Showing papers on "Collective efficacy published in 2016"

Still underdetected - social norms and collective efficacy predict the acceptance of electric vehicles in germany

Abstract: The role of social identity variables for predicting environmental decisions may often be underdetected by psychological lay people. Applying this to the acceptance of electric vehicles (EVs) in Germany we investigated whether social norms and collective efficacy predict EV acceptance and what psychological laypersons who are either EV experts or EV non-experts think predicts EV acceptance. In preliminary interview studies we explored the beliefs of EV experts and EV non-experts. In a survey study, we then tested whether cost-related advantages and disadvantages were predictive of EV acceptance and whether norms and collective efficacy have independent effects even when controlling for cost-related factors and demographic variables. RESULTS suggest that both EV experts and EV non-experts considered cost-related factors as much more important than social identity processes. However, hierarchical regression analyses of the survey data showed that norms and collective efficacy have equal or even stronger effects on acceptance than cost-related factors. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings. Language: en

Why the Neighborhood Social Environment Is Critical in Obesity Prevention.

Abstract: The continuing obesity epidemic in the USA calls for the examination of antecedents to the well-known risk factors of physical activity and diet. The neighborhood built environment has been extensively studied in relation to obesity noting an increased risk of development and prevalence of obesity in relation to numerous built environment characteristics (lack of green spaces, higher number of fast food restaurants, low walkability indices). The neighborhood social environment, however, has been less extensively studied but is perhaps an equally important component of the neighborhood environment. The neighborhood social environment, particularly constructs of social capital, collective efficacy, and crime, is associated with obesity among both adults and children. Several studies have identified physical activity as a potential pathway of the neighborhood social environment and obesity association. Further work on social networks and norms and residential segregation, as well as the examination of dietary behaviors and mental health as potential mediating pathways, is necessary. Given the existing evidence, intervening on the neighborhood social environment may prove to be an effective target for the prevention on obesity. Intervention studies that promote healthy behaviors and prevent obesity while addressing aspects of the neighborhood social environment are necessary to better identify targets for obesity prevention.

Impact of fear appeals on pro-environmental behavior and crucial determinants

Abstract: This study examines the impact of various degrees of fear appeals of climate change on an individual's intention to engage in pro-environmental behavior, and how possible factors that influence an individual's intention to engage in pro-environmental behavior vary in different degrees of fear appeals of climate change. The results indicate that the participants who read the low-fear appeal text exhibit more evoked fearful emotion and have more intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior than do those who read the high-fear appeal text. In addition, an individual's moral obligations play a crucial role in determining his or her intention to engage in pro-environmental behavior under both low-fear and high-fear appeal conditions. However, under high-fear appeal conditions, an individual's perception of collective efficacy plays a crucial role in determining his or her intention of engaging in pro-environmental behavior. The results of this study contribute to enhancing the intercultural validation of...

Building models explaining student participation behavior in asynchronous online discussion

Abstract: Previous studies have invested much effort in understanding how participation in asynchronous online discussion affects student learning, and what factors influence student participation behavior. Results of these studies have been inconclusive and these investigations are often conducted from isolated perspectives. Relying on social cognitive theory, this study proposes two dynamic student participation models in online dialogue and particularly highlights understudied factors - collective efficacy, social ability, reading behavior, the time dimension of participation - to examine the mediation and causal relationship among those factors and their influence on learning. The models are tested utilizing data collected from a large US university. Specifically, while the predictive constructs are operationalized through the survey instruments, the outcome measures are modeled using electronic trace data and actual evaluation information. Data is analyzed using the Partial Least Squares modeling method. Results demonstrate the intertwined relationship among constructs and a different influencing mechanism for each construct on participation behavior and learning. By comparing these two built models, the time dimension of participation is shown to be more influential in predicting student learning than posting and reading actions. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this study. Shows two social cognitive theory informed online student participation models.Applies collective efficacy, social ability, and temporal dimensions to online learning.Computational model shows the relationship between participation behavior and learning.The time dimension of model predicts student learning.

