Notre Dame,

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Tyler, F. B. (June, 1997). Urban settings, youth violence,

and prosocial communities. Invited address at the

International Interdisciplinary Conference on Urban

Childhood, Trondheim, Norway.

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and change. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum

Publishers.

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validity, ecology, and psychotherapy: A psychosocial

competence model. New York: Plenum.

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resource collaborator role: A model for interaction between

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Copyright 2004 by PsykheISSN 0717-0297

Relaciones Entre Psicologa Social Comunitaria, Psicologa Crtica y

Psicologa de la Liberacin: Una Respuesta Latinoamericana

Relations Between Community-Social Psychology, Critical-Social

Psychology, and Social Psychology of Liberation: A Latin American Answer

Maritza MonteroUniversidad Central de Venezuela

En este trabajo se plantea la idea de que la psicologa social comunitaria, la psicologa social crtica y la psicologa

social de la liberacin configuraron una forma de respuesta neoparadigmtica (las dos primeras surgen en Amrica

Latina en los aos 70, la tercera es delineada en los ochenta), concebida en funcin de las necesidades de las

sociedades latinoamericanas, expresada en mutuas influencias. Para ello se realiz una investigacin analtica y

comparativa en literatura latinoamericana concerniente a las tres reas, buscando las caractersticas identificadoras

principales de esos movimientos, las similitudes y las diferencias. Los resultados aqu presentados muestran la

influencia que ha existido entre los tres mbitos y cmo se complementan, comparten fuentes, objetivos y

conceptos.

In this paper it is argued that Community-Social Psychology; Critical-Social Psychology and, Social Psychology

of Liberation configured a neo-paradigmatic (the two former being born in the seventies, the latter in the eighties)

response to the problems and needs suffered by societies in Latin America, expressed through mutual influences

between the three movements. To reach this conclusion an analytical-comparative research was carried out in the

Latin American literature concerning the three areas, looking for the main characteristics identifying each one,

for their similarities and their differences. The results show the influence between them, as well as similarities in

sources, some objectives and concepts.

PSYKHE

2004, Vol.13, N 2, 17-28

Del Por Qu de Este Estudio

El ltimo cuarto del siglo XX y lo que va del XXIhan visto surgir y desarrollarse en el campopsicosocial latinoamericano tres expresiones delquehacer, del cmo hacer y del pensar psicolgicos.Las tres forman parte de la corriente mundial de trans-formacin de la ciencia y son expresin del paradig-ma que hizo eclosin a partir de fines de los aossesenta1. Las tres presentan rasgos especficos pro-pios de nuestro Continente y buscan dar respuestaa los problemas de las sociedades latinoamericanas.Me refiero a la psicologa social comunitaria comoha sido desarrollada en nuestro mbito; a la psicolo-ga social de la liberacin que si bien responde a un

espritu del tiempo presente en muchas latitudes,nace con nombre y apellido en Centroamrica y a lapsicologa social crtica como es elaborada en estastierras.

Si se ha trabajado en los tres movimientos, si selos ha observado de cerca o si se prefiere uno solode ellos, parece inevitable darse cuenta de que hayelementos comunes a los tres. La explicacin puedeestar en el hecho de que los tres surgen en nuestraparte del continente a raz de la crisis de la psicolo-ga y en particular de la psicologa social, habida afinales de los aos sesenta e inicios de los aossetenta o como un efecto a las reacciones a esa cri-sis. Este origen ha sido dicho, discutido y reflexio-nado muchas veces en el primer campo: la psicolo-ga social comunitaria latinoamericana (Lpez & Ri-vera Medina, 1992; Montero, 1980, 1982; Serrano-Garca, 1984; entre otros) y tambin desde el de lapsicologa social, tanto en una de sus versiones ra-dicadas en Amrica Latina (Lpez, 1992; Lpez &Ziga, 1988; Montenegro, 2002; Montenegro, 2004;Piper, 2002), como en la europea (Henriques, Hollway,Irwin, Venn & Walkerdine, 1984; Parker, 1989, 2002;Ibez, 1989; Walkerdine, 2002; Wexler, 1983), y en

Maritza Montero, Facultad de Psicologa.

