Abstract
Cultural and community psychology share a common emphasis on context, yet their leading journals rarely cite each other’s articles. Greater integration of the concepts of culture and community within and across their disciplines would enrich and facilitate the viability of cultural community psychology. The contextual theory of activity settings is proposed as one means to integrate the concepts of culture and community in cultural community psychology. Through shared activities, participants develop common experiences that affect their psychological being, including their cognitions, emotions, and behavioral development. The psychological result of these experiences is intersubjectivity. Culture is defined as the shared meanings that people develop through their common historic, linguistic, social, economic, and political experiences. The shared meanings of culture arise through the intersubjectivity developed in activity settings. Cultural community psychology presents formidable epistemological challenges, but overcoming these challenges could contribute to the transformation and advancement of community psychology.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, J. P., & Antonishak, J. (2008). Adolescent peer influences: Beyond the dark side. In M. J. Prinstein & K. A. Dodge (Eds.), Understanding peer influence in children and adolescents (pp. 141–160). New York: Guilford Press.
Barker, C. (2000). Cultural studies: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Barker. R. G. (1960). Ecology and motivation. In M. R. Jones (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation (pp. 1–49). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Barker, R. G. (1968). Ecological psychology. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Bhawuk, D. P. S., & Mrazek, S. (2005, June). Where is culture in community psychology? A review, synthesis, and future directions. In Symposium conducted at the Society for Community Research and Action 10th Biennial Conference, Urbana–Champaign, IL.
Blouin, F. X., & Rosenberg, W. G. (Eds.). (2007). Archives, documentation, and institutions of social memory: Essays from the Sawyer Seminar. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Breisach, E. (2007). Historiography: Ancient, medieval, and modern (3rd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U. B. (l979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cohen, A. B. (2009). Many forms of culture. American Psychologist, 64(3), 194–204. doi:10.1037/a0015308.
Cohen, A. B. (2010). Just how many different forms of culture are there? American Psychologist, 65(1), 59–61. doi:10.1037/a0017793.
Cole, M. (1985). The zone of proximal development: Where culture and cognition create each other. In J. V. Wertsch (Ed.), Culture, communication, and cognition: Vygotskian perspectives (pp. 146–161). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Corlew, L. K. (2009). Understanding community activism in protest of the Superferry in Lihue, Kauai. (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Hawai`i, Honolulu, HI.
Cronbach, L. J. (1975). Beyond the two disciplines of scientific psychology. American Psychologist, 30, 116–127. doi:10.1037/h0076829.
Cronick, K. (2002). Community, subjectivity, and intersubjectivity. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 529–546. doi:10.1023/A:1015860002096.
D’Aunno, T., Klein, D. C., & Susskind, E. C. (1985). Seven approaches for the study of community phenomena. In E. C. Susskind & D. C. Klein (Eds.), Community research: Methods, paradigms, and applications (pp. 421–496). New York: Praeger.
Fisher, A. T., Sonn, C. C., & Bishop, B. J. (Eds.). (2002). Psychological sense of community: Research, applications, and implications. New York: Kluwer/Plenum.
Gergen, K. J. (1973). Social psychology as history. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 26, 309–320. doi:10.1037/h0034436.
Gergen, K. J., Gulerce, A., Lock, A., & Misra, G. (1996). Psychological science in cultural context. American Psychologist, 51, 496–503. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.51.5.496.
Hawe, P., Shiell, A., & Riley, T. (2009). Theorizing interventions as events in systems. American Journal of Community Psychology, 43, 267–276. doi:10.1007/s10464-009-9229-9.
Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50(3), 337–421. doi:10.1111/1464-0597.00062.
Hobfoll, S. E., & Lilly, R. S. (1993). Resource conservation as a strategy for community psychology. Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 128–148. doi:10.1002/1520-6629(199304)21:2<128:AID-JCOP2290210206>3.0.CO;2-5.
Jackson, D. S., & Kim, R. J. (2009). A case for more culture in community psychology: The Federated States of Micronesia. The Australian Community Psychologist, 21(1), 108–122.
Jaeger, M. E., & Rosnow, R. L. (1988). Contextualism and its implications for psychological inquiry. British Journal of Psychology, 78, 63–75.
Kral, M. J. (2007–2008). Psychology and anthropology: Intersubjectivity and epistemology in an interpretive cultural science. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 27/28, 257–275. doi:10.1037/h0091296.
Kral, M. J., Garcia, J. I. R., Aber, M. S., Masgood, N., Dutta, U., & Todd, N. R. (2011). Culture and community psychology: Toward a renewed and reimagined vision. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47, 46–57. doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9367-0.
Kroeber, A. L., & Kluckhohn, C. (1952). Culture: A critical review of concepts and definitions. New York: Random House.
Levine, M., & Levine, A. (1970). A social history of helping services: Clinic, court, school, and community. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2, 34–46.
Loo, C., Fong, K. T., & Iwamasa, G. (1988). Ethnicity and cultural diversity: An analysis of work published in community psychology journals, 1965–1985. Journal of Community Psychology, 16, 332–349. doi:10.1002/1520-6629(198807)16:3<332:AID-JCOP2290160308>3.0.CO;2-8.