What is ‘social resilience’? Perspectives of disaster researchers, emergency management practitioners, and policymakers in New Zealand

Abstract: There is an increasing need to evaluate the underlying drivers of community resilience. Much of the existing research on resilience measurements assesses factors pertaining to a spectrum of societal domains that includes social, economic, institutional, infrastructural, and natural environments. Research has focused on the importance of social resilience – the capacity of people and communities to deal with external stresses and shocks – and how it contributes to community preparedness, disaster response, and post-disaster recovery. As a component of community resilience, social resilience has been examined by researchers across a multitude of academic disciplines. As a result, there are tremendous variations in how this concept is assessed. To better understand what social resilience means at the community level, this research examined the perspectives of hazards researchers, emergency management practitioners, and policymakers from New Zealand's Wellington region. The results of their responses revealed similarities in how social resilience is perceived across these three sectors. Overall, the most frequently mentioned social resilience attributes are community gathering place, followed by social support, knowledge of risks and consequences, collective efficacy, and sense of community. Through synthesising their responses and the literature, a core set of social resilience indicators is proposed.

Addressing Health Disparities Is a Place-Based Issue.

Abstract: The authors comment on the use of place-based interventions in addressing health disparities. They consider various strategies in improving population health and addressing health disparities, including sustainable community initiatives, community health development, neighborhood revitalization initiatives, and collective impact programs. They mention new models in place-based intervention using collective impact and collective efficacy, and how various communities require different approaches.

Understanding the Human Side of School Leadership: Principals’ Impact on Teachers’ Morale, Self-Efficacy, Stress, and Commitment

Abstract: This qualitative study from Ontario, Canada, reveals that principal behaviors shape teacher emotions in important ways, influencing teacher morale, burnout, stress, commitment, and self- and collective efficacy. The findings suggest that principals can influence teacher emotions through several key behaviors: professional respect shown for teacher capability; providing appropriate acknowledgement for teacher commitment, competence, and sacrifice; protecting teachers from damaging experiences like harassment; maintaining a visible presence in the school; allowing teachers’ voices to be heard; and communicating a satisfying vision for their school. Implications include greater awareness at the school and system level, as well as appropriate principal training.

The Paradox of Parks in Low-Income Areas: Park Use and Perceived Threats

Abstract: Concerns about safety and perceived threats have been considered responsible for lower use of parks in high poverty neighborhoods. To quantify the role of perceived threats on park use we systematically observed 48 parks and surveyed park users and household residents in low-income neighborhoods in the City of Los Angeles. Across all parks, the majority of both park users and local residents perceive parks as safe or very safe. We noted apparently homeless individuals during nearly half of all observations, but very few instances of fighting, intimidating groups, smoking and intoxication. The presence of homeless individuals was associated with higher numbers of park users, while the presence of intoxicated persons was associated with lower numbers. Overall the strongest predictors of increased park use were the presence of organized and supervised activities. Therefore, to increase park use, focusing resources on programming may be more fruitful than targeting perceived threats.

Leadership Styles, Leader’s Effectiveness and Well-being: Exploring Collective Efficacy as a Mediator:

Abstract: The present study explored the relationships among leadership styles, leader’s effectiveness and well-being directly as well as indirectly through collective efficacy among the employees of the education industry, the latest entrant on the Indian scene. Ninety full-time employees participated in the study. They were administered the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ; Bass & Avolio, 2004. The multifactor leadership questionnaire: Third edition manual and sampler set), Job-related Affective Well-being Scale (JAWS; Van Katwyk, Fox, Spector & Kelloway, 2000. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5[2], 219–230) and Collective Efficacy scale (Karrasch, 2003. Lessons learnt on collective efficacy in multinational teams. Alexandria, VA: United States Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences). Mediation regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The results revealed that transactional style has influenced both the outcome variables directly as well as indirectly more th...

