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Community consultation effecting the development of social policy
Author(s) -
Northman John E.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6629(198401)12:1<43::aid-jcop2290120106>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - community psychology , public relations , psychology , behavioural sciences , public policy , community development , policy development , political science , engineering ethics , sociology , public administration , social psychology , engineering , psychotherapist , law
Abstract Community psychologists have often refrained from entering the public policy decision‐making arena. This has limited psychology's potential impact on life in the community. This paper describes a project in which (a) the role of the community psychologist was broadly conceptualized, and (b) principles of community psychology as well as other social sciences were applied a priori to the efforts of a large suburban community to deal with vandalism. A major factor determining the project's outcome was the application of behavioral science through consultation with the leadership of a townwide committee. In this way a psychologist was able to expand successfully his role into the wider areas of human services and public policy.