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3 The Role of Prosocial Communities in Youth DevelopmentEl Rol
de las Comunidades Prosociales en el Desarrollo de la
JuventudForrest B. Tyler
17 Relaciones Entre Psicologa Social Comunitaria, Psicologa
Crtica y Psicologa de la Liberacin: Una Res-puesta
LatinoamericanaRelations Between Community-Social Psychology,
Critical-Social Psychology, and Social Psychology of Liberation:A
Latin American AnswerMaritza Montero
29 Empoderamiento: Proceso, Nivel y ContextoEmpowerment:
Process, Level, and ContextCarmen Silva y Mara Loreto Martnez
41 Evaluacin de una Experiencia Partcipe de Capacitacin en
Evaluacin de Programas Para OrganizacionesComunitarias en Puerto
RicoEvaluation of a Participatory Training Experience in Program
Evaluation for Community Organizations inPuerto RicoIrma
Serrano-Garca, Josephine Resto-Olivo y Nelson Varas-Daz
57 Representaciones Sociales de los Chilenos Acerca del 11 de
Septiembre de 1973 y su Relacin con laConvivencia Cotidiana y con
la Identidad ChilenaChileans Social Representations About September
Eleventh 1973 and its Relationship With Daily LivingTogether and
Chilean IdentityMara Isabella Prado y Mariane Krause
73 The Evolution of Community-School Bully Prevention Programs:
Enabling Participatory Action ResearchLa Evolucin de Programas de
Prevencin de Matonaje en Comunidades Escolares: Promoviendo la
Investi-gacin-Accin ParticipativaRaymond P. Lorion
85 Expectativas de Autoeficacia y Actitud Prosocial Asociadas a
Participacin Ciudadana en JvenesSelf-efficacy Beliefs and Prosocial
Attitude as Correlates of Social Involvement in YouthElda Velsquez,
M. Loreto Martnez y Patricio Cumsille
99 Universitarios y Voluntariado: Anlisis del Involucramiento en
Acciones Filantrpicas de los Alumnos de la PUCUniversity Students
and Volunteering: Analysis of the Involvement in Philanthropic
Actions of PUC StudentsRen Ros
REVISTA DE LA ESCUELA DE PSICOLOGAFACULTAD DE CIENCIAS
SOCIALES
PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATLICA DE CHILE
Volumen 13 - Nmero 2 - Noviembre 2004
ArtculosNmero Especial de Psicologa Social Comunitaria
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2117 La Responsabilidad Social: Cmo la Viven Tres Grupos de
Estudiantes de Enseanza Media en ChileSocial Responsibility: How it
is Experienced by Three Groups of High School Students in
ChileNelson Rivera y Mara Rosa Lissi
131 Los Adolescentes Como Agentes de Cambio Social: Algunas
Reflexiones Para los Psiclogos SocialesComunitariosAdolescents as
Agents of Social Transformation: Reflections for Social Community
PsychologistsMaribel Gonalves-de Freitas
143 Subjetividad Adolescente: Tendiendo Puentes Entre la Oferta
y Demanda de Apoyo Psicosocial Para JvenesAdolescent Subjectivity:
Tending Bridges Between Offer and Demand of Psycho-Social Support
for YouthChristian Berger
159 La Relacin de Ayuda con Jvenes Extutelados por la
Administracin Catalana: Una IntervencinPsicosocial Basada en la
Formacin y Apoyo de Voluntarios que Favorezcan su Integracin
SocialThe Assistance Relationship With Youngsters Under Tutelage of
the Catalan Administration: A Psycho-Social Intervention Based on
the Training and Support of the Volunteers Who Would Favour
TheseYoungsters Social IntegrationCludia Turr y Javier Corts
173 Satisfaccin Usuaria: Un Indicador de Calidad del Modelo de
Salud Familiar, Evaluada en un Programade Atencin de Familias en
Riesgo Biopsicosocial, en la Atencin PrimariaUser Satisfaction: A
Quality Indicator of the Family Health Model, Evaluated in an
Intervention Programwith Families in Biopsychosocial Risk, in
Primary Care HealthCarolina Oliva y Carmen Gloria Hidalgo
187 Entrevista al Dr. Juan Marconi, Creador de la Psiquiatra
Intracomunitaria. Reflexiones Acerca de suLegado Para la Psicologa
Comunitaria ChilenaInterview With Dr. Juan Marconi, Intracommunity
Psychiatry Program Creator. Reflections About hisLegacy for Chilean
Psychology CommunitySusana Mendive
201 Layers of Identity: Multiple Psychological Senses of
Community Within a Community SettingNiveles de la Identidad:
Mltiples Sentidos Psicolgicos de Comunidad en un Entorno
ComunitarioAnne E. Brodsky and Christine M. Marx
213 The Role of Neighborhood and Community in Building
Developmental Assets for Children and Youth:A National Study of
Social Norms Among American AdultsEl Rol del Vecindario y la
Comunidad en la Promocin de Competencias Evolutivas en Nios y
Jvenes:Un Estudio Nacional de Normas Sociales en Adultos
NorteamericanosPeter C. Scales, Peter L. Benson, Eugene C.
Roehlkepartain, Nicole R. Hintz, Theresa K. Sullivan, and
Marc Mannes
231 Homenaje a Mabel CondemarnA Tribute to Mabel CondemarnYulan
Sun
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Copyright 2004 by PsykheISSN 0717-0297
The Role of Prosocial Communities in Youth Development
El Rol de las Comunidades Prosociales en el Desarrollo de la
Juventud
Forrest B. TylerUniversity of Maryland
Providing a supportive prosocially oriented socialization for
children was emphasized as necessary for their
development as responsible citizens oriented to living in and
sustaining their communities. A prosocial community
was defined as one in which its inhabitants are concerned with
the well-being of others in the community and the
community as well as with themselves. The failure of current
community psychology theory, research, and
projects to address the nature of communities and implications
of their work for the development of prosocial
communities and children was addressed. A comprehensive
child-centered approach to prosocial community
building which necessarily includes children as participants was
outlined. Illustrative youth oriented prosocial
community projects, implications of their outcomes, and
suggested research directions were cited.
Se enfatiza el proporcionar a los nios una socializacin que
tenga una orientacin prosocial, como un aspecto
necesario para su desarrollo como ciudadanos responsables,
orientados a vivir en comunidades y apoyar el
desarrollo de stas. Una comunidad prosocial fue definida como
aquella en que sus habitantes estn preocupados del
bienestar de otros miembros de la comunidad, de la comunidad y
de ellos mismos. Se aborda el tema del fracaso de
las actuales teoras, investigaciones y proyectos en psicologa
comunitaria en la consideracin de la naturaleza de
las comunidades y las implicaciones de su trabajo para el
desarrollo de comunidades prosociales. Se presenta un
enfoque comprensivo, centrado en el nio, para la construccin de
comunidades prosociales, el cual necesaria-
mente incluye a los nios como participantes. Se mencionan
proyectos comunitarios prosociales ilustrativos
orientados a la juventud, implicaciones de sus resultados y
lneas de investigacin sugeridas.
PSYKHE
2004, Vol.13, N 2, 3-15
Introduction
The special role and relevance that communitieshave on the
well-being of children is the focus ofthis paper. Specifically,
prosocial communities areessential to the survival and well-being
ofindividuals and the societies in which they live.Simply creating
prosocial communities will not solveall the worlds problems nor all
the problems ofindividuals. On the other hand, those problemscannot
be solved or even substantially alleviatedwithout prosocial
communities that value andsupport a benign and nurturing quality of
life fortheir members, especially their children. Children
areparticularly vulnerable to being harmed bydestructive societal
policies and practices andharmful adult conduct. The quality of
their lives isdiminished and their socialization leaves them
ill-prepared to sustain themselves and contribute to abenign
society as adults.
For any society to function effectively, it mustinclude a
network of prosocial communities. Thatnetwork must be strong enough
to resist the divisiveforces among those communities and its
individualmembers and manage relationships
constructively(prosocially) with outsiders. For example, in
asummary of the past half-century of research onintercultural
relations and on nation building, Segall,Dasen, Berry, and
Poortinga (1999) noted that in-groups become ethnocentric. However,
overarchingidentities can be formed and ethnocentrism
andinterethnic conflict reduced by emphasizing culturalsimilarities
and increasing proximity andopportunities for equal status contact.
Further,when individuals locate themselves in a relativelysmall
collectivity that has meaning as an in-groupthey can probably also
identify comfortably with alarger collectivity that includes the
smaller one (p.295). This point is particularly apt when
consideringthe well-being of children and their families as wellas
the childrens relationship to their societies.
Defining a Prosocial Community
Understanding the central role of prosocialcommunities begins
with peoples common sense
Forrest B. Tyler, Department of Psychology.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed
to Forrest B. Tyler, Department of Psychology, University
of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
of America. E-mail: [email protected]
-
4understandings of themselves, their communities,those around
them, and the world in which they live.That general nature of those
understandings andtheir importance is outlined in the following
sections.
Common Sense Definitions
The following meanings, taken from the RandomHouse Websters
Collegiate Dictionary (1999), arederived from Western cultural
concepts. However,to the extent that they describe general patterns
ofrelationships rather than the particular content ofthose
relationships, they have relevance forunderstanding prosocial
communities in all cultures.