Shared flow and positive collective gatherings

Abstract: Collective gatherings or rituals promote optimal experiences in socially acceptable circumstances. Few studies have empirically examined the experience of flow shared by a group in collective situations. The present research examined the multi-dimensional structure of shared flow experience and its role in explaining positive effects of participation in collective ritualized gatherings on personal wellbeing and social cohesion. In this longitudinal study (N = 550) participants of a local festival celebrated in San Sebastian (Tamborrada) responded to an online questionnaire at three different times. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a structure composed of nine first-order factors and one second-order factor with a 27-item version of the scale. Further, structural equation modeling analyses controlling for the pre-event scores showed indirect effects of participation in Tamborrada through shared flow on happiness, collective efficacy, identity fusion, and social integration. This research concludes that positive collective gatherings stimulate shared flow experiences and thus promote personal wellbeing and social cohesion. We discuss both the implications of

Online discussion, politicized identity, and collective action:

Abstract: Although online discussions may stimulate political participation, little is known about how computer-mediated communication among members of political groups contributes to develop their politicized identity, thus indirectly stimulating collective action. Two studies involving activists from two web-based social movements investigated how online discussions moderate the effects of collective efficacy, group-based anger, and moral obligation on politicized identity. Self-reported frequency of online discussions and activists’ perceptions of two content-related characteristics of online discussions both interacted with collective efficacy and moral obligation beliefs in predicting politicized identity. Politicized identity mediated the effects of these interactions on collective action intention. We discuss how specific characteristics of online political discussions may contribute to politicize group identity via group-level and individual-level paths.

Developing a Model of Community Wellbeing and Resilience in Response to Change

Abstract: After arguing that the descriptions of community wellbeing and community resilience concepts often overlap, McCrea et al (2014) define these two concepts more distinctly, as well as placing them within a conceptual framework Using data from a recent survey of community wellbeing and resilience in the context of rapid coal seam gas development in the Western Downs region of Queensland, Australia, this paper tests and extends this conceptual framework Even though the data did not fit the model initially, there was broad support for the original conceptual framework Modification indices suggested a revised model whereby current community wellbeing contributes to community resilience, more than the other way around, whereas community resilience related more to expectations about future community wellbeing Also, community decision making and trust was more a dimension of community resilience than community wellbeing Interestingly, community spirit and cohesion seemed to be dimensions of both community wellbeing and resilience, though this finding needs replicating Finally, place attachment was found to be a separate though related construct rather than a being a domain of overall community wellbeing These findings suggest that community wellbeing and resilience are different constructs that may share a common dimension—community spirit and cohesion Moreover, the findings emphasise the importance of local communities playing active roles in responding to change and enhancing their future community wellbeing

Collective Efficacy in Sports and Physical Activities: Perceived Emotional Synchrony and Shared Flow

Abstract: This cross-sectional study analyzes the relationship between collective efficacy and two psychosocial processes involved in collective sport-physical activities. It argues that in-group identification and fusion with the group will affect collective efficacy (CE). A sample of 276 university students answered different scales regarding their participation in collective physical and sport activities. Multiple-mediation analyses showed that shared flow and perceived emotional synchrony mediate the relationship between in-group identification and CE, whereas the relationship between identity fusion and CE was only mediated by perceived emotional synchrony. Results suggest that both psychosocial processes explain the positive effects of in-group identification and identity fusion with the group in collective efficacy. Especially, the role of perceived emotional synchrony in explaining the positive effects of participation in collective sport-physical activities is underlined. In sum, this study remarks the utility of collective actions and social identities to explain the psychosocial processes related to collective efficacy in physical and sports activities. Finally, practical implications are discussed.