La correspondencia relativa a este artculo deber ser diri-

gida a la autora, a Apdo. 80394. Prados del Este. Caracas,

1080-A. Venezuela. E-mail: mmontero@reacciun.ve1 Hago referencia, como tantos otros autores contempor-

neos (Martnez, 1993; Munn, 1994, 1995; Parker, 1989,

para citar slo psiclogos) a un cambio de paradigma pues

hubo el reconocimiento de modos diferentes de conocer,

de explicar y de interpretar al mundo y a las relaciones que

los individuos tienen con l y en l.

18

la canadiense (Prilleltensky & Nelson, 1997). Sinembargo, el por qu estos tres movimientos de rup-tura con modos de hacer y de pensar el mundo den-tro de la psicologa se relacionan no pareciera habersido objeto de estudio detenido. Y pareciera acep-tarse que existe algo as como una forma de yuxta-posicin coincidente, que repite, a veces con casilas mismas expresiones, las declaraciones de valo-res, la definicin de conceptos y la exhortacin a lapraxis orientada en la misma direccin.

La relacin entre esos tres modos de abordar laproduccin de conocimiento y su efecto sobre elmedio social configura un modo de hacer psicolo-ga que, si bien ha trascendido el mbito latinoame-ricano, est marcado por su origen no slo geogr-fico sino sociocultural. Sin embargo, los aspectosepistemolgicos, tericos, metodolgicos, ticosy polticos que lo orientan estn tan entretejidosque la relacin entre psicologa comunitaria, talcomo se la ha desarrollado en Amrica Latina (don-de parece predominar su expresin psicosocial)2,psicologa social crtica y psicologa social de laliberacin, puede parecerse a la tarea de desenre-dar una compleja trama en la cual los hilos formanun todo que va ms all de los diferentes dibujosque lo integran.

Este trabajo, de carcter descriptivo, busca mos-trar las relaciones, semejanzas y diferencias, entreestas tres expresiones. Para ello realic un anlisisde contenido comparativo, de obras en las cuales seha definido y analizado en Amrica Latina a esastres corrientes. Las categoras que me permitieronestablecer las comparaciones y relaciones fueron lassiguientes: definicin del rea de conocimiento; in-fluencias recibidas; principales conceptos utilizados;principios de base; mtodos predominantes en suaplicacin y orientacin y fines. Los resultados deesa indagacin se presentan a continuacin y seinician con la contextualizacin y definicin de lastres reas mencionadas.

De la Psicologa Social Comunitaria a laPsicologa Social de la Liberacin a Travs

de la Corriente Crtica

La ola neoparadigmtica que se haca sentir entodos los mbitos de la ciencia, y cuyas ideas yadespuntaban desde fines de los cincuenta en nues-tra parte del continente, irrumpi con fuerza a finesde los aos setenta e inicios de los ochenta del siglopasado. Y lo hizo as, tanto en el campo de las cien-cias sociales como en el de las naturales, con efec-tos en las ciencias sociales y en particular, en Am-rica Latina, en la rama social de la psicologa. Enefecto, la psicologa social respondi dando lugarprimero (mediados de los 70) a una nueva expresin,la psicologa social comunitaria, pronto constituidagenricamente como psicologa comunitaria, pues-to que tambin repercuti en otras reas de la psico-loga. Esa psicologa se defini desde sus inicioscomo el estudio de los factores psicosociales quepermiten desarrollar, fomentar y mantener el controly poder que los individuos pueden ejercer sobre suambiente individual y social para solucionar proble-mas que los aquejan y lograr cambios en esos am-bientes y en la estructura social (Montero, 1982).

Resaltar en ella tres elementos que se puedenencontrar juntos o separados en otras definicionesproducidas ms adelante en los campos latinoameri-cano y anglosajn: el elemento poder y las relacio-nes de desigualdad que el mismo determina; la ac-cin transformadora sobre el entorno, sobre la so-ciedad y sobre s mismos llevada a cabo por (y estees el tercer aspecto), las personas que constituyenuna comunidad. Estos elementos dieron lugar a unadiferencia con el modo de hacer psicologa socialpredominante hasta el momento y su puesta en ac-cin se hizo a travs de cambios metodolgicos tan-to en el rol de psiclogos como de los sujetos quehasta ese momento haban sido slo objetos de es-tudio, y por ende cambi tambin las relaciones en-tre ambos.