A community is defined as a group of peoplewho reside in a
specific locality, share government,and often have a common
cultural and historicalheritage (p. 268). This definition focuses
on theties that provide the framework providing communitymembers a
way to interact. It does not addresswhether the communitys members
share anycommon concerns for each other.
Social is defined as pertaining to, devoted to,or characterized
by friendly companionship orrelations (p. 1242). The word social
adds theelement of amicable interpersonal relationshipsamong the
communitys members. It does not specifythe nature of the amicable
relationships involved.
Although the dictionary provides no specificdefinition, from my
perspective a prosocialcommunity includes the consideration that
everyoneis committed to working together for the well-beingof
others and the community as well as forthemselves. People have a
sense of collectiveresponsibility for each other and for the
community.This definition does not imply that there are noconflicts
within the community. Rather, it implies thatno one becomes totally
dominant and no one getsultimately defeated and excluded or
destroyedbecause of conflicts. The dictionary defines well-being as
a good or satisfactory condition ofexistence; a state characterized
by health, happiness,and prosperity; welfare (p. 1480) but is
silent aboutwhether well-being is an individual or a
psychosocialcharacteristic. From a prosocial perspective,
well-being is based on consideration of others and thecommunity
along with the self.
These definitions provide an initial basis fromwhich to explore
the nature of prosocial communities.Even so, they leave us with at
least two questionsabout the relationship of individuals to
suchcommunities. How and to what extent are individual
well-being and the well-being of the communityinterrelated? How
are differences and conflictsbetween individuals understood and
managed in theinterests of all concerned? We must answer
thesequestions to determine whether prosocialcommunities can be
developed and sustained inways that foster their well-being and
that of theirinhabitants.
Structural Elements of a Prosocial Community
The question of the relationship between theindividual, other
equally autonomous (free)individuals, partially autonomous (free)
individualssuch as children, and the community has become afocus of
concern in modern society. Everyonesidentity is psychosocial. It is
formed in a socialcontext, and all people are influenced by
theircontexts even when they seek autonomy andisolation. For people
to survive and thrive it isessential that they build on
convergences withothers, accept and respect differences, and
manageconflicts (Tyler, Brome, & Williams, 1992). The waysthat
people perform these tasks provide the structuralelements to guide
how they manage their autonomyand relational needs, the communitys
well-being(including the socialization of its children),
andinteractions with the external world in which it
isinternested.
In an earlier text (Tyler, 2001), I identified thenature of a
prosocial community and discussed howexisting societal institutions
tend to fall short ofmeeting those standards. For example,
communitiescontain educational, economic, and socialorganizations
to serve specific societal purposes.These organizations provide
needed perspectivesand skills to members of the community, but
alsoselect out those who do not fulfill their requirementsor, once
admitted, do not meet their performancecriteria. This arrangement
leaves open the possibilitythat some individuals may not be
acceptable to anyof their communitys organizations including
theirfamilies i.e., they may even lose their families. Theybecome
marginalized and are discriminated againstby the community. Their
choices are to remainoutsiders, act in non-socially sanctioned ways
tochange society so they can be included, or actagainst the
community to maintain their lives andidentities. In large
communities, there are oftensubstantial numbers of individuals who
engage inantisocial behavior and even create
counter-culturecommunities (we often call such groups among
TYLER
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5children gangs). The most comprehensive alternativefor avoiding
these socially destructive possibilitiesis to form prosocial
communities in which everyoneis included as a participant, no one
is excluded, andall are involved in addressing needed social
changes.This inclusion is essential for children. Thecommunity
cannot be prosocial for them unless theycan participate in defining
and protecting theirinterests and can take on their
accompanyingresponsibilities.
Advocates for disadvantaged and excludedindividuals and groups
including children oftenemphasize the importance of addressing
their needs,at times in ways that seem adversarial in relation
tomore advantaged individuals or segments of society.Nelson,
Prilleltensky, and MacGillivarys (2001)proposal that community
psychologists join withoppressed group members falls short of
focusingon the creation of a prosocial community.Prilleltensky
(2001), a coauthor of Nelsons, focusedon values and cycles of
reflection, research, andsocial action (praxis) as necessary for
communitypsychologists to inform their efforts to reducesuffering
and promote wellness. He deplored thatrelatively little attention
has been paid in psychologyto values, stressed that most community
psychologyefforts contribute more to changes in individualsthan in
their communities, and emphasized theimportance of attaining social
justice as critical forreducing suffering and promoting wellness.
Heemphasized the importance of basing communitypsychology efforts
on a social justice valuefoundation and balancing the three
elements of praxiswhile working to aid the oppressed, but left
unclearthe nature of a just community and the status ofchildren in
such a community. That is, a communitythat is viewed by its members
as treating them fairly.
Prosocial justice. A system of prosocial justicedesigned to
treat everyone fairly must thus includemore than attention to
disadvantaged communitymembers. It must be fair to everyone and to
thecommunity as an ongoing sustaining collective. Forexample,
resolutions of differences are consideredto be just only when they
meet fairness/equatabilitycriteria in regard to the prosocial
status of both thecommunity and the individuals involved.
Theimplications of this position for children areparticularly
salient as they have seldom been able toexpress and defend their
interests. Ennew (2002)highlighted this point at an international
conferencein Beijing, China, focused on the rights of childrento
participate in decisions about themselves. She
emphasized that children must participate for threereasons, one
legal and two practical. In the UnitedNations Declaration on the
Rights of Children, theinternational law states that children not
only haverights to care and protection from harm, but alsohuman
rights as equal members of the human race.Practical reasons for
considering childrens rightsinclude that decisions may not have the
bestoutcomes if children are not listened to. Plus, theyare
uniquely knowledgeable about their own lives.Ennew emphasized that
what constitutes appropriatelevels of childrens participation is
related to ageand maturity, both of which are social constructs
aswell as biological facts, and may differ from cultureto culture.
She summarized by saying, listening tochildren does not mean
discounting adult knowledgebut rather completes information about
communitylife in the same way that womens views complementthose of
men (Ennew, 2002, p. 4). Children are notpart of the community
(society) unless they areincluded, listened to, and granted
appropriate rightsto define their reality and participate in
society.
Ennews position complements one on socialjustice formulated by
Tyler, Boeckman, Smith, andHuo (1997). Their conclusion was drawn
from theirresearch on how individual decisions have anintricate
connection with societal outcomes. Theyemphasized how peoples
notions about social justiceare derived from personal judgments
about whetheran involved persons state is fair/unfair and on
thesocial comparisons on which that judgment is based.Four major
conceptions about what is involved inarriving at such judgments and
determining theirlegitimacy were identified, specifically:
relativedeprivation, distributive justice, procedural justice,
and retributive justice. Each of these considerations,its role
in shaping our definition of and approach tosocial justice, and the
empirical consequences ofour resultant behavior is examined in
brief in thefollowing paragraphs.
People make decisions about their sense ofrelative deprivation
on the basis of comparisonswith real or imagined external criteria.
The criteria formaking these objective-subjective
comparisonsdetermine the standards for individual and
societalstandards of fairness. For example, children whoseviews are
often discounted must be considered iftheir well-being is to be
included in efforts tounderstand the nature of justice and its
relationshipto the lives and well-being of people and of
theircommunities. Questions must also be asked aboutwhat
constitutes community justice, an important
THE ROLE OF PROSOCIAL COMMUNITIES
-
6requirement for a prosocial community. Tyler et al.(1997)
examined three theories of justice responsesand their impact on
peoples feelings, attitudes, andbehaviors. Those theories concern
the remainingthree concepts that are relevant to prosocial
justice:distributive, procedural, and retributive justice.They
provide a useful basis for answering howpeople and societies decide
what is just and what todo to accomplish justice for themselves and
theirchildren.
Distributive justice is focused on threeapproaches to how
fairness is determined:1. Equity: Justice is served when peoples
merits
(work output) and rewards are in balance.2. Equality: Justice is
served when each participant
seems to be equally involved in contributing tothe relationship
overall, although in distinctiveways; or when available rewards are
distributedwith individuals getting equal amounts withoutregard to
their merits in producing or attainingthose rewards.
3. Need: Justice is served when resources areallocated to
partners according to their needs.The research that is available
indicates that
people a) have strong senses of morality andinjustice and b)
base their judgments on situationalcontexts, using equity,
equality, and need criteriaaccordingly. They also respond
differently to indi-vidual, societal, and intermediate group (e.g.,
ethnic,gender) issues.
People are also concerned with the steps takento arrive at
justice outcomes, that is, with proceduraljustice. It has the
widest multicultural validity, andseems to be the linchpin in
establishing the legitimacyof justice procedures. Research findings
indicate thatpeople prefer to have a voice in proceedings evenwhen
that voice is time consuming, costly, and weknow that having our
voice will have no effect onthe outcome of a dispute. Evidently,
fairness inprocedures is important to people personally andalso for
holding communities together. Theseprocedures provide a basic sense
of social justicethat enables people to identify with their
communitiesand are also particularly important in
socializingchildren to become prosocially oriented.
