Epigenetics

Define: This theory says that the social environment changes a person's genes, and these changes can be passed onto offspring. Social factors like chronic poverty and racism can literally alter the genes, and thus, phenotype, or what is expressed.

Combs-Orme, T. (2013). Epigenetics and the social work imperative. Social Work, 58(1), 23+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA318901328&v=2.1&u=lom_umichanna&it=r&p=HRCA&asid=f1ca5fe0745267f377844290fcbb8a2a

Apply: If genes, and by extension, human potential, can be changed by factors such as poverty, the implications for community development/social work could be great. It would mean that we have an even greater responsibility to work at changing the environment that allows societal ills to exist. At first I thought of this as more of a clinical theory, working to change how much social support individuals get so that they have healthy genes to pass onto their children. But now, I see it as a more macro theory, and for community developers, it just means that whatever community we are seeking to change, always remembering that we are ultimately working to benefit individuals (perhaps even down to a genetic level) by trying to improve the places they live, play, and work in.

Adapt: I think of the public health field when I think of this theory. Maybe you are studying a community and you observe that there are higher than average rates of stress-related illness. You could do a longitudinal study to see if children of parents with stress-related illness also end up with such ailments, and then see if there is a genetic component involved at various points during the lifetime of the child. (And maybe then you could figure out a way to change the environment so that the stress-related illness that altered genes can be reversed, and no longer passed on.)

Selective Withdrawal

Define: This is a theory of political participation that says that as people age, they "adjust the level and nature of their political activity on the basis not only of personal but also of contextual-situational factors (e.g. social pressure, health condition, leisure time, etc.)"

Lamprianou, I. (2013). Contemporary political participation research: A critical assessment. Democracy in Transition. Retrieved from  
https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=f7uOCicAAAAJ&citation_for_view=f7uOCicAAAAJ:hFOr9nPyWt4C.
Apply: Let's say you are working in a community where voter turnout of people over age 60 is very low, and you want to inspire and enable this age demographic to get out and vote. (Note this theory doesn't necessarily say older folks have less participation, it just says that the levels adjust.) But in this case, if you are trying to get people over age 60 to vote, it would be wise to look at the contextual-situational factors that may be preventing them from getting out and voting, so you can adjust those factors and make it easier for them to vote. For example, if lack of ability to drive is preventing them from leaving the house, you could arrange transportation to get them to their polling place.

Adapt: In the field of education, keeping note that students' levels of political participation are changing as they age (hopefully getting higher) you may encourage an upward adjustment by informing students of important pieces of legislation for them to consider, educating about the right to vote, and informing about ways they can engage in politics (letter writing, rallies, etc.)

Hunkering Down theory

Define: Diversity in communities is associated with distrust, and this equates to "lower rates of civic engagement and social cohesion." People "hunker down" in their homes and do not participate in their communities as much if the community is more diverse.

Walker, E., & Stepick, L. (2014). Strength in diversity? Group heterogeneity in the mobilization of grassroots organizations. Sociology Compass, 8(7). doi: 10.1111/soc4.12191. 

Apply: This was a disheartening theory to read at first, because it implies diversity does not lead to citizen participation that we as community developers would hope for (though the source also says there is conflicting evidence for this theory.) But if we are applying this theory, it would mean that, for example, if you are working with a group of inner city teens to bring art to a city, you would probably want only to invite inner city teens to the community development meetings. There would be less social cohesion, and perhaps outcomes would not be as successful if say, you brought others like senior citizens into the meetings. The feeling of engagement and participation the teens feel with the project and with their city might cease if people who are not like them (senior citizens) begin to get involved.

Adapt:  It's difficult to consider where diversity would be a "bad" thing, because "diversity" does not mean only one thing; there are hundreds of things about a person that can make them different from others. At my internship, Cancer Support Community, diversity would not be good in all of our group sessions because those who have lost someone to cancer and those who have cancer themselves face very different challenges. So if you are a program director at a business or agency, you would want to consider creating guidelines of who can join what programs based on certain characteristics they have, so that the whole group benefits from a mutual feeling of understanding.

