Esther Wiesenfeld

Bio: Esther Wiesenfeld is an academic researcher from Central University of Venezuela. The author has contributed to research in topics: Community psychology & Social psychology (sociology). The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 35 publications receiving 550 citations.

The concept of “we”: A community social psychology myth?

Abstract: This paper questions the conceptions of community found in the literature on community psychology, as well as those employed in everyday life, which reflect the notion of community as a “we”. This notion is understood as a compact and homogenous group, assuming that their members feel, think, and behave in similar and predictable ways, as corresponds to their belonging to the community. It implies a set of processes such as membership, inclusion, identity, feeling of belonging, and an emotional bond or sense of community which do not seem to vary across time and within members of the community. Thus, this meaning of “we” appeals to an idealized vision of the community, and as we shall argue in this paper, it is rather a dialectic and dynamic process, in which shared needs and group processes built across time afford intragroup diversity, disagreements, and fluctuations in dimensions such as participation in collective actions, among others. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Community and sense of community: The case of an urban barrio in Caracas

Abstract: This paper presents a review of the concepts of “community” and “sense of community.” To discuss the concept of “community,” reference is made to the different definitions provided in the literature analyzing and describing their components and determining their adequacy and relevance to the theories of Community Social Psychology. Based upon the work of McMillan (1976) and McMillan and Chavis (1986) the authors analyze the concept and definition of “sense of community” and describe its components. The analysis of these concepts within the framework of Community Social Psychology underlies the fact that these terms cannot be separated as well as the need to vindicate the historical nature of community building processes and the sense of community of their members. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

La Psicología Social Comunitaria en América Latina: ¿Consolidación o crisis?

Abstract: ?Como ha contribuido la Psicologia Social Comunitaria (PSC) Latinoamericana al cumplimiento de las metas, caracteristicas y valores que marcaron su nacimiento? ?Han sido sus desarrollos consistentes con estas orientaciones? ?Continuan estas vigentes? ?Cuales han sido sus logros y la pertinencia de los fundamentos empleados para alcanzarlos? El presente articulo aborda estas preguntas a traves del analisis de algunas revisiones criticas de parte de la produccion psicosocial comunitaria latinoamericana. Para tales efectos, confrontamos el discurso de la PSC, en cuanto a sus aspiraciones, con las contribuciones que se desprenden de la praxis disciplinar, ejemplificada con los resultados de las revisiones realizadas. Este dialogo entre discurso y accion se organizo con base en el doble compromiso de la PSC: el academico y el social. En el primero consideramos los aportes teoricos y metodologicos al area, mientras que para el segundo nos centramos en los actores, los contextos, los procesos y los aportes identificados. En cada caso discutimos el alcance de la produccion y su impacto para el cumplimiento de los propositos, caracteristicas y valores postulados para la disciplina. Las reflexiones e interrogantes formuladas a lo largo del texto, y las conclusiones generadas, conducen a preguntarnos sobre las implicaciones de los resultados y de si podemos interpretarlos como indicadores de consolidacion o de crisis de la disciplina.

La Psicología Ambiental y el desarrollo sostenible. Cual psicología ambiental? Cual desarrollo sostenible?

Abstract: This article raises some reflections on some approaches to sustainable development (SD) and on the contributions environmental psychology (EP) can make in order to promote sustainable communities, in the Latin American context. For this purpose: a) some of the proposals for SD, formulated in various contexts and disciplines, are analysed in terms of the place they assign to the psychosocial dimension and the way they deal with it, b) some of the theoretical approaches and methodological strategies which, in general terms, have oriented professional practice in EP are briefly described on the basis of their potential contributions for a SD in our continent, c) some considerations on the requirements for an EP oriented towards producing relevant knowledge for SD are outlined. Finally, and taking as example the articulation between urban unplanned settlements and the "formal city", some of the challenges and requirements for a model of SD, based on the principles suggested for an EP oriented towards promoting sustainability are pointed out.

Interpersonal Relationships, Motivation, Engagement, and Achievement: Yields for Theory, Current Issues, and Educational Practice

Abstract: In this review, we scope the role of interpersonal relationships in students’ academic motivation, engagement, and achievement. We argue that achievement motivation theory, current issues, and educational practice can be conceptualized in relational terms. Influential theorizing, including attribution theory, expectancy-value theory, goal theory, self-determination theory, self-efficacy theory, and self-worth motivation theory, is reviewed in the context of the role of significant others in young people’s academic lives. Implications for educational practice are examined in the light of these theoretical perspectives and their component constructs and mechanisms. A trilevel framework is proposed as an integrative and relationally based response to enhance students’ motivation, engagement, and achievement. This framework encompasses student-level action (universal programs and intervention, targeted programs for at-risk populations, extracurricular activity, cooperative learning, and mentoring), teacher- a...

The experienced "sense" of a virtual community: characteristics and processes

Abstract: E-commerce strategists advise companies to create virtual communities for their customers. But what does this involve? Research on face-to-face communities identifies the concept of "sense of community:" a characteristic of successful communities distinguished by members' helping behaviors and members' emotional attachment to the community and other members. Does a sense of virtual community exist in online settings, and what does it consist of? Answering these questions is key, if we are to provide guidance to businesses attempting to create virtual communities.The paper explores the concept of sense of virtual community in a newsgroup we call Multiple Sports Newsgroup (MSN). We first demonstrate that MSN does indeed have a sense of virtual community, but that the dimensions of the sense of community in MSN differ somewhat from those reported for physical communities. The nature of these differences is plausibly related to the differences between electronic and face-to-face communication. We next describe the behavioral processes that contribute to the sense of virtual community at MSN-exchanging support, creating identities and making identifications, and the production of trust. Again, these processes are similar to those found in non-virtual communities, but they are related to the challenges of electronic communication. Lastly, we consider the question of how sense of community may come about and discuss the implications for electronic business.