Finally, understanding whether our approachesto justice
contribute to creating a prosocialcommunity requires considering
the consequencesof violating the standards of justice since the
rightto fair treatment includes the requirement to respectthe
rights of others. Tyler et al. (1997) discussed thebroader societal
reasons for retributive justice, for
justifying punitiveness as a means of controllingrule breaking
behavior. The most important reasonproved to be social conditions
(e.g., beliefs thatfamilies were not adequately socializing
children).Peoples three major concerns were: a) fear of crime,b)
need to defend group cohesiveness by punishingdeviant rule
breakers, and c) concern with linkingjustice evaluations and
behaviors to maintain andstrengthen the groups social bonds and
contributeto a positive definition of the group. While
punitivemeasures may deter crime, it is not clear that aretributive
orientation for responding to violatorsserves the goals of creating
a prosocial society inwhich people are willing to follow the rules
and areconcerned about each others welfare, not just theirown. This
last consideration is particularly relevantfor children who have
relatively little power toprotect themselves against
retribution.
The brief summaries here do not convey thedepth and complexity
of how justice issues arereflected in our individual and collective
behaviorand in their impact on our communities. However,they do
make clear that the concept of justice ispsychosocial. They also
highlight that anyobligation to children having a role in
decidingjustice considerations regarding their situation
orwell-being has been little considered.
Human dignity. The idea that humans haveworthiness apart from
their value on any specifiableutilitarian criterion is not always
included inpsychological accounts. The anthropologist Ennew(2002)
underscored that human dignity is the keyconcept in human rights.
She stressed that it is onlythrough inclusion of children as
participants whenconsidering issues bearing on their lives that
theirdignity can be appropriately considered.
Ennew disagreed with those who use therationale that childrens
involvement infringes onthe rights of parents and threatens the
integrity ofthe family. She emphasized that childrens rightsinclude
their responsibilities to honor their limitationsand need for
socialization and to respect the rightsand child-rearing
responsibilities of their parents.Consequently, only when children
are allowed toparticipate will everyone involved learn how theycan
serve as participants in the wider society.
Peoples participation in issues that affect theirlives is a
human right. It extends to all members of allgroups, and it is
possible to create and maintain asense of justice within a
community only wheneveryone is included. All people, including
children,have discretionary capabilities of judgment and
TYLER
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7choice, have some level of responsibility for theirown conduct
and contribution to their communities,and can exercise that right
only when allowed to doso.
Giving consideration to these rudimentarycomponents of justice
and of human rights isessential to understanding how individuals
relate toeach other within the context of their communitiesand
societies. However, its focus is primarily on therights of the
individuals in it without explicit concernabout how the community
itself is sustained. AsShelbourne (2001) has emphasized, no society
cansustain itself if it is based solely on rights. No one isborn as
a self-sufficient autonomous individual andno one can survive as
one. Everyone is born in andinitially dependent on a social unit,
usually a family.To sustain itself that unit forms what
Shelbournecalls a civic society held together by a shared
civicbond. Further, all of its members have a primary dutyto
sustain and monitor the prosocial nature of thatcivic bond and
society. Otherwise, they arecontributing to the destruction of the
sustainingbasis of their autonomy, their freedom.
Individual prosocial morality (conscience).
Because individuals participate in creating their livesand
communities, we need to understand how theyform their conceptions
of personal and societalresponsibilities and entitlements. That is,
we needto ask how individuals form a conscience, an innersense of
what is right or wrong in ones conduct ormotives, impelling one
toward right action (RandomHouse, 1999, p. 282). We also need to
ask what de-termines whether a persons conscience will
includeprosocially constructive, individually self-serving,or
antisocial destructive criteria. The followingstudies provide some,
albeit incomplete, answers.
Tyler and Blader (2003) studied the relationshipin adults
between justice, identity, and behavior.They found that procedural
justice approaches thattreat people with dignity yield a sense of
pride andrespect. These approaches lead to greater groupidentity
and prosocial behavior. The same patternswould seem to be relevant
to children, although noresearch with children was cited.
Kochanska (2002) reported on the concept of amutually responsive
orientation (MRO) betweenmothers and children as having a positive
impact onthe development of a prosocial conscience in children(he
does not use that term.). He defined MRO as apositive, close,
mutually binding, and cooperativerelationship, which encompasses
two components,responsiveness and shared positive affect
(Kochanska,
2002, p. 192). His longitudinal studies on the mother-child
relationship from early in life into the school ageyears found a
direct relationship between an MRO anda strong prosocial conscience
in the children. TheirMRO relationships were thought to influence
thedevelopment of internal representations for a workingmodel of a
cooperative, reciprocal, mutuallyaccommodating relationship in
which partners naturallydo things for one another without
abrogating theirautonomy (Kochanska, 2002, p. 104).
These findings provide an indication of the kindsof psychosocial
dynamics relevant to whether andhow people and communities develop
prosocialorientations and conduct themselves
accordingly.Unfortunately, psychologists and others interestedin
child development have focused their researchprimarily on other
issues. Much more needs to beknown about how to accommodate
existing societalapproaches to incorporate childrens
participationinto their socialization and the effects of
suchchanges on them and society.
Scope and context. Without justice we donthave a humane society.
Without people who havean internalized sense of commitment to
prosocialjustice (prosocial conscience) guiding their perso-nal
behavior we cannot develop and sustain thecommunities that are
basic integrating elements of ahumane society. Basing exchanges on
self-interestalone may deter antisocial interactions. It does
notprovide for the development and maintenance ofpatterns of
conduct such as prosocial childdevelopment that benefit the
community as well aslong term individual interests.
As is often noted, with globalization the entireworld is a
community. All communities must respondto the limits of their
resources and scope and to thepotentially benign possibilities and
threats fromsurrounding communities. They must address
theinescapable tensions that exist between the indivi-dual needs
and desires of their members and theircollective desire for
creating and maintaining a justand nourishing community. Resolving
thesetensions in prosocial ways is essential to creatingand
maintaining the prosocial nature of anycommunity, large or
small.
This individual-group tension within andbetween communities has
primarily been depictedin psychology and related fields as
metaphoricallylike a community with a commons, an area (such as
agrazing area) held by its members for their commonuse. Tension
arises from the shared knowledge thatit is to the short term
benefit of each community
THE ROLE OF PROSOCIAL COMMUNITIES
-
8member to use the grazing area for as many animalsas s/he can.
However, if everyone does so thecommons will be destroyed and
everyone will loseaccess to that resource. This model assumes
thatpeople are motivated by their own self-interest andhave the
unlimited right to behave accordingly. Theirfreedom to use the
resource is viewed as independentof and in opposition to their
commitment to aprosocial society providing justice for all.
People have reasoned that two goals or valuescannot be maximized
at the same time and concludedthat either freedom or justice must
be compromisedto prevent the destruction of the commons. Thereare
several reasons for challenging this conclusion:(a) All resources
are finite, consequently unlimiteduse will necessarily exhaust
them; (b) freedom is notlimitless choices, choices are always
constrained bya range of factors including resource availability;
(c)peoples individual and social concerns are notalways
independent; (d) people are active agentsand can free themselves
from the limiting effects oftheir histories and the
self-destructive aspects oftheir natures; (e) reason and desire
(facts and values)are not independent, they are contingent on
eachother, and their interrelationships change withcircumstances;
and (f) dealing with the commonsproblem involves continually
changing andextending our focus, it does not permit of a
one-timesolution for eternity. Thus the commons problem isnot
insoluble; it can be approached in ways that aremore defensible and
that permit it to be addressed.The central argument of this paper
is that thisproblem can be resolved constructively. AsShelbourne
(2001) has argued, it is imperative thatpeople have a sense of duty
as well as a sense ofright. Socializing children accordingly can
lead tothe formation of prosocial consciences and to apreference
for prosocial communities. In such anapproach adults and children
must be included asparticipants with duties as well as rights
andprivileges. For example, parents cannot socialize theirown
children prosocially unless there is a supportiveenvironment, and
they cannot live in a supportiveenvironment unless they contribute
to creating andsustaining that environment.
Studying and Intervening in Communities
Studying a community or intervening in it toaccomplish a
particular objective requires a changeagent such as a psychologist
to assume a complexrole in relation to that community. To function
in a
prosocial way, the change agents relationship to thecommunity
must be clearly defined. It must addresseveryones respective a)
interests and b) statuses asat least quasi members of the
community. Further,since changing any community also changes at
leastsome aspects of its environs, additional considerationmust be
given to meeting responsibilities to thesurrounding environment and
other communities.These concerns lead to questions about how
prosocialcommunity considerations relate to other
relevantcriteria.
A second set of considerations is of a morepragmatic nature. The
conditions needed for acommunity to be sufficiently autonomous to
changeor be changed and sustain itself at least quasiindependently
in relationship to external forces mustbe identified. The essential
requirements must alsobe established that enable communities to
influencethe larger contexts in which they are nested. In
par-ticular, childrens interests and childrensparticipation need to
be included in responding toall of these considerations. They are
anycommunitys most vulnerable and least listened tomembers.
The Current Situation in Community
Psychology
Community psychology and related fields mustaddress the issues
raised above before they cancontribute to building prosocial
communities. Thefollowing are a summary of my observations aboutthe
relevant status of community psychology withregard to these
concerns. It is based on my reviewof the recent Handbook of
Community Psychologyby Rappaport and Seidman (2000).