Synergies, strengths and challenges: findings on community capability from a systematic health systems research literature review

Abstract: Community capability is the combined influence of a community’s social systems and collective resources that can address community problems and broaden community opportunities. We frame it as consisting of three domains that together support community empowerment: what communities have; how communities act; and for whom communities act. We sought to further understand these domains through a secondary analysis of a previous systematic review on community participation in health systems interventions in low and middle income countries (LMICs). We searched for journal articles published between 2000 and 2012 related to the concepts of “community”, “capability/participation”, “health systems research” and “LMIC.” We identified 64 with rich accounts of community participation involving service delivery and governance in health systems research for thematic analysis following the three domains framing community capability. When considering what communities have, articles reported external linkages as the most frequently gained resource, especially when partnerships resulted in more community power over the intervention. In contrast, financial assets were the least mentioned, despite their importance for sustainability. With how communities act, articles discussed challenges of ensuring inclusive participation and detailed strategies to improve inclusiveness. Very little was reported about strengthening community cohesiveness and collective efficacy despite their importance in community initiatives. When reviewing for whom communities act, the importance of strong local leadership was mentioned frequently, while conflict resolution strategies and skills were rarely discussed. Synergies were found across these elements of community capability, with tangible success in one area leading to positive changes in another. Access to information and opportunities to develop skills were crucial to community participation, critical thinking, problem solving and ownership. Although there are many quantitative scales measuring community capability, health systems research engaged with community participation has rarely made use of these tools or the concepts informing them. Overall, the amount of information related to elements of community capability reported by these articles was low and often of poor quality. Strengthening community capability is critical to ensuring that community participation leads to genuine empowerment. Our simpler framework to define community capability may help researchers better recognize, support and assess it.

The Role of Collective Efficacy in Climate Change Adaptation in India

Abstract: Research on adaptive capacity often focuses on economics and technology, despite evidence from the social sciences finding that socially shared beliefs, norms, and networks are critical in increasing individuals’ and communities’ adaptive capacity. Drawing upon social cognitive theory, this paper builds on the first author’s Ph.D. dissertation and examines the role of collective efficacy—people’s shared beliefs about their group’s capabilities to accomplish collective tasks—in influencing Indians’ capacity to adapt to drinking water scarcity, a condition likely to be exacerbated by future climate change. Using data from a national survey (N = 4031), individuals with robust collective efficacy beliefs were found to be more likely to participate in community activities intended to ensure the adequacy of water supplies, and this relationship was found to be stronger in communities with high levels of community collective efficacy compared to communities with low levels of community collective efficac...

Socio-Psychological Aspects of Grassroots Participation in the Transition Movement: An Italian Case Study

Abstract: In this article, we present a case study investigating the socio-psychological aspects of grassroots participation in a Transition Town Movement (TTM) community initiative. We analyzed the first Italian Transition initiative: Monteveglio (Bologna), the central hub of the Italian TTM and a key link with the global Transition Network. A qualitative methodology was used to collect and analyze the data consisting of interviews with key informants and ethnographic notes. The results provide further evidence supporting the role of social representations, shared social identities, and collective efficacy beliefs in promoting, sustaining, and shaping activists’ commitment. The movement seems to have great potential to inspire and engage citizens to tackle climate change at a community level. Grassroots engagement of local communities working together provides the vision and the material starting point for a viable pathway for the changes required. Attempting to ensure their future political relevance, the TTM adherents are striving to disseminate and materially consolidate inherently political and prefigurative movement frames – primarily community resilience and re-localization – within community socio-economic and political frameworks. However, cooperation with politics is perceived by most adherents as a frustrating and dissatisfying experience, and an attempted co-optation of the Transition initiative by institutions. It highlights a tension between the open and non-confrontational approach of the movement towards institutions and their practical experience. Corresponding to this tension, activists have to cope with conflicts, contradictions, and ambivalence of social representations about community action for sustainability, which threaten the sense of collective purpose, group cohesion and ultimately its survival.

The dynamics of Community Resilience between routine and emergency situations

Abstract: •This study is a pioneer in longitudinal studies of community resilience.•The study facilitates the understanding of how resilience is displayed over time.•Perceived community resilience scores increased during emergency situations compared to routine times.•Preparedness, trust in leadership and collective efficacy tend to increase during emergency situations.