Luke, D. A. (2005). Getting the big picture in community science. Methods that capture context. American Journal of Community Psychology, 35, 185–200. doi:10.1007/s10464-005-3397-z.
Luke, D. A., Rappaport, J., & Seidman, E. (1991). Setting phenotypes in a mutual help organization: Expanding behavior setting theory. American Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 147–167. doi:10.1007/BF00942263.
Mankowski, E. S., Galvez, G., & Glass, N. (2011). Interdisciplinary linkage of community psychology and cross-cultural psychology: History, values, and an illustrative research and action project on intimate partner violence. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47, 127–143. doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9377-y.
Manning, P. K. (1987). Semiotics and fieldwork. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Markus, H. R., & Hamedani, M. G. (2007). Sociocultural psychology: The dynamic interdependence among self systems and social systems. In S. Kitayama & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of cultural psychology (pp. 3–39). NY: Guilford Press.
Marsella, A. J. (1998). Toward a “global-community” psychology: Meeting the needs of a changing world. American Psychologist, 53, 1–10. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.53.12.1282.
Maton, K. I., Perkins, D., Altman, D., Gutierrez, L., Kelly, J., Rappaport, J., & Saegert, S. (Eds.) (2006). Community-based interdisciplinary research: Introduction to the special issue. American Journal of Community Psychology, 38, 1–2. doi:10.1007/s10464-006-9063-2.
Maynard, A. E. (2005). Child development and changing behavior in diverse societies: An activity settings approach. In C. R. O’Donnell & L. A. Yamauchi (Eds.), Culture and context in human behavior change: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 41–62). New York: Peter Lang.
Messinger, L. (2006). History at the table: Conflict in planning in a community in the rural American South. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37, 283–291. doi:10.1007/s10464-006-9051-6.
Mohatt, G. V., Hazel, K. L., Allen, J., Stachelrodt, M., Hensel, C., & Fath, R. (2004). Unheard Alaska: Culturally anchored participatory action research on sobriety with Alaska natives. American Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 263–273. doi:10.1023/B:AJCP.0000027011.12346.70.
O’Donnell, C. R. (2005). Juvenile delinquency: Peers, mentors, and activity settings. In C. R. O’Donnell & L. A. Yamauchi (Eds.), Culture and context in human behavior change: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 85–100). New York: Peter Lang.
O’Donnell, C. R. (2006). Beyond diversity: Toward a cultural community psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37(1–2), 1–7. doi:10.1007/s10464-005-9010-7.
O’Donnell, C. R., & Tharp, R. G. (1990). Community intervention guided by theoretical developments. In A. S. Bellack, M. Hersen, & A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), International handbook of behavior modification and therapy (2nd ed., pp. 251–266). New York: Plenum.
O’Donnell, C. R., Tharp, R. G., & Wilson, K. (1993). Activity settings as the unit of analysis: A theoretical basis for community intervention and development. American Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 501–520. doi:10.1007/BF00942157.
O’Donnell, C. R., & Yamauchi, L. A. (Eds.). (2005). Culture and context in human behavior change: Theory, research, and applications. New York: Peter Lang.
Okazaki, S., & Saw, A. (2011). Culture in Asian American community psychology: Beyond the East–West binary. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47, 144–156. doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9368-z.
Packer, M. J. (1985). Hermeneutic inquiry in the study of human conduct. American Psychologist, 42, 1081–1093. doi:10.1037/0003066X.40.10.1081.
Padilla, A. M. (2006). Bicultural social development. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science, 28, 467–497, doi:10.1177/0739986306294255.
Perkins, D. D. (2009). International community psychology: Development and challenges. American Journal of Community Psychology, 44(1/2), 76–80. doi:10.1007/s10464-009-9256-6.
Polkinghome, D. (1988). Narrative knowing and the human sciences. New York: State University of New York Press.
Price, R. H., & Behrens, T. (2003). Working Pasteur’s quadrant: Harnessing science and action for community change. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 219–223. doi:10.1023/A:1023950402338.
Reich, S., & Reich, J. A. (2006). Cultural competence in interdisciplinary collaborations: A method for respecting diversity in research partnerships. American Journal of Community Psychology, 38, 51–62. doi:10.1007/s10464-006-9064-1.
Reich, S. M., Riemer, M., Prilleltensky, I., & Montero, M. (Eds.). (2007). International community psychology: History and theories. New York: Springer.
Roberts, R. N. (2005). Community: The ties that bind. In C. R. O’Donnell & L. A. Yamauchi (Eds.), Culture and context in human behavior change: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 63–84). New York: Peter Lang.
Rogoff, B. (1982). Integrating context and cognitive development. In M. E. Brown & A. L. Brown (Eds.), Advances in developmental psychology, vol. 2 (pp. 125–170). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Rosnow, R. L., & Georgoudi, M. (Eds.). (1986). Contextualism and understanding in behavioral science. Implications for research and theory. New York: Praeger.
Sage Journals Online (2010, November 21). Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. Retrieved from http://online.sagepub.com:80/cgi/search?src=selected&journal_set=spjcc.