A rich and varied set of writing, research, andchange projects
have been undertaken under thegeneral topic of community, and they
have produceddesirable outcomes for the individuals and
groupsinvolved. However, most community focusedwriting, research,
and projects do not address whatis meant by community or what the
potentialconsequences prosocial or otherwise of thoseefforts are
for the community beyond the segmentthey have targeted. These
projects are only looselyrelated to each other, and it is difficult
to determinewhether they serve the development of
prosocialcommunities. While no study or intervention cantouch on
everything, they do not have a communityfocus unless they are
explicitly designed, conducted,analyzed, and interpreted in
reference to a concept
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9of community. At least some of the undertakingsconsequences for
participants, change agentsinvolved, the community at large, and
outsiders needto be addressed explicitly. One contributor
notedbriefly that social change is complex, difficult toaccomplish,
and requires long term efforts. Whiletrue, that observation should
not excuse ignoringthe implications of existing social conditions
or offindings from ongoing activities. Rather, it shouldunderscore
the vital importance of documenting theneed for social changes and
undertaking efforts tobring them about and evaluate the
consequences ofdoing so.
For example, those involved in most endeavorsdirected to
studying diversity as a relevant aspect ofcommunities do not define
diversitys relationship andrelevance to a concept of community. Nor
do theyindicate what the potential consequences prosocialor
otherwise of their efforts are for communities.Consequently, their
efforts may or may not be directedtoward their goal of achieve
diversity and its desiredeffects.
With regard to children, it is not clear thatempowering them (or
any other relatively powerlessgroup) has a constructive effect on
making them ortheir community more prosocial. It may contributeto
more intracommunity strife and/or to thedisempowerment of other
individuals or groupswithin the community. There is relatively
littleattention to the lives of children reported in theHandbook.
What is there is almost exclusively aboutdeveloping their
competencies as their greatestresource for achieving psychological
wellness. Thatwellness is emphasized primarily as a bulwark
formanaging stress and as a means of achieving primaryprevention of
psychological disorder.
In summary, these community efforts are focusedlargely on
creating changes in individuals, albeit ata system or community
level. Further, when systemschanges are proposed, they tend to be
oriented tochanging systems so that they at least do not inhibitthe
development of wellness characteristics in thepopulations affected.
These emphases are laudatorybut there seems to have been little
attention toconsidering whether the changes proposed and
thewellness characteristics developed are prosociallyrather than
individual autonomy oriented.
Requirements of a Prosocial Community
Efforts to develop a prosocial community or torelate community
psychologys (or any other groups)
undertakings to that goal must be evaluated withreference to
that overarching conception. For example,the pioneer African
American psychologists, KennethB. and Mamie Clark devised and
fostered a tenuousbalance between adjustment to ones race
andamelioration of a racist society (Lal, 2002, p. 25) intheir work
in the predominantly African-AmericanHarlem district (ghetto) of
New York City. They soughtto work with victims to offset the
destructive impactsof their societys injustices while also creating
a morebroadly prosocial society.
K. Clark also sought to address the prosocialresponsibilities of
societys oppressors and thebenefits for them as well as the
oppressed of creatinga more just society. He subsequently stressed
theimportance of society acting to prevent thecontinuing infection
of its youth with social groupviolence and hostility. He pointed
out that UnitedStates society suppresses empathy and
kindness.However, his vision of a solution seems focusedprimarily,
if not exclusively, on creating matureindividuals. That is, in
Prejudice and your Child(1963) Clark stated his belief that
significant socialchanges could be accomplished by informing
peopleof the social science research evidence about theharm from
prejudiced and discriminatory child rearingpractices and the
benefits of changing them.
Targeted Approaches to the Development of
Prosocial Communities
My focus on prosocial community orientedapproaches to changing
societies and individualsincludes that those involved acknowledge
andaddress injustices and emphasize the benefits to allfrom doing
so. Construction of a prosocial societyis impossible unless all
segments of the society arebetter served and understand that the
changesnecessarily made are in their interests. However, aswas
emphasized in the first meeting of the Board ofEthnic and Social
Responsibility for Psychology(BSERP), involving the American
PsychologicalAssociation (APA) in social justice issues andturning
its social and ethical questions on itselfwould create conflict
(BSERP, 1973a, p. 4, cited inPickren & Tomes, 2002). Resolving
such conflicts isthe central dilemma in the creation of
prosocialcommunities. Those committed to change mustconsider its
implications for them and for those whooppose change and be as
willing to changethemselves as others.
Probably no more apt examples of conflict
THE ROLE OF PROSOCIAL COMMUNITIES
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10
resulting from prosocial changes can be found thanthe struggles
in the United States amongpsychologists and within psychology over
the issueof white racism. The most seminal figure in thosestruggles
is Kenneth B. Clark, the first (and still theonly) African-American
President of APA. Hisresearch and that of his wife on the effect of
racismon the psychosocial development of all childrenwas an
integral part of the U. S. Supreme Courts1954 decision to outlaw
segregation in publicschools. He was instrumental in making changes
inthe APA as a scholar, a public policy figure, and aparticipant in
the psychological communitys effortsto clean up its conduct and
organization internallyand in relationship to the broader
community. Clarkwas an exemplar in his role as an involvedobserver
and participant-symbol (Keppel, 2002)in using the colonialist
metaphor and defining thecontext by writing that the dark ghetto
isinstitutionalized pathology [my italics] (Keppel,2002, p.
34).
As he illustrated, creating a prosocialcommunity requires a)
eliminating conceptionsand mechanisms that exclude individuals
andgroups, b) creating conceptions and mechanismsthat include all
individuals and groups, and c)involving each of us, professionals
included, inimposing on ourselves these same requirements.These
three issues, particularly the last, are vitalto creating prosocial
development possibilities foryouth, as is highlighted in the
following selectedexamples.
Eliminating Antisocial Behavior
Olweus (1992) found in his longitudinal study inNorwegian
schools that bullying developed andcontinued among the youth for
whom it worked. Thebullies did not feel insecure; they had high
self-esteem and continued bullying into adulthood unlessstopped. A
joint effort that involved coordination ofhome, community, and
school programs wasrequired to reduce the bullying. Relevant adults
weretaught how to create benign and supportiveenvironments by
establishing warm, involved, andpositively interested relationships
with the childrenand providing firm, consistent, non-hostile,
non-physical sanctions against unacceptable behavior.In short, the
community members createdtrustworthy prosocial environments
characterized bymodeling and teaching prosocial behaviors.
Resource Exchange and Psychosocial
Competence
In 1970, I designed and conducted a large highschool based
collaborative project in the UnitedStates to evaluate and improve a
suburban countysgroup counseling program. The program was usedto
facilitate racial integration among previouslysegregated students.
It was based on the assumptionthat all of those involved, from
students to projectsupervisor psychologists, brought resources
andneeds to the project and could gain by exchangingtheir resources
to help each other. The students wereAfrican American and Anglo,
marginal andexemplary. Results supported that a) the
approacheffectively created more psychosocially competentand
prosocially oriented students, and b) confirmedin a final
evaluation that the participants judged eachother as behaving in
resource collaborative ways indoing so (F. Tyler, Pargament, &
Gatz, 1983).
The Olweus and F. Tyler studies focused on onlya limited aspect
of life in a community. Further, theywere initiated by the adults
involved rather than inconjunction with the youth. However,
theyemphasized collaborative participation and requiredall
concerned to apply to themselves theexpectations they imposed on
others. Further, theyexamined and sought to change the
interrelationsbetween diverse individuals and groups in
complexinstitutions (schools) that are central to
socializingchildren for adult roles in their communities.
Protecting the Rights of Child Laborers
Recent approaches to the situations of workingchildren and to
their rights and responsibilities havetaken on the additional
objective of including thechildren in defining and implementing
approachesto their rights and responsibilities and on
broaderaspects of societal change. It is instructive tohighlight
the unique contributions of some of theseundertakings.
In a study commissioned by UNICEF, Hart (1977)and his
collaborators focused on childrens rightsand environmentally
sustainable development,drawing on examples of children from a
variety ofcultures who had participated in societal
activities.Their research provides useful principles andexamples
about the process involved in workingwith children so that we can
engage them in moregenuinely participatory ways (p. x). They
noted
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that while there seems to be greater development ofchildrens
community participation in less developedcountries, the greatest
divide is between adults whodo and do not recognize the capacities
and desiresof children to make a meaningful contribution to
theirsocieties.
In South East Asia efforts are underway toinstitutionalize
childrens rights to participate inpolicy formation and the
implementation ofsupportive conditions for their work. The
RegionalWorking Group on Child Labor (RWGCL, 2003)compiled a
self-study handbook that managers canuse to facilitate childrens
participation. Nationalchild and manager workshops were held in
thePhilippines, Viet Nam, and Thailand to share insightsand
experiences and examine the meaning of,opportunities for,
challenges to, and protection fromabuses of childrens participation
in labor. Theresultant handbook provides perhaps the best andmost
explicit examples of the inclusion of workingchildren as fully
participating members of a prosocialcommunity approach to
labor.
Programs focused on child labor contribute tothe well-being of
the children involved and to theformation of prosocial communities.
They do so byincorporating children into the communities as acti-ve
participants in their societies and as individualswith the rights
and responsibilities that adult citizenshave. At least indirectly,
they also contribute tochanging the roles and expectations of the
adults,including the communitys leaders and the
childrenscaretakers, in a prosocial framework in the area
ofwork.