Esto ocurra casi simultneamente al movimien-to crtico (inicios de los ochenta) y apenas poco msde una dcada antes que surgiese, en 1986, la psico-loga social de la liberacin, que vena gestndosedesde el comienzo de la dcada. Ese espritu deltiempo que vena unido a la ya insoslayable nece-sidad de responder a las carencias y desigualdadesde las sociedades latinoamericanas, es el primer pun-to en comn en estos tres movimientos.

2 En Amrica Latina se habla tanto de una psicologa social

comunitaria como de psicologa comunitaria a secas. La

primera fue la pionera y ha tenido un importante desarro-

llo en esta parte del continente, incluyendo sub-ramas

tales como la ambiental-comunitaria. La segunda incluye

las formas tradicionales de aplicacin y en los ltimos

aos (1990 en adelante) ha comenzado a desarrollar

creativas sub-ramas de inters tales como la clnica-comu-

nitaria.

MONTERO

19

De la Crtica en Psicologa

Orgenes

La corriente crtica de la psicologa tiene dos or-genes. Uno generado en la prctica, que subviertelos modos de hacer y de pensar pero que no se nom-bra a s mismo, surgido en Amrica Latina bajo lainfluencia de ciencias sociales tales como la socio-loga llamada militante o crtica (Fals Borda, 1978),la educacin popular freiriana y su rea de influen-cia que incluye a socilogos, antroplogos y edu-cadores tales como Vio Grossi, Le Boterf, May, deWitt, entre otros (Vio Grossi, Gianotten & de Witt,1981); la etnometodologa, y algunas formas de an-tropologa. En la psicologa esta corriente encuentraexpresin en la naciente psicologa social comunita-ria y en el movimiento llamado de alternativas a lapsiquiatra. Tales movimientos tienen lugar en Am-rica Latina a partir de mediados de los aos setentay si bien el segundo de los nombrados no parecicontinuar ms all de mediados de los ochenta, lapsicologa social comunitaria s se desarroll prime-ro como parte de la aplicacin de la psicologa socialy luego como rama especfica de la psicologa, aun-que siempre con un marcado acento psicosocial.

Otro origen comenz a ser planteado en el cam-po de la psicologa anglosajona a mediados de lossesenta (Brown, 1973) bajo el nombre de psicologaradical. Tal psicologa era radical en su crtica y ensus perspectivas sobre cmo intervenir no slo en

la relacin con los individuos, sino tambin en lasociedad en la que tanto ellos como los psiclogosviven (Brown, 1973). Las influencias y principios quemoldearon y expresan los objetivos de ese movi-miento pueden verse en la Tabla 1.

A partir de esos planteamientos ese movimientova a evolucionar y a inicios de los aos ochentaadopta el adjetivo crtica en su nombre. Tal tenden-cia buscaba fundamentalmente dar cuenta de lastransformaciones que estaban ocurriendo en el cam-po de la ciencia y que no parecan ser aceptadas porlas teoras entonces al uso. Sus primeras publicacio-nes tambin asuman una posicin antipositivista ypoltica en el sentido de denunciar las condicionessocioeconmicas y su efecto sobre el campo de laciencia y la consiguiente interpretacin y tratamien-to de los fenmenos sociales. La obra de Wexler(1983), primera en usar el adjetivo crtica en su ttulo,al igual que ocurri tambin en los movimientos cr-ticos desarrollados por las ciencias sociales latinoa-mericanas muestra la influencia marxiana, que en sucaso se manifiesta en las categoras que la orientany en las preguntas que dan lugar a su anlisis: clasesocial, ideologa y modo de produccin. Como di-cen los autores de otra obra pionera en ese mbito:Changing the subject (Henriques, Hollway, Urwin,Venn & Walkerdine, 1984), haba que dar cuenta de:a) los cambios en la concepcin que del individuo yla subjetividad se tena en la psicologa hasta esemomento; b) las estrategias seguidas para produciresos cambios; c) la crtica a las relaciones entre la

Tabla 1Caractersticas de la psicologa radical (1970)

