Sense Of Community Psychology

‘Community’ is an omnipresent term within the realm of Social Sciences and Community Psychology. Defining this term has been highly contested by sociologists and there is a plethora of competing definitions within the context of South Africa which will be briefly highlighted in the following paper. The following photo essay aims to capture the visual and written ideas of a “21st century urban community”. This essay also aims to examine these visual photos in relation the ideas about communities in Community Psychology theory and research. In order to fulfil both these aims, this essay has been divided into various sections which will focus on different, but complementary themes. The first part of this paper will be a theoretical definition

A sense of community can be either be based on geographical space or independently of geographical space and sometimes it can be both relation and geographical (Dalton et al, 2007; Sarason, 1974). Research by Lawrence Green and Shawna Mercer (2001) has explored how a sense of community can be defined differently by different people and that a sense of community is a lived experienced. A sense of community is an interdependent value that needs to be balanced with other values such as individual/collective wellbeing, social justice, respect for human diversity, collaboration and citizen participation (Dalton et al., 2007). Should these values not be balanced, a community’s sense of community, social cohesion and collective commitment may be compromised and this can negatively influence the social action required for a community to contest a common psychosocial or psychopolitical issue (Dalton et al.,

Membership is the sense that one is a member of that particular community and membership is strengthened by factors such as boundaries, common symbols, emotional security, personal investment and a sense of belonging (Dalton et al, 2007; McMillan, 1996). Boundaries may be rigid or flexible and these serve to include members and exclude non-members (McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Common symbols serve to reinforce the boundaries that a community has and these can include things such as graffiti on walls, language and the way in which members of the group dress (McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Emotional safety is the feeling that members of a community have, described by the reciprocity of security and confidence to share feelings of intimacy within the group (Dalton et al, 2007; McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Personal investment is when members of a community are committed to contributing personal capital into the community; a sense of belonging is the psychological feeling that one is wanted ad welcome into the community. Influence is the second descriptive element of a sense of community which is a concept linked to the reciprocal exercise of power within a community and individuals are most likely to