A Comprehensive Child-Centered Approach
to Prosocial Community Building
An example of a multifaceted community andsociety-based program
that incorporates the majorcharacteristics of a prosocial community
isprovided by Questscope. It is a non-governmentalorganization
chartered in England to assistmarginalized children and their
families in theMideast. In 1997 Questscopes director, Dr.
CurtRhodes, decided to use my prosocial communitymodel (Tyler,
1997) as the model for its programwith marginalized populations in
Jordan as wellas for the development and conduct of
programactivities. At that time my wife (a nurse/anthropologist)
and I began an ongoingcollaborative consultation to assist him.
Questscope has implemented its prosocialcommunity orientation by
working only withcommunity groups who request its
collaborativeparticipation and agree to the shared goal
ofestablishing the groups program as a free standing,prosocial
community. It focuses on incorporating allfacets of each community
in working collaborativelyto organize, conduct, and evaluate
activities, and tointegrate projects into the fabric of the
communityso that the community will sustain them. Its
prosocialorganization and functioning are highlighted in
thefollowing paragraphs.
The Nature of Questscope
Questscope has a central policy, program, andfiscal
organizational structure. Personnel areengaged in a variety of
activities from fund raisingto social policy development to
workingcollaboratively with community members and thefamilies and
children participating in their projects.As with any organization,
Questscopes organizationand structure are in part a function of its
context.Jordan is part of the Majority World (Kagitcibasi,1996) in
being outside of the developed worldeconomically, being a
predominantly Muslim society,and being a Hashemite kingdom.
However, it isprogressive and responsive to modernizinginfluences
of Western societies. For example,Questscopes mosque based program
for adolescentgirls could not have been implemented without
cle-rical consent, but those clerics have not onlyrequested it but
provided their women leaders(deaconnesses) with the autonomy needed
toaddress and ameliorate the effects of restrictivecontrols on
young women. Related research andprogram development activities by
Kagitcibasi (1996)in the area of family and human development
inTurkey has provided instructive findings about thesocial context
of Majority World societies. They haveled her to conclude that the
emerging model ofemotional interdependence characteristic of
thosesocieties produces an autonomous-interrelated selfthat is
potentially more amenable than the Westernindividual autonomy model
as a basis for prosocialindividual and family development. Thus,
part of thesuccess of Questscopes prosocial communityoriented
projects may be that societies such as Jordanare particularly
receptive and supportive of thatmodel.
Questscopes community project activities range
THE ROLE OF PROSOCIAL COMMUNITIES
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12
from one-to-one mentoring of youth, to youthparticipation in
decision making and leadershipdevelopment, to development of
economic projectsand national referral linkages. Current programs
tofacilitate the psychosocial development of youth inJordan include
(a) several with working youth atvarious sites including one in an
industrial city, (b)one with unwanted/abandoned, illegitimate,
ororphaned youth living in a government facility witha daytime open
door policy, (c) one located in amosque with adolescent girls from
refugee or lowincome families, and (d) entire refugee camps.
That approach was implemented in the followingway: The
pro-social approach emphasizes threeessential facets of community
development: localitydevelopment (building consensus on
commonconcerns and providing activities that increaseinsight and
capabilities), collaborative linkages(involving local organisations
and professionals inimproving the lives of those at risk), and
civicaction (involving civic authorities in implementingresponsive
pro-social policies and practices).
Expansion of Program
Community groups who request Questscopescollaborative
participation are expected to agree tothe shared goal of
establishing their program as afree standing, prosocial community
within five years.During the five years, the groups personnel
receiveintense training in Questscopes methods and inrestructuring
their program as needed. The groupthen begins to work autonomously,
but continuesto participate in a Questscope policy group
(prosocialcommunity) to create and maintain other such groups.A
core aspect of the groups development is theformation of
volunteer-based mentoring programsto work directly with at risk
children and families,primarily youth from the ages of 14 to 25.
The youthare invited to participate; however, to do so theymust
commit to acquiring the necessary skills (fromlearning to read and
write to acquiring basic self-respect to learning wood and metal
working skills torunning a small business) and integrating into
thecommunity in a prosocial fashion.
Implications for Prosocial Community
Development Concepts and Approaches
The worth of the Questscope approach rests onits impact. Rhodes,
Mihyar, Al-Bustami, and Al-
Khouli (2004) summarized the value of the mentoringactivities in
reporting on a prospective study of 164youth participants who
completed pre and postassessments. For example,
The primary means of collaborating withparticipants from
disadvantaged backgrounds wasthe establishment of a meaningful
personalrelationship: often the first non-exploitativeassociation
the participant had ever experienced.Participants responded best to
those interventionsthat increased their influence on what happened
tothem, provided opportunities to take responsibility,and
emphasized mutual cooperation.
Even minimal experience with a mentor wasremarkably effective...
Changes were noted insocially adaptive behavior, cognitive skills
forproblem solving, development of self-concept/emotional
stability, vocational maturity and reductionof substance abuse for
all those who shared evenbrief relationship with a mentor (p.
11).
Rhodes and his colleagues also stressed thatmentoring is an
appropriate approach for broad-scale, nationwide programmes that
can involve highlymotivated volunteers in effective social action
intheir neighborhoods - making a difference in the livesof others
less fortunate and restoring marginalizedbut talented individuals
to effective, productivecitizenship (p. 14). The empirical evidence
such asthat cited above from Questscopes outcome studiessupport
that conclusion.
It may be that the process of constructingprosocial community
programs creates the intrinsicconditions essential to making them
effective. In ourprogram evaluation of Questscope (Tyler &
Tyler,2002), we found that one of the things the mentorsvalued from
their participation was that it providedways for them to contribute
to society and to becomebetter parents themselves. This view was
shared byadministrative and program personnel as wellbecause they
are all educated in how to create andcontribute in a collaborative
approach to theirprogram activities. One of the successes of
theindustry program has been the changes in thesupervisors in the
settings where the youth work.They are no longer resistant to
allowing the youthto participate in the program during working
hoursbecause doing so has led the youth to become betterworkers.
Our numerous visits to homes in refugeecamps and to community and
project training centersprovided valuable comments. Supervisors,
parents,and mentors detailed the enormous impact on the
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youth, on their respect for and from the youth, andon improved
family relationships. The youthdescribed their enhanced self
confidence andhopeful perspectives. They also demonstrated
theirskills, ranging from reading newspapers to buildingfurniture
to managing coffee shops and market stalls.They pointed out other
youth they had recruited forparticipation. In short, as people from
all aspects ofthese diverse groups participated in the
Questscopeactivities, they became more prosocially
orientedthemselves and contributed more to the projectsevolution of
itself as a prosocial community.
During that same evaluation, we also took partin a Questscope
conference of program directorsand representatives from a range of
government andnon-government agencies. Included wererepresentatives
form the Ministry of Social Services,Family Protection and
Anti-narcotics units ofJordans Directory of Public Security,
Counselingand Community Services programs of the Universityof
Jordan, a womens rights organization, and aprominent social
activist Islamic cleric. Theirdeliberations highlighted their
shared growinginterest in and adoption of collaborative
prosocialcommunity oriented approaches as program policyin their
respective agencies and in forming acollaborative group among
themselves to bettercoordinate their programs. Questscopes
programefforts have also attracted support and positiveevaluations
from the European Union, Governmentof Japan, UNICEF, and the World
Bank as well asindividual contributors.
These brief paragraphs hardly do justice to thecomplexity of a
prosocial community developmentprogram such as that of Questscope.
At best, theyhighlight the integrated and self-reinforcing natureof
the spiral pattern of prosocial development thatcharacterizes such
prosocial program activities.Because of its nature, its internal
and externalstructure and dynamics, establishing a
prosocialcommunity program of any scope generatesinteractive
patterns that further its development. Itdoes so by involving
everyone in prosocial activitiesand becoming more prosocially
oriented.
It is easy to cite the direct changes in the youthwho
participate in mentoring programs as evidenceof the validity of
Questscopes prosocial communitydevelopment approach. The less
easily documentedchanges such as those cited in the mentors
andemployers also support that conclusion. At a moregeneral level,
the adoption of this orientation in their
own programs by other agency directors in Jordanincluding the
Department of Public Safety and theadoption of a multi agency
prosocial communityorientation for interacting with each other
amongthese directors add further support. Further,Questscope and
its programs are being endorsedby Jordans Royal Family and
religious leaders. Thesedevelopments taken as a whole
constitutesubstantial empirical support for the value of
thisapproach as not only effective for marginalizedchildren and
their families but as a holistic model forcommunity and societal
development.
Integration and Summary
Societies need to create prosocial communitiesto enable them to
thrive and, in particular, providefor the well-being of their
children. Such communitiesare characterized by their inhabitants
beingconcerned with the well-being of others in thecommunity and
the community as well as themselves.Resolving the tensions and
distributing benefits forcommunity members are guided by the way
therelationships between their personal well-being andthat of their
community are defined. Crucial factorsinclude socialization
practices that accord everyonea sense of dignity, promote the
development of aprosocial conscience in individuals, and rely on
so-cial justice procedures that are considered to be fairto the
ongoing community as well as the individualsinvolved. It is of
crucial importance that children beaccorded full human rights and
included asparticipants in matters concerning their own well-being
and that of their communities. They are themost vulnerable members
of the community and theleast able to protect themselves, yet also
the leastallowed to participate in their own behalf.