Influencias en su desarrollo Movimiento feministaMovimiento de la AntipsiquiatraMovimiento negro en EE.UU.Movimiento GayEscuela de FrankfurtHerbert MarcuseJrgen HabermasK. Mark y F. Engels

Principios orientadores Rechazo a las prcticas psicolgicas manipuladoras (en relaciones de trabajo, deorientacin, teraputica).Ir a las causas de los problemas, no slo a los sntomas.Holismo.Generar prcticas innovadoras que respondan a las necesidades y problemas de laspersonas.Trabajar con las situaciones de la vida cotidiana y transformarlas.Denuncia y subversin de relaciones opresivas de poder.Transformacin social

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dualidad individuo-sociedad; d) la crtica a las prc-ticas de regulacin y administracin socialperpetuadoras del statu-quo y a las alternativas aellas que podra haber. Estos autores introducan yala idea del carcter poltico que tales relaciones tie-nen y de cmo sera posible generar una polticaliberadora (Henriques, Hollway, Urwin, Venn &Walkerdine, 1984, p. 3) que se opusiera a las formasopresoras existentes en la psicologa de la pocacomo era producida en el mundo anglosajn.

Del Ser y mbito de la Crtica

Si algo parece fcil de hacer pero difcil de definires la condicin crtica. Qu es lo crtico? Por qualgo recibe el calificativo de crtico? Esta dificultadse plantea con tanta ms urgencia cuando en lasciencias sociales y en particular en la psicologa,como se ha dicho, desde la segunda mitad de la d-cada del sesenta se vena planteando la existenciade una corriente crtica que hace sentir su influenciaen todas las reas de la disciplina. Y como ha ocurri-do antes con los adjetivos cientfico, artstico,verdadero, autntico, revolucionario y algu-nos otros ms que concentran en s la deseabilidadsocial de una poca y que por ello han sido carga-dos de un peso semntico positivo, la palabra crti-ca aparece en los ms variados contextos no slocomo calificativo legitimador de lo que se presentabajo su denominacin, sino tambin como justifica-cin global o como condicin terica, metodolgicao epistemolgica, suficiente para obviar la necesariademostracin de lo que se quiere demostrar.

Y al mismo tiempo y a pesar de ese uso desenfa-dado del trmino, hay una corriente crtica en la psi-cologa que hacindose sentir en muchos campospsicolgicos ha dado interesantes frutos. Un anli-sis de esa difcil condicin de lo crtico permite resal-tar los siguientes aspectos, que elaboro a partir deMontero y Fernndez Christlieb (2003; 2004):1. Crtica es un sustantivo que se origina del trmi-

no crisis, el cual proviene del griego krisis/eos,que significa la accin o facultad de elegir, dis-tinguiendo y para ello separando unas cosas deotras. Esto indica que desde su origen est pre-sente la disyuntiva en la eleccin de cul caminou objeto tomar; lo cual muestra que hay crticacuando se reconoce que las cosas no son deuna sola manera sino que pueden tener variasfacetas o posibilidades. Es decir, cuando se par-te del carcter complejo de los hechos.

2. En psicologa la crtica significa someter a anli-sis las teoras, conceptos y perspectivas acepta-das como explicaciones ltimas de los fenme-nos psicolgicos, develando sus contradiccio-nes, sus lagunas, sus incoherencias y debilida-des, as como tambin sus fortalezas. Y logra suobjeto al mostrar los agujeros en la trama tericao metodolgica, la ausencia de fundamentos y lacondicin argumentativa que puede estar soste-niendo una posicin (Lira, 2002). Y al hacerlogenera lo que ha sido llamado un clima de per-turbacin (Stainton Rogers & Stainton Rogers,1997) que expone al objeto criticado. Razn estaque altera o molesta.

3. Lo cual a su vez revela otra condicin de la crti-ca: reconocer y someter a juicio las formas ms omenos obvias, ms o menos sutiles, en las cua-les se ejercen relaciones de poder que suelenexcluir explicaciones alternativas o posicionesdivergentes. O bien los modos en que teoras yprcticas mantienen un statu-quo injusto (Lira,2002; Prilleltensky & Fox, 1997). Y al hacer estola crtica debe ser tambin crtica de s misma(Montero & Fernndez Christlieb, 2003). Es de-cir, debe sealar de dnde parte y por qu lohace as; mostrar sus sesgos y tendencias enlugar de presentar el aspecto defendido como sifuese el nico o fuese la norma a seguir.