Stimulation Theory

Define: Moderate levels of stimulation in the physical environment lead to positive human behavior. Both the stimulus itself and the meaning people construct regarding the stimulus are important; the concrete and the symbolic can both create positive behavior.
Hutchison, K. (2015). The physical environment. In The multiple dimensions of environment (7). Retrieved from
https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/64461_Hutchison_Chapter_7.pdf

Apply: Physical environment is not something I immediately think of when I think of community development. But the setting of community meetings will matter, because it can influence participant behavior, according to this theory. For example, after my experience in the class so far this semester, I would always want to bring a breakfast food and coffee to a morning meeting. Both the stimulant of the taste of the items will lead to positive behavior, as well as the (hopefully) positive feeling of welcome and warmth that people will construct because of my action of bringing food and coffee.

Adapt: Architects may want to consider this theory when designing spaces. Things like sunlight, openness, comfortable seating, and/or low noise levels are probably going to be important to a building that will primarily be used as a meeting space. Keeping in mind that these stimulants should be at a moderate level for human behavior to be conducive to meetings would be a crucial step in designing and building a structure.

Deindividuation

Define:  When a person moves into a group, they shed their individual identity and take on the social identity of the group. This happens because the person has anonymity in a group, and their personal responsibility diffuses across the whole group.

Deindividuation. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/deindividuation.htm.

Apply:  The community you are working with will have less individuation because they are a part of that community. For example, if we are talking about a community of tenants in an apartment, their group identity revolves around their role as tenants of X apartment building. As a community developer working with the tenants to improve access for limited mobility tenants, you could work to decrease the sense of deindividuation among them so that they feel more like individuals. As a free-thinking individual, they are more likely to share out-of-the-box ideas for solutions that they may not if they feel too attached to the identity of the whole group. 

Adapt: In politics, a politician’s goal is to have agreement on an issue so that legislation can be passed that favors it. The politician wants to decrease individuation so that the group he or she is speaking to identifies not as an individual person with unique perspectives, but shares the feeling of the group. The politician does not want dissent that comes from critical thinkers (generally speaking,)  but wants one agreed upon issue to be felt passionately by all people, so it would be good strategy to build up the identity of the group, not the individual.  

Minority Influence

Define: One person’s lone opinion does not hold much power in a group, but when another person who agrees stands with the lone dissenter, a minority group is formed. Now their influence is more significant, and they often have more passion and expertise about the issue because they stand against the majority.

Minority Influence. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/minority_influence.htm

Apply: The group that you will gather in a community development project is probably the minority group, and they are united in one opinion about the solution to a problem. The majority group- maybe the community at large- does not care about the issue or doesn’t see it as an issue. You as a lone community developer do not have much influence, but when a few people from the majority join your cause because they too were the outspoken advocates of the change you seek, your combined influence becomes greater, and the majority will be forced to acknowledge you (and hopefully be influenced by your passion to make a change.)

Adapt: In a classroom setting, it is hard to voice your opinion if it differs from the majority’s.  When the teacher asks a question in which students are supposed to give an opinion, particularly if it seemingly has only two different positions, students may “jump on the bandwagon” with the first answer given. But after one person has spoken a dissenting viewpoint, often times others who were thinking it but were to afraid to say it will join in with that brave first person.  Together, they can influence the general viewpoint of the classroom because they have shown legitimate reasons why they believe in their answer. 

Altercasting

Define: A tactic of persuasion. When you force a role onto a person, they will behave according to that role.

Altercasting. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Media%2C%20Culture%20and%20Society/Altercasting/.
Apply: As a community organizer, you will be putting people in various roles (committee leaders, for example) within your organization for change. Their behavior influences the organization, and you will want them to be successful so that the change your community is seeking occurs. This theory says that because you put a person in that role, they will live up to it because people generally accept roles they are given, and they face a social pressure to fulfill that role.

Adapt: This theory could play out in the field of higher education. There are many opportunities for students to fulfill leadership roles in student organizations. Previous leaders may impose a role onto a new student as that student becomes more familiar with the campus organization and the duties that various roles require. It reminds me of giving someone confidence, and hoping that the pressure you create by telling someone they are a fit for a role actually helps them fit into that role successfully.