In contrast, at present most communitydevelopment efforts tend
to focus on how to improvean undesirable situation in some
marginalizedsubsection of a community. There seems to be
theassumption, at least implicitly, that the quality of lifein the
rest of the community will be diminishedbecause the other residents
will have to give upsomething to the groups assisted. In most of
theseendeavors little attention is given to psychosocialcommunity
criteria. One result is that neither changeagents nor community
members know whether theirefforts have improved or diminished the
communityitself or its children who usually are not included
indeciding whether interventions serve their needs.
THE ROLE OF PROSOCIAL COMMUNITIES
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14
There are legal, humanistic, and practical reasonsfor according
full human dignity status to childrenas members of the community.
In particular, it is onlyby doing so that they can be socialized so
that theyinternalize prosocial consciences and becomedisposed to
contribute to the development andmaintenance of their communities.
Unless childrenare included, their communities will
remainincompletely prosocial and continue to
fosterintergenerational and individual/community conflict.
In addition, investigators and social changeagents mut
participate in ways that are consistentwith the requirements of
prosocial communities. Theymust become part of the community
andacknowledge their individual goals and values aswell as their
goals for the community as theyparticipate in its activities. Only
then can they accordcommunity members full dignity and respect for
theirrights and expect to be accorded the same.
The empirical support cited here for the benefitsof adopting a
prosocial community orientedapproach is tentative and suggestive,
but it is robust.These examples provide only an outline of the
manyways in which such activities can be organized.There is much
more to learn about the underlyingsocialization processes that lead
to the developmentof such characteristics as a prosocial
conscienceand a self characterized by autonomous-relatednessand a
prosocial orientation. Studies are needed toidentify the age levels
at which children can assumeincreasing levels of autonomy and
responsibility.Current criteria are largely based on
untestedhistorical and cultural foundations. Other importantareas
of research include studies of the processesand steps involved in
getting adults to reconsidertheir conceptions of adult/child
relationships andhow to change destructive patterns based
onauthoritarian and other ideological positions that
areinconsistent with existing knowledge.
Finally, each collaborative participatory processmust arise out
of its own specific context and reflectthe nature of that context,
the people in it, and theirways of living and interrelating.
Collaborativeparticipatory projects cannot be routinized.
Theirstrength is that they evolve in an organic mannerand can be
created only with everyonesinvolvement. In particular, the
well-being of children(or any marginalized group) cannot be
sustainedwithout their participation. In the long run, neithercan
the well-being of those with advantages. Theyall, especially the
children, depend on the community
and all must contribute to maintaining an adequateprosocial
structure to sustain it. In turn, the childrenwill soon be the
parents and leaders who will nurtureor destabilize their families
and communities.
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-
Copyright 2004 by PsykheISSN 0717-0297
Relaciones Entre Psicologa Social Comunitaria, Psicologa Crtica
y
Psicologa de la Liberacin: Una Respuesta Latinoamericana
Relations Between Community-Social Psychology,
Critical-Social
Psychology, and Social Psychology of Liberation: A Latin
American Answer
Maritza MonteroUniversidad Central de Venezuela
En este trabajo se plantea la idea de que la psicologa social
comunitaria, la psicologa social crtica y la psicologa
social de la liberacin configuraron una forma de respuesta
neoparadigmtica (las dos primeras surgen en Amrica
Latina en los aos 70, la tercera es delineada en los ochenta),
concebida en funcin de las necesidades de las
sociedades latinoamericanas, expresada en mutuas influencias.
Para ello se realiz una investigacin analtica y
comparativa en literatura latinoamericana concerniente a las
tres reas, buscando las caractersticas identificadoras
principales de esos movimientos, las similitudes y las
diferencias. Los resultados aqu presentados muestran la
influencia que ha existido entre los tres mbitos y cmo se
complementan, comparten fuentes, objetivos y
conceptos.
In this paper it is argued that Community-Social Psychology;
Critical-Social Psychology and, Social Psychology
of Liberation configured a neo-paradigmatic (the two former
being born in the seventies, the latter in the eighties)
response to the problems and needs suffered by societies in
Latin America, expressed through mutual influences
between the three movements. To reach this conclusion an
analytical-comparative research was carried out in the
Latin American literature concerning the three areas, looking
for the main characteristics identifying each one,
for their similarities and their differences. The results show
the influence between them, as well as similarities in
sources, some objectives and concepts.
PSYKHE
2004, Vol.13, N 2, 17-28
Del Por Qu de Este Estudio
El ltimo cuarto del siglo XX y lo que va del XXIhan visto surgir
y desarrollarse en el campopsicosocial latinoamericano tres
expresiones delquehacer, del cmo hacer y del pensar psicolgicos.Las
tres forman parte de la corriente mundial de trans-formacin de la
ciencia y son expresin del paradig-ma que hizo eclosin a partir de
fines de los aossesenta1. Las tres presentan rasgos especficos
pro-pios de nuestro Continente y buscan dar respuestaa los
problemas de las sociedades latinoamericanas.Me refiero a la
psicologa social comunitaria comoha sido desarrollada en nuestro
mbito; a la psicolo-ga social de la liberacin que si bien responde
a un
espritu del tiempo presente en muchas latitudes,nace con nombre
y apellido en Centroamrica y a lapsicologa social crtica como es
elaborada en estastierras.
Si se ha trabajado en los tres movimientos, si selos ha
observado de cerca o si se prefiere uno solode ellos, parece
inevitable darse cuenta de que hayelementos comunes a los tres. La
explicacin puedeestar en el hecho de que los tres surgen en
nuestraparte del continente a raz de la crisis de la psicolo-ga y
en particular de la psicologa social, habida afinales de los aos
sesenta e inicios de los aossetenta o como un efecto a las
reacciones a esa cri-sis. Este origen ha sido dicho, discutido y
reflexio-nado muchas veces en el primer campo: la psicolo-ga social
comunitaria latinoamericana (Lpez & Ri-vera Medina, 1992;
Montero, 1980, 1982; Serrano-Garca, 1984; entre otros) y tambin
desde el de lapsicologa social, tanto en una de sus versiones
ra-dicadas en Amrica Latina (Lpez, 1992; Lpez &Ziga, 1988;
Montenegro, 2002; Montenegro, 2004;Piper, 2002), como en la europea
(Henriques, Hollway,Irwin, Venn & Walkerdine, 1984; Parker,
1989, 2002;Ibez, 1989; Walkerdine, 2002; Wexler, 1983), y en
Maritza Montero, Facultad de Psicologa.
La correspondencia relativa a este artculo deber ser diri-
gida a la autora, a Apdo. 80394. Prados del Este. Caracas,
1080-A. Venezuela. E-mail: [email protected] Hago
referencia, como tantos otros autores contempor-
neos (Martnez, 1993; Munn, 1994, 1995; Parker, 1989,
para citar slo psiclogos) a un cambio de paradigma pues
hubo el reconocimiento de modos diferentes de conocer,
de explicar y de interpretar al mundo y a las relaciones que
los individuos tienen con l y en l.
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18
la canadiense (Prilleltensky & Nelson, 1997). Sinembargo, el
por qu estos tres movimientos de rup-tura con modos de hacer y de
pensar el mundo den-tro de la psicologa se relacionan no pareciera
habersido objeto de estudio detenido. Y pareciera acep-tarse que
existe algo as como una forma de yuxta-posicin coincidente, que
repite, a veces con casilas mismas expresiones, las declaraciones
de valo-res, la definicin de conceptos y la exhortacin a lapraxis
orientada en la misma direccin.
La relacin entre esos tres modos de abordar laproduccin de
conocimiento y su efecto sobre elmedio social configura un modo de
hacer psicolo-ga que, si bien ha trascendido el mbito
latinoame-ricano, est marcado por su origen no slo geogr-fico sino
sociocultural. Sin embargo, los aspectosepistemolgicos, tericos,
metodolgicos, ticosy polticos que lo orientan estn tan
entretejidosque la relacin entre psicologa comunitaria, talcomo se
la ha desarrollado en Amrica Latina (don-de parece predominar su
expresin psicosocial)2,psicologa social crtica y psicologa social
de laliberacin, puede parecerse a la tarea de desenre-dar una
compleja trama en la cual los hilos formanun todo que va ms all de
los diferentes dibujosque lo integran.
Este trabajo, de carcter descriptivo, busca mos-trar las
relaciones, semejanzas y diferencias, entreestas tres expresiones.
Para ello realic un anlisisde contenido comparativo, de obras en
las cuales seha definido y analizado en Amrica Latina a esastres
corrientes. Las categoras que me permitieronestablecer las
comparaciones y relaciones fueron lassiguientes: definicin del rea
de conocimiento; in-fluencias recibidas; principales conceptos
utilizados;principios de base; mtodos predominantes en suaplicacin
y orientacin y fines. Los resultados deesa indagacin se presentan a
continuacin y seinician con la contextualizacin y definicin de
lastres reas mencionadas.