4. El carcter inevitable de la crtica. Siempre habrcrtica a pesar de lo mal que muchas veces puedaser recibida. Eso le confiere el carcter de fatali-dad de la vida cotidiana (Montero & FernndezChristlieb, 2004), condicin que la une a la cien-cia, donde como bien nos lo ensearon en lasaulas universitarias y lo muestra su historia, noexiste el principio de autoridad. Las verdadesde la ciencia lo son slo hasta prueba en contra-rio. Y eso es la crtica: la prueba de que las cosaspueden ser de otra manera, que pueden ser deforma distinta a la reconocida o establecida. Lacrtica entonces es el haz de luz que enfoca loque est a oscuras; la compuerta que se abre ose cierra; la seal que indica calle ciega o valibre y tiene la fatalidad de lo molesto e inevita-ble que transforma el mundo y lo hace diferente.

5. Lo crtico es cambiante. El mundo que cambideviene natural y habitual y ser de nuevo obje-to de crtica. La crtica entonces no tiene conte-nido ni forma predeterminados. Es inesperada yaunque se la intente reprimir, como el agua, en-contrar siempre una va para fluir y pasar.

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6. La crtica no es en s ni buena ni mala. Es necesa-ria para cambiar las cosas. Al igual que las teo-ras, los mtodos y el conocimiento en general,puede ser usada con los ms variados desig-nios, pero siempre mostrar las debilidades yfortalezas de lo criticado y de quien critica.

7. El movimiento crtico expresa la tesis monista deque el conocimiento no es un reflejo objetivo dela realidad sino que est marcado por las condi-ciones histricas de su produccin, de las cua-les forma parte.En definitiva, la crtica subvierte el modo de ver

las cosas; desencaja los mecanismos de poder quesostienen posiciones establecidas y abre nuevasperspectivas al conocimiento. Ella es parte de la com-plejidad del mundo, usualmente tan difcil de acep-tar. Y en tal sentido la crtica es liberadora. Libera deformas y modos establecidos como los nicos quepermiten comprender el mundo, explicar nuestro en-torno y que mantienen ciertas jerarquas y relacio-nes basadas en la desigualdad y en la sumisin. Poresa razn coincido con la advertencia que haceSpears (1997), respecto de no ver la crtica comoalgo unido a las escuelas o a movimientos de de-nuncia tales como el de las limitaciones del positi-vismo o del construccionismo social; o la defensade la democracia y condena de la opresin; o elcualitativismo. No porque ellos no hayan sido crti-cos (y mucho), sino por la sencilla razn de que lacrtica no pertenece a un continente sustantivo de-terminado, sino que puede estar en todas partes yporque sera cuando menos ingenuo creer que por-que tales movimientos irrumpieron crticamente enlas ciencias, cualquier manifestacin que se declareconstruccionista, o antipositivista, o cualitativista,o democrtica, es crtica per se. All se acabara lacrtica y empezara la dominacin sin fundamento.

La crtica es entonces parte inherente al carctercientfico de una disciplina, pues ella ayuda a trazarla lnea que separa el conocimiento de la ciencia, delsaber revelado o de la fe ciega. Es ella la que impideque el conocimiento producido en un determinadomomento se convierta en dogma. En tal sentido lacrtica es una condicin de la libertad.

Crtica, tica, Psicologa SocialComunitaria y Liberacin

Cmo determinar el carcter crtico de un cam-po, de una posicin, de una teorizacin o de unainvestigacin psicolgicos? La praxis y los valores

de la psicologa social comunitaria y los postuladosde la psicologa social de la liberacin, nos indicanque el valor de la crtica reside en su capacidad demostrar alternativas; de reconocer y traer a primerplano la diversidad de los actores sociales inter-vinientes en las situaciones sociales y de sealar larelacin existente entre los fenmenos sociales y elcontexto o situacin en que se dan, algo que si biena estas alturas puede sonar como un truismo por serparte del conocimiento del sentido comn, no esmenos cierto que en tanto que tal, ha devenido almismo tiempo en un concepto vaco. Insistir en esarelacin muestra el carcter holista de los fenme-nos sociales que tiende a ser dejado de lado al frag-mentar los fenmenos sociales para su estudio.