Sarason, S. B. (1974). The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Sarbin, T. B. (1977). Contextualism: A world view for modern psychology. In J. K. Cole (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation, 1976 (pp. 1–41). Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press.
Schoggen, P. (1989). Behavior settings: A revision and extension of Roger G. Barker’s ecological psychology. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
SCRA (2010, June 2). Goals. Retrieved from http://www.scra27.org/about~2.
Seidman, E., Hughes, D., & Williams, N. (Eds.). (1993). Culturally anchored methodology (special issue). American Journal of Community Psychology, 21(6).
Shinn, M., & Toohey, S. M. (2003). Community contexts of human welfare. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 427–459. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145052.
Snowden, L. R. (1987). The peculiar successes of community psychology: Service delivery to ethnic minorities and the poor. American Journal of Community Psychology, 15, 575–586. doi:10.1007/BF00929910.
Snowden, L. R. (2005). Racial, cultural and ethnic disparities in health and mental health: Toward theory and research at community levels. American Journal of Community Psychology, 35, 1–8. doi:10.1007/s10464-005-1882-z.
SpringerLink (2010a, November 21). American Journal of Community Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/104830/?k=%22Journal+of+Cross-Cultural+Psychology%22.
SpringerLink (2010b, November 21). American Journal of Community Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/?k=%22Cultural+Diversity+and+Ethnic+Minority+Psychology%22+pub%3a(%22american+journal+of+community+psychology%22.
Stokes, D. (1997). Pasteur’s quadrant: Basic science and technological innovation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Sue, S. (1999). Science, ethnicity, and bias: Where have we gone wrong? American Psychologist, 54, 1070–1077. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.12.1070.
Sue, S. (2006). Cultural competency: From philosophy to research and practice. Journal of Community Psychology, 34, 237–245. doi:10.1002/jcop.20095.
Sue, S. (2009). Ethnic minority psychology: Struggles and triumphs. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(4), 409–415. doi:10.1037/a0017559.
Tebes, J. K. (2005). Community science, philosophy of science, and the practice of research. American Journal of Community Psychology, 35, 213–230. doi:10.1007/s10464-005-3399-x.
Tebes, J. K. (2010). Community psychology, diversity, and the many forms of culture. American Psychologist, 65(1), 58–59. doi:10.1037/a0017456.
Tharp, R. G. (2007–2008). A perspective on unifying culture and psychology: Some philosophical and scientific issues. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 27/28, 213–233. doi:10.1037/h0091294.
Tharp, R. G., & Gallimore, R. (1988). Rousing minds to life: Teaching and learning in social context. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Tharp, R. G., & O’Donnell, C. R. (1994). Native American education demonstration project: Youth issues. Santa Cruz, CA: University of California at Santa Cruz, Native American Education Project.
Toro, P. A. (2005). Community psychology: Where do we go from here? American Journal of Community Psychology, 35, 9–16. doi:10.1007/s10464-005-1883-y.
Townley, G., Kloos, B., Green, E. P., & Franco, M. M. (2011). Reconcilable differences? Human diversity, cultural relativity, and sense of community. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47, 69–85. doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9379-9.
Trickett, E. J. (1996). A future for community psychology: The contexts of diversity and the diversity of contexts. American Journal of Community Psychology, 24, 209–234. doi:10.1007/BF02510399.
Trimble, J. E., & Mohatt, G. V. (2006). Coda: The virtuous and responsible researcher in another culture. In J. E. Trimble & C. B. Fisher (Eds.), The handbook of ethical research with enthnocultural populations & communities (pp. 325–334). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Trochim, W. M. K. (1989). An introduction to concept mapping for planning and evaluation. Evaluation & Program Planning, 12, 1–16. doi:10.1016/0149-7189(89)90016-5.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1981). The genesis of higher mental functions. In J. V. Wertsch (Ed.), The concept of activity in Soviet psychology. Armank, NY: Sharpe.
Wexler, L. (2011). Behavioral health services “don’t work for us”: Cultural incongruities in human service systems for Alaska Native communities. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47, 157–169. doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9380-3.
Wicker, A. W. (1987). Behavior settings reconsidered: temporal stages, resources, internal dynamics, context. In D. Stokols & I. Altman (Eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology (pp. 613–653). New York: Wiley.
Wood, L. A., & Kroger, R. O. (2000). Doing discourse analysis: Methods for studying action in talk and text. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Yamauchi, L. A. (2005). Culture matters: Research and development of culturally relevant instruction. In C. R. O’Donnell & L. A. Yamauchi (Eds.), Culture and context in human behavior change: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 103–125). New York: Peter Lang.
Zaff, J. F., Blount, R. L., Phillips, L., & Cohen, L. (2002). The role of ethnic identity and self-construal in coping among African American and Caucasian American seventh graders: An exploratory analysis of within-group variance. Adolescence, 37, 751–774.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
O’Donnell, C.R., Tharp, R.G. Integrating Cultural Community Psychology: Activity Settings and the Shared Meanings of Intersubjectivity. Am J Community Psychol 49, 22–30 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9434-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9434-1