De la Psicologa Social Comunitaria a laPsicologa Social de la
Liberacin a Travs
de la Corriente Crtica
La ola neoparadigmtica que se haca sentir entodos los mbitos de
la ciencia, y cuyas ideas yadespuntaban desde fines de los
cincuenta en nues-tra parte del continente, irrumpi con fuerza a
finesde los aos setenta e inicios de los ochenta del siglopasado. Y
lo hizo as, tanto en el campo de las cien-cias sociales como en el
de las naturales, con efec-tos en las ciencias sociales y en
particular, en Am-rica Latina, en la rama social de la psicologa.
Enefecto, la psicologa social respondi dando lugarprimero (mediados
de los 70) a una nueva expresin,la psicologa social comunitaria,
pronto constituidagenricamente como psicologa comunitaria, pues-to
que tambin repercuti en otras reas de la psico-loga. Esa psicologa
se defini desde sus inicioscomo el estudio de los factores
psicosociales quepermiten desarrollar, fomentar y mantener el
controly poder que los individuos pueden ejercer sobre suambiente
individual y social para solucionar proble-mas que los aquejan y
lograr cambios en esos am-bientes y en la estructura social
(Montero, 1982).
Resaltar en ella tres elementos que se puedenencontrar juntos o
separados en otras definicionesproducidas ms adelante en los campos
latinoameri-cano y anglosajn: el elemento poder y las relacio-nes
de desigualdad que el mismo determina; la ac-cin transformadora
sobre el entorno, sobre la so-ciedad y sobre s mismos llevada a
cabo por (y estees el tercer aspecto), las personas que
constituyenuna comunidad. Estos elementos dieron lugar a
unadiferencia con el modo de hacer psicologa socialpredominante
hasta el momento y su puesta en ac-cin se hizo a travs de cambios
metodolgicos tan-to en el rol de psiclogos como de los sujetos
quehasta ese momento haban sido slo objetos de es-tudio, y por ende
cambi tambin las relaciones en-tre ambos.
Esto ocurra casi simultneamente al movimien-to crtico (inicios
de los ochenta) y apenas poco msde una dcada antes que surgiese, en
1986, la psico-loga social de la liberacin, que vena gestndosedesde
el comienzo de la dcada. Ese espritu deltiempo que vena unido a la
ya insoslayable nece-sidad de responder a las carencias y
desigualdadesde las sociedades latinoamericanas, es el primer
pun-to en comn en estos tres movimientos.
2 En Amrica Latina se habla tanto de una psicologa social
comunitaria como de psicologa comunitaria a secas. La
primera fue la pionera y ha tenido un importante desarro-
llo en esta parte del continente, incluyendo sub-ramas
tales como la ambiental-comunitaria. La segunda incluye
las formas tradicionales de aplicacin y en los ltimos
aos (1990 en adelante) ha comenzado a desarrollar
creativas sub-ramas de inters tales como la clnica-comu-
nitaria.
MONTERO
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19
De la Crtica en Psicologa
Orgenes
La corriente crtica de la psicologa tiene dos or-genes. Uno
generado en la prctica, que subviertelos modos de hacer y de pensar
pero que no se nom-bra a s mismo, surgido en Amrica Latina bajo
lainfluencia de ciencias sociales tales como la socio-loga llamada
militante o crtica (Fals Borda, 1978),la educacin popular freiriana
y su rea de influen-cia que incluye a socilogos, antroplogos y
edu-cadores tales como Vio Grossi, Le Boterf, May, deWitt, entre
otros (Vio Grossi, Gianotten & de Witt,1981); la
etnometodologa, y algunas formas de an-tropologa. En la psicologa
esta corriente encuentraexpresin en la naciente psicologa social
comunita-ria y en el movimiento llamado de alternativas a
lapsiquiatra. Tales movimientos tienen lugar en Am-rica Latina a
partir de mediados de los aos setentay si bien el segundo de los
nombrados no parecicontinuar ms all de mediados de los ochenta,
lapsicologa social comunitaria s se desarroll prime-ro como parte
de la aplicacin de la psicologa socialy luego como rama especfica
de la psicologa, aun-que siempre con un marcado acento
psicosocial.
Otro origen comenz a ser planteado en el cam-po de la psicologa
anglosajona a mediados de lossesenta (Brown, 1973) bajo el nombre
de psicologaradical. Tal psicologa era radical en su crtica y ensus
perspectivas sobre cmo intervenir no slo en
la relacin con los individuos, sino tambin en lasociedad en la
que tanto ellos como los psiclogosviven (Brown, 1973). Las
influencias y principios quemoldearon y expresan los objetivos de
ese movi-miento pueden verse en la Tabla 1.
A partir de esos planteamientos ese movimientova a evolucionar y
a inicios de los aos ochentaadopta el adjetivo crtica en su nombre.
Tal tenden-cia buscaba fundamentalmente dar cuenta de
lastransformaciones que estaban ocurriendo en el cam-po de la
ciencia y que no parecan ser aceptadas porlas teoras entonces al
uso. Sus primeras publicacio-nes tambin asuman una posicin
antipositivista ypoltica en el sentido de denunciar las
condicionessocioeconmicas y su efecto sobre el campo de laciencia y
la consiguiente interpretacin y tratamien-to de los fenmenos
sociales. La obra de Wexler(1983), primera en usar el adjetivo
crtica en su ttulo,al igual que ocurri tambin en los movimientos
cr-ticos desarrollados por las ciencias sociales latinoa-mericanas
muestra la influencia marxiana, que en sucaso se manifiesta en las
categoras que la orientany en las preguntas que dan lugar a su
anlisis: clasesocial, ideologa y modo de produccin. Como di-cen los
autores de otra obra pionera en ese mbito:Changing the subject
(Henriques, Hollway, Urwin,Venn & Walkerdine, 1984), haba que
dar cuenta de:a) los cambios en la concepcin que del individuo yla
subjetividad se tena en la psicologa hasta esemomento; b) las
estrategias seguidas para produciresos cambios; c) la crtica a las
relaciones entre la
Tabla 1Caractersticas de la psicologa radical (1970)
Influencias en su desarrollo Movimiento feministaMovimiento de
la AntipsiquiatraMovimiento negro en EE.UU.Movimiento GayEscuela de
FrankfurtHerbert MarcuseJrgen HabermasK. Mark y F. Engels
Principios orientadores Rechazo a las prcticas psicolgicas
manipuladoras (en relaciones de trabajo, deorientacin,
teraputica).Ir a las causas de los problemas, no slo a los
sntomas.Holismo.Generar prcticas innovadoras que respondan a las
necesidades y problemas de laspersonas.Trabajar con las situaciones
de la vida cotidiana y transformarlas.Denuncia y subversin de
relaciones opresivas de poder.Transformacin social
PSICOLOGA SOCIAL COMUNITARIA, PSICOLOGA CRTICA Y PSICOLOGA DE LA
LIBERACIN
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20
dualidad individuo-sociedad; d) la crtica a las prc-ticas de
regulacin y administracin socialperpetuadoras del statu-quo y a las
alternativas aellas que podra haber. Estos autores introducan yala
idea del carcter poltico que tales relaciones tie-nen y de cmo sera
posible generar una polticaliberadora (Henriques, Hollway, Urwin,
Venn &Walkerdine, 1984, p. 3) que se opusiera a las
formasopresoras existentes en la psicologa de la pocacomo era
producida en el mundo anglosajn.
Del Ser y mbito de la Crtica
Si algo parece fcil de hacer pero difcil de definires la
condicin crtica. Qu es lo crtico? Por qualgo recibe el calificativo
de crtico? Esta dificultadse plantea con tanta ms urgencia cuando
en lasciencias sociales y en particular en la psicologa,como se ha
dicho, desde la segunda mitad de la d-cada del sesenta se vena
planteando la existenciade una corriente crtica que hace sentir su
influenciaen todas las reas de la disciplina. Y como ha ocurri-do
antes con los adjetivos cientfico, artstico,verdadero, autntico,
revolucionario y algu-nos otros ms que concentran en s la
deseabilidadsocial de una poca y que por ello han sido carga-dos de
un peso semntico positivo, la palabra crti-ca aparece en los ms
variados contextos no slocomo calificativo legitimador de lo que se
presentabajo su denominacin, sino tambin como justifica-cin global
o como condicin terica, metodolgicao epistemolgica, suficiente para
obviar la necesariademostracin de lo que se quiere demostrar.
Y al mismo tiempo y a pesar de ese uso desenfa-dado del trmino,
hay una corriente crtica en la psi-cologa que hacindose sentir en
muchos campospsicolgicos ha dado interesantes frutos. Un anli-sis
de esa difcil condicin de lo crtico permite resal-tar los
siguientes aspectos, que elaboro a partir deMontero y Fernndez
Christlieb (2003; 2004):1. Crtica es un sustantivo que se origina
del trmi-
no crisis, el cual proviene del griego krisis/eos,que significa
la accin o facultad de elegir, dis-tinguiendo y para ello separando
unas cosas deotras. Esto indica que desde su origen est pre-sente
la disyuntiva en la eleccin de cul caminou objeto tomar; lo cual
muestra que hay crticacuando se reconoce que las cosas no son deuna
sola manera sino que pueden tener variasfacetas o posibilidades. Es
decir, cuando se par-te del carcter complejo de los hechos.