Where are the helpful bystanders? ecological niche and victims’ perceptions of bystander intervention

Abstract: This study explores an emergent area of bystander research by describing associations between bystander involvement and community or microsystemic support factors across different types of victimizations. A total of 1703 adults and adolescents were surveyed about bystander presence, bystander actions, and bystander safety across 9 forms of victimization. They were also surveyed about 3 community-level factors—collective efficacy, support for community youth, informal community support—and 2 microsystemic factors—social support and tangible family resources community and microsystemic support scores were not typically associated with bystander presence. Higher community and microsystemic support scores, particularly support for community youth, informal community support, and social support, were commonly associated with perceiving bystanders as helpful to the situation. Support scores, especially collective efficacy, were also associated with bystander safety for some victimization types. Our exploratory findings show a relationship between bystander helpfulness and characteristics of the victim's community and microsystem, especially for victimization types that are typically public, like peer aggression.

From Heterogeneity to Concentration: Latino Immigrant Neighborhoods and Collective Efficacy Perceptions in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Abstract: Latino immigrant presence in urban neighborhoods has been linked with reduced neighborhood cohesion in social disorganization–based ethnic heterogeneity hypotheses and enhanced cohesion in immigration revitalization approaches. Using the 2000–2002 Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey and the 1994–1995 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods Community Survey, we explore the association between Latino immigrant concentration and both levels of, and agreement about, neighborhood collective efficacy. Findings from multilevel models with heteroskedastic variance indicate that Latino immigrant concentration exhibits a nonlinear association with collective efficacy. At low levels, increases in Latino immigrant concentration diminish collective efficacy, consistent with a heterogeneity hypothesis. The negative association between Latino immigrant concentration and collective efficacy declines in magnitude as immigrant concentration increases and, particularly in LA, becomes positive beyond a threshold, consistent with an immigration revitalization effect. We also find an inverse nonlinear pattern of association with the variance of collective efficacy. At low levels, increasing Latino immigrant concentration increases the variance of collective efficacy (reflecting more disagreement), but beyond a threshold, this association becomes negative (reflecting increasing agreement). This pattern is observed in both LA and Chicago. The prevalence of social interaction and reciprocated exchange within neighborhoods explains a modest proportion of the Latino immigrant concentration effect on mean levels of collective efficacy in Chicago, but does little to explain effects on the mean in LA or effects on the variance in either LA or Chicago. These findings offer insight into the complex role Latino immigrant presence plays in shaping neighborhood social climate.

Strategies for Preventing Youth Violence: Facilitating Collective Efficacy Among Youth and Adults

Abstract: Objective: The consequences of violence in low-income communities often are extensive, particularly among youth. Prior research demonstrates that communities can prevent violence by developing collective efficacy, which happens when neighbors share norms and values, trust one another, and are willing to intervene to address problems. Despite this evidence, there have been few attempts to translate the theory of collective efficacy into practice. The current study examines the results of a pilot community-based intervention designed to facilitate collective efficacy by engaging youth and adult residents in a disadvantaged neighborhood. Method: The intervention consisted of three phases: community organizing and mobilization; a training program to facilitate collective efficacy; and a community-based project, after the training, developed by participants to address a youth-violence prevention issue. The current study used a repeated measures design to examine the intervention’s effects on participan...

“It's Not Just a Bunch of Buildings”: Social Psychological Investment, Sense of Community, and Collective Efficacy in a Multiethnic Low–Income Neighborhood:

Abstract: This analysis of social life in a poor, multiethnic public housing neighborhood presents an opportunity for refinement of social disorganization theory. Drawing on data from interviews, focus group...

Neighborhoods and Parenting: Assessing the Influence of Neighborhood Quality on the Parental Monitoring of Youth

Abstract: The present study examines the relationship between neighborhood quality and parental monitoring of youth aged 10 to 18 (N = 1,630) from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Incom...

