1. PSY 270 COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY Week 12 Day 1

2. Outline  Reasons for social change  Types of social change  Why social change efforts fail  How to be a successful radical

3. Reasons for social change  Diverse populations  Declining resources  Knowledge-based and technological change  Community conflict  Dissatisfaction with traditional services/practices  Desire for diversity of solutions

4. Types of social change  Spontaneous or unplanned change Natural disastersNatural disasters Shifts in populationShifts in population Stressful due to unpredictabilityStressful due to unpredictability  Planned or induced change (deliberate action) Limited in scopeLimited in scope Enhancing quality of lifeEnhancing quality of life Provides a role for those affectedProvides a role for those affected Often guided by a change agentOften guided by a change agent

5. Issues related to planned change  Collaboration is the most effective? Community psychology valueCommunity psychology value Participatory decision making or collaborative problem solvingParticipatory decision making or collaborative problem solving  Heavy investment, time consuming  Multi-pronged continuous approach  Contextual issues important  Research & systematic reflection  Holistic and realist

6. Why social changes plans fail  In-group/out-group resistance  Human nature Cognitive misers-path of least effort in decision making and thinking.Cognitive misers-path of least effort in decision making and thinking. Dogmatic-close minded; conserve old waysDogmatic-close minded; conserve old ways  Appeal to a large or significant of number  Lack of organization  Lack of research orientation; ongoing evaluation of impact

7. How to be a successful radical  Use whatever you’ve got to get attention  Don’t go outside the experience of your people  But whenever possible, go outside the experiences of the enemy  Make the enemy live up to its own rules  Ridicule is a potent weapon, and it makes the opposition react to your advantage  A good tactic is one that your people enjoy—if they don’t enjoy it, there is something wrong  A tactic that drags on too long is a drag  The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself  Power is what you have and what the enemy thinks you have  Keep the pressure on Saul Alinsky, 1971