Gatekeeping

Define: Gatekeepers (can be individuals or institutions) control which pieces of information, goods, or other commodities will flow into a system.
Gatekeeping. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Media%2C%20Culture%20and%20Society/gatekeeping/.
Apply: In community development, you may end up in a gatekeeper role. For example, my assignment 1 group is charged with creating a how-to guide for running for office, and we are working with a potential candidate. He is a gatekeeper in that he controls what information about his platform he will share with his constituents. He has plans for the community he is running in, but how he presents them and the details he includes or excludes puts him in the position of gatekeeper.

Adapt: Website developers have to decide what information they are going to allow you to post on social media. For the most part, we can post what we want without consequences. But occasionally, administrators step in and remove a post that somehow violated their guidelines. In this way, they are controlling what information they allow users to share- like a form of censorship.

Uncertainty Reduction Theory

Define: Uncertainty about others makes people uncomfortable, so they are motivated to seek information about others so they feel more sure around them, and thus, more comfortable.

Riddle, B., Martin, M., & Anderson, C. (1999). Socialization processes in groups. In Poole, M., Lawrence, F., & Gouran, D. (Eds.), The handbook of group communication theory and research (6) (pp. 144).  Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=IRAxk7sn258C&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=uncertainty+reduction+theory+in+organizations&source=bl&ots=vgK16_-9C6&sig=P8jPve_M-GGDsDyRvS6cXvvoLhg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDcQ6AEwA2oVChMI0-G4uqO0yAIVS3E-Ch2fjw96#v=onepage&q=uncertainty%20reduction%20theory%20in%20organizations&f=false

Uncertainty reduction theory. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Public%20Relations%2C%20Advertising%2C%20Marketing%20and%20Consumer%20Behavior/Uncertainty_Reduction_Theory/.

Apply: We talked about how it is important to form relationships with people when you are organizing communities. Organizing is not just a “macro” concept, because you need interpersonal skills to build trust and rapport. When working with members on a community project you are involved in, they may not know how to behave in the group, and won’t necessarily know what’s expected of them, which all leaves them with an overall feeling of uncertainty- especially on the first time meeting. This theory would say that people will seek to learn about each other in that group to reduce this uncertainty, so knowing this, you, as the facilitator, may want to incorporate some sort of activity that helps the group come together and get to know each other.   

Adapt: In the field of communication studies, this theory could help explain communication between and among people. The theory says people will feel uncertain of each other and that will cause them to feel awkwardness, which they will try to correct by getting to know each other. Those who study the ways we communicate- verbally and nonverbally- could use this to explain why we say or do the things we say or do when interacting with new people or studying how we communicate to make friends.  

Cultural Hegemony- Gramsci

Define: The worldview of those in power becomes the dominant worldview that all those under the influence of that power come to believe and accept as common sense. Because the dominant view is understood by the subordinate class to be “common sense,” it is internalized, and the interests of the ruling class continue to be served.  

Duncombe, S. Theory: Cultural hegemony. Retrieved from:

http://beautifultrouble.org/theory/cultural-hegemony/

Ledwith, M. (2005). Community development: A critical approach. Great Britain: The Policy Press.

Apply: When working in a community, you should try to identify the institution that most seems to be the “ruling class,” or that has an influence that its constituents unknowingly succumb to. (There are likely many different levels of institutions influencing the community, so I can imagine identifying the one that most directly impacts people would be difficult…)You must also determine if this institution’s imposed views are related to the community problem. If they are, the next step involves raising the people’s consciousness about how they have been accepting this institution’s ideas and influence for so long that they have failed to recognize that the problem they face is related to it.   

Adapt: In the field of journalism and news reporting, this theory is important because the media could be seen as that dominant class, perpetuating viewpoints that people “should” believe because an authority is telling them to. Those working in jobs where information is distributed to the public should be aware of this theory for this reason: stay as unbiased as possible so that people can form their own opinions. If the news is reported in such a way that people come to understand certain themes as “common sense” (like reports that show criminals who are people of color more than they show white criminals) that creates a public who is not taught to think critically or raise their consciousness.