As como se ha hablado en la literatura de unaactitud y tambin de una conciencia crticas, elexamen de lo que ha sido definido como tal puedeservirnos para si no precisar, al menos si reconocerla presencia de la crtica en la posicin tico-polti-ca-cientfica asumida por quienes la formulan. Mar-tn-Bar consideraba, coincidiendo con lo que plan-tea la psicologa social comunitaria y que es un lega-do de Freire y de Fals Borda, que los psiclogosdeben tener un compromiso crtico con las perso-nas con las cuales trabajan. Como bien lo planteanLane & Sawaia (1991), desde una perspectivagramsciana, ser crticos significa ser capaces de verlo que de ideolgico puede haber en el sentido co-mn de aquellos con quienes trabajamos. Y como esposible observar en el trabajo comunitario, el podery la sumisin pueden manifestarse en el seno de lascomunidades generando desigualdades y privilegiosen funcin de intereses particulares y en desmedrode los colectivos (Montero, 1999, 2003).

Otros indicadores presentes en los investigado-res o en los interventores sociales y psicosocialescomunitarios son la reflexividad, es decir, la capaci-dad de examinar constantemente lo que hacen, deabrir procesos de reflexin sobre su quehacer, com-partidos con todas las personas que como colabo-radores, co-autores o cualquier otra forma de actorasocial, han participado en el proceso. As como lacapacidad de responsabilizarse por lo que estnhaciendo, rechazando las formas tradicionales deescudarse detrs de la presentacin impersonal delos datos, anlisis, discusin y entrega de resulta-dos de investigacin o de informes tcnicos (quesin embargo, no excluye la asuncin de la autora delos mismos, al menos en cuanto a sus beneficiosacadmicos e intelectuales).

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Y tambin la presencia de la duda metdica, querecomienda asumir las certezas dentro del lmite delo que Ibez (1989) ha llamado verdades prcti-cas, que sirven como puntos de apoyo para formu-lar hiptesis o construir interpretaciones, siemprepresentadas como tales. La certeza consideradacomo una verdad de corto plazo (Montero, 1999),que dura tanto como lo permiten las pruebas habi-das hasta el momento.

A esto se une la motivacin hacia la transforma-cin social definida por y desde las personas que lanecesitan y dirigida a beneficiar a las comunidadeso a otros grupos sociales, en la medida en que per-mite su acceso a los bienes sociales y a la genera-cin de los mismos, disfrutando del nivel de benefi-cios considerado como deseable entre las socieda-des humanas y teniendo la capacidad para elevarlo.En esta posicin se incluye las acciones y reflexio-nes destinadas a combatir las formas desiguales delpoder y a eliminar las expresiones de injusticia y deopresin, respecto de las cuales se busca liberar alos grupos e individuos sometidos a ellas. Esto a suvez, supone una posicin tica en cuanto al respetodel otro aceptado en su diversidad; epistemolgica,en el sentido de reconocer a ese otro como un pro-ductor de conocimientos, y poltica, por cuanto sedeben reconocer los derechos individuales y colec-tivos de las personas con las cuales se trabaja y aquienes se estudia.

Al respecto es conveniente analizar las cinco pre-guntas dirigidas tanto a la psicologa social comuni-taria como a la psicologa social crtica, que planteanPrilleltensky y Fox (1997), pues sus respuestas nospodran permitir reconocer el carcter crtico (o suausencia) en una situacin psicolgica. Esas pre-guntas son:1. Se est promoviendo el statu-quo de la socie-

dad en la cual se est realizando la investiga-cin o intervencin? La promocin del statu-quo en la medida que busca conservar un esta-do de cosas, tiende a eliminar las crticas. Y aho-gar los aspectos crticos es una de las formas deexpresin del autoritarismo y de sus abusos depoder, que comienzan por eliminar las disensionesen un campo especfico y terminan suprimiendotodo aspecto crtico, inclusive con desaparicinfsica de quienes los plantean. En el a