Community psychology is based on concern for the relationship between the social system and the well-being of individuals in the context of the community. Community psychologists are engaged in a series of mental and social health problems through research and intervention in the public and private fields in the community environment. A community psychologist might find himself doing many roles in a wide range of backgrounds and substantive areas. They try to prevent problems even before they start, focus on problems simultaneously, care about the issues of social regulation and control, by increasing positive characteristics and the ability to overcome minority social groups, children and the elderly.
That's why social change in community psychology is closely related. People are involved and participate in social change more than ever in the present. Both elite forces and community psychologists have roles that involve changes in social structure in communities and groups. Community psychologists can operate as agents of effective social change, but they must be more vigilant, have the ability and be able to bear the possible effects of social design made by parties threatened by change.
Discussion on Social Change
Society consisting of a group of people will surely experience various kinds of changes that can cover various fields such as behavior patterns in organizations, structures in social institutions, changes in society, changes in power and authority in society, changes in social interactions and so on, including values and social norms. According to Kingsley Davis, social change is a change that occurs in structure and function in society. Whereas Selo Soemardjan affirmed that changes in institutions within a community will also influence the social system including values, attitudes and behavior patterns that exist among community groups.
Social change can take the form of changes that are slow or fast, small or large, desired changes or unintentional or unwanted. Factors that cause social change in the psychology of the community can come from within and outside the community itself. Addition or reduction of population, the existence of new discoveries, conflicts in society, the existence of rebellions or revolutions in society are some of the causal factors originating from within. While the factors of social change in community psychology include those originating from the physical environment around humans, the occurrence of wars with other countries. And also due to the influence of culture from other communities. Some of the causes that influence social change in community psychology include:
Change Factor
The process of social change in community psychology will take place well if it gets the factors that support its progress. Factors that contribute to the progress of the change process include:
- Contact with other cultures
- Progress of the education system
- Appreciation of one's work and also the desire to progress
- There is tolerance for deviant actions in society
- Open community system
- Population heterogeneity
- There is public dissatisfaction in certain fields
- Future orientation
- Values that improve people's lives
- Inhibiting Factors of Change
Conversely, the process of social change in community psychology can also be hampered to cause the process is not smooth due to certain factors, including:
- Lack of links with other communities
- The delay in the development of science
- Traditional people
- The existence of vested interests
- The fear that cultural integration will falter
- Prejudice against things that are alien or new
- Barriers to ideological differences, habits and values.