“We’re like community”: Collective identity and collective efficacy among transgender women in prisons for men:

Abstract: Recognizing that prisons house diverse populations in equally diverse types of environments, we utilize a unique data set and employ two well-known sociological concepts—collective identity and col...

The Combined Effect of Women's Neighborhood Resources and Collective Efficacy on IPV

Abstract: BackgroundResearch has suggested that the likelihood of violent victimization in part is explained by neighborhood characteristics (Browning, Feinberg, & Dietz, 2004; Maimon & Browning, 2012; Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997). And increasingly, research on a specific form of violence-intimate partner violence (IPV)-considers neighborhood influences (Pinchevsky & Wright, 2012). But this literature largely has been isolated from macro-level approaches that are rooted in gender stratification theory. So although past research suggests that inequality between men and women at the city and state levels of aggregation influences violence against women (Vieraitis, Kovandzic, & Britto, 2008; Whaley & Messner, 2002; Xie, Heimer, & Lauritsen, 2012; Xie, Lauritsen, & Heimer, 2012; Yllo & Straus, 1995), only one study has examined whether this association exists at a more local level (Koenig, Ahmed, Hossain, & Mozumder, 2003), and none has investigated how it interacts with social organizational processes in the neighborhood. To address this limitation, I draw from both gender stratification and social disorganization theories to examine how the residential neighborhood influences a woman's risk of violent victimization by her intimate partner (hereafter, IPV risk).The residential neighborhood is an important context to consider because it is a key locus of social control (Sampson, Morenoff, & Gannon-Rowley, 2002), and IPV tends to occur close to home (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2015). And although most studies of IPV focus on characteristics of individuals, an emergent literature suggests that women's risk of IPV victimization also varies by neighborhood context. In their review of empirical research on IPV, Pinchevsky and Wright (2012) identified just under 30 studies that assess neighborhood influences. These studies drew from theories of social disorganization, which refers to a community's inability to achieve its shared goals, particularly the informal social control of problem behaviors (Kornhauser, 1978; Shaw & McKay, 1942). Although this approach has considerable explanatory power, it is limited when it does not also consider the factors that define a specific behavior as problematic.Research has suggested that violence is not universally understood as problematic. For instance, Berg, Stewart, and Simmons (2012) found that residents in more disadvantaged neighborhoods exhibit more disagreement about the appropriateness of violence. Research also has suggested that residents interpret violence as a reasonable or even necessary behavior in precarious environments void of police protection (E. Anderson, 1999; Black, 1983; Kirk & Papachristos, 2011; Soller, Jackson, & Browning, 2015) and accordingly attenuate their commitment to the informal social control of public space (Kirk & Matsuda, 2011). Moreover, Lyons's (2007) research on racially motivated crimes suggests that neighborhood social organization may even promote some types of crime. It therefore is imperative to consider the forces that help define a behavior as problematic and worthy of community intervention. In this study, I investigate the role of gender conflict in shaping collective understandings of IPV and the implications for women's IPV risk.Drawing from Blumberg's (1984) theory of gender stratification, I propose that women's neighborhood socioeconomic resources relative to men's shape the extent to which IPV against women is understood as a problem that public social control should target. Integrating social disorganization approaches (Kornhauser, 1978; Sampson et al., 1997; Shaw & McKay, 1942), I further propose that women's relative neighborhood resources combined with existing social organizational processes in the neighborhood protect against a woman's IPV risk. Finally, although the primary focus of this study is contextual effects at the neighborhood level of aggregation, I briefly develop hypotheses about the influence of individual-level socioeconomic status (SES) on IPV risk and about how this association may vary across neighborhoods with different levels of women's aggregate relative resources. …

Violent Crime, Collective Efficacy and City-Centre Effects in Malmö

Abstract: Collective efficacy, the combination of mutual trust and shared expectations for action, has been linked to crime in several studies worldwide. In the present study, it is argued that collective ef ...