2. En psicologa la crtica significa someter a anli-sis las
teoras, conceptos y perspectivas acepta-das como explicaciones
ltimas de los fenme-nos psicolgicos, develando sus
contradiccio-nes, sus lagunas, sus incoherencias y debilida-des, as
como tambin sus fortalezas. Y logra suobjeto al mostrar los
agujeros en la trama tericao metodolgica, la ausencia de
fundamentos y lacondicin argumentativa que puede estar soste-niendo
una posicin (Lira, 2002). Y al hacerlogenera lo que ha sido llamado
un clima de per-turbacin (Stainton Rogers & Stainton
Rogers,1997) que expone al objeto criticado. Razn estaque altera o
molesta.
3. Lo cual a su vez revela otra condicin de la crti-ca:
reconocer y someter a juicio las formas ms omenos obvias, ms o
menos sutiles, en las cua-les se ejercen relaciones de poder que
suelenexcluir explicaciones alternativas o posicionesdivergentes. O
bien los modos en que teoras yprcticas mantienen un statu-quo
injusto (Lira,2002; Prilleltensky & Fox, 1997). Y al hacer
estola crtica debe ser tambin crtica de s misma(Montero &
Fernndez Christlieb, 2003). Es de-cir, debe sealar de dnde parte y
por qu lohace as; mostrar sus sesgos y tendencias enlugar de
presentar el aspecto defendido como sifuese el nico o fuese la
norma a seguir.
4. El carcter inevitable de la crtica. Siempre habrcrtica a
pesar de lo mal que muchas veces puedaser recibida. Eso le confiere
el carcter de fatali-dad de la vida cotidiana (Montero &
FernndezChristlieb, 2004), condicin que la une a la cien-cia, donde
como bien nos lo ensearon en lasaulas universitarias y lo muestra
su historia, noexiste el principio de autoridad. Las verdadesde la
ciencia lo son slo hasta prueba en contra-rio. Y eso es la crtica:
la prueba de que las cosaspueden ser de otra manera, que pueden ser
deforma distinta a la reconocida o establecida. Lacrtica entonces
es el haz de luz que enfoca loque est a oscuras; la compuerta que
se abre ose cierra; la seal que indica calle ciega o valibre y
tiene la fatalidad de lo molesto e inevita-ble que transforma el
mundo y lo hace diferente.
5. Lo crtico es cambiante. El mundo que cambideviene natural y
habitual y ser de nuevo obje-to de crtica. La crtica entonces no
tiene conte-nido ni forma predeterminados. Es inesperada yaunque se
la intente reprimir, como el agua, en-contrar siempre una va para
fluir y pasar.
MONTERO
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21
6. La crtica no es en s ni buena ni mala. Es necesa-ria para
cambiar las cosas. Al igual que las teo-ras, los mtodos y el
conocimiento en general,puede ser usada con los ms variados
desig-nios, pero siempre mostrar las debilidades yfortalezas de lo
criticado y de quien critica.
7. El movimiento crtico expresa la tesis monista deque el
conocimiento no es un reflejo objetivo dela realidad sino que est
marcado por las condi-ciones histricas de su produccin, de las
cua-les forma parte.En definitiva, la crtica subvierte el modo de
ver
las cosas; desencaja los mecanismos de poder quesostienen
posiciones establecidas y abre nuevasperspectivas al conocimiento.
Ella es parte de la com-plejidad del mundo, usualmente tan difcil
de acep-tar. Y en tal sentido la crtica es liberadora. Libera
deformas y modos establecidos como los nicos quepermiten comprender
el mundo, explicar nuestro en-torno y que mantienen ciertas
jerarquas y relacio-nes basadas en la desigualdad y en la sumisin.
Poresa razn coincido con la advertencia que haceSpears (1997),
respecto de no ver la crtica comoalgo unido a las escuelas o a
movimientos de de-nuncia tales como el de las limitaciones del
positi-vismo o del construccionismo social; o la defensade la
democracia y condena de la opresin; o elcualitativismo. No porque
ellos no hayan sido crti-cos (y mucho), sino por la sencilla razn
de que lacrtica no pertenece a un continente sustantivo
de-terminado, sino que puede estar en todas partes yporque sera
cuando menos ingenuo creer que por-que tales movimientos
irrumpieron crticamente enlas ciencias, cualquier manifestacin que
se declareconstruccionista, o antipositivista, o cualitativista,o
democrtica, es crtica per se. All se acabara lacrtica y empezara la
dominacin sin fundamento.
La crtica es entonces parte inherente al carctercientfico de una
disciplina, pues ella ayuda a trazarla lnea que separa el
conocimiento de la ciencia, delsaber revelado o de la fe ciega. Es
ella la que impideque el conocimiento producido en un
determinadomomento se convierta en dogma. En tal sentido lacrtica
es una condicin de la libertad.
Crtica, tica, Psicologa SocialComunitaria y Liberacin
Cmo determinar el carcter crtico de un cam-po, de una posicin,
de una teorizacin o de unainvestigacin psicolgicos? La praxis y los
valores
de la psicologa social comunitaria y los postuladosde la
psicologa social de la liberacin, nos indicanque el valor de la
crtica reside en su capacidad demostrar alternativas; de reconocer
y traer a primerplano la diversidad de los actores sociales
inter-vinientes en las situaciones sociales y de sealar larelacin
existente entre los fenmenos sociales y elcontexto o situacin en
que se dan, algo que si biena estas alturas puede sonar como un
truismo por serparte del conocimiento del sentido comn, no esmenos
cierto que en tanto que tal, ha devenido almismo tiempo en un
concepto vaco. Insistir en esarelacin muestra el carcter holista de
los fenme-nos sociales que tiende a ser dejado de lado al
frag-mentar los fenmenos sociales para su estudio.
As como se ha hablado en la literatura de unaactitud y tambin de
una conciencia crticas, elexamen de lo que ha sido definido como
tal puedeservirnos para si no precisar, al menos si reconocerla
presencia de la crtica en la posicin tico-polti-ca-cientfica
asumida por quienes la formulan. Mar-tn-Bar consideraba,
coincidiendo con lo que plan-tea la psicologa social comunitaria y
que es un lega-do de Freire y de Fals Borda, que los psiclogosdeben
tener un compromiso crtico con las perso-nas con las cuales
trabajan. Como bien lo planteanLane & Sawaia (1991), desde una
perspectivagramsciana, ser crticos significa ser capaces de verlo
que de ideolgico puede haber en el sentido co-mn de aquellos con
quienes trabajamos. Y como esposible observar en el trabajo
comunitario, el podery la sumisin pueden manifestarse en el seno de
lascomunidades generando desigualdades y privilegiosen funcin de
intereses particulares y en desmedrode los colectivos (Montero,
1999, 2003).
Otros indicadores presentes en los investigado-res o en los
interventores sociales y psicosocialescomunitarios son la
reflexividad, es decir, la capaci-dad de examinar constantemente lo
que hacen, deabrir procesos de reflexin sobre su quehacer,
com-partidos con todas las personas que como colabo-radores,
co-autores o cualquier otra forma de actorasocial, han participado
en el proceso. As como lacapacidad de responsabilizarse por lo que
estnhaciendo, rechazando las formas tradicionales deescudarse detrs
de la presentacin impersonal delos datos, anlisis, discusin y
entrega de resulta-dos de investigacin o de informes tcnicos
(quesin embargo, no excluye la asuncin de la autora delos mismos,
al menos en cuanto a sus beneficiosacadmicos e intelectuales).
PSICOLOGA SOCIAL COMUNITARIA, PSICOLOGA CRTICA Y PSICOLOGA DE LA
LIBERACIN
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22
Y tambin la presencia de la duda metdica, querecomienda asumir
las certezas dentro del lmite delo que Ibez (1989) ha llamado
verdades prcti-cas, que sirven como puntos de apoyo para formu-lar
hiptesis o construir interpretaciones, siemprepresentadas como
tales. La certeza consideradacomo una verdad de corto plazo
(Montero, 1999),que dura tanto como lo permiten las pruebas
habi-das hasta el momento.
A esto se une la motivacin hacia la transforma-cin social
definida por y desde las personas que lanecesitan y dirigida a
beneficiar a las comunidadeso a otros grupos sociales, en la medida
en que per-mite su acceso a los bienes sociales y a la genera-cin
de los mismos, disfrutando del nivel de benefi-cios considerado
como deseable entre las socieda-des humanas y teniendo la capacidad
para elevarlo.En esta posicin se incluye las acciones y
reflexio-nes destinadas a combatir las formas desiguales delpoder y
a eliminar las expresiones de injusticia y deopresin, respecto de
las cuales se busca liberar alos grupos e individuos sometidos a
ellas. Esto a suvez, supone una posicin tica en cuanto al
respetodel otro aceptado en su diversidad; epistemolgica,en el
sentido de reconocer a ese otro como un pro-ductor de
conocimientos, y poltica, por cuanto sedeben reconocer los derechos
individuales y colec-tivos de las personas con las cuales se
trabaja y aquienes se estudia.
Al respecto es conveniente analizar las cinco pre-guntas
dirigidas tanto a la psicologa social comuni-taria como a la
psicologa social crtica, que planteanPrilleltensky y Fox (1997),
pues sus respuestas nospodran permitir reconocer el carcter crtico
(o suausencia) en una situacin psicolgica. Esas pre-guntas son:1.
Se est promoviendo el statu-quo de la socie-
dad en la cual se est realizando la investiga-cin o intervencin?
La promocin del statu-quo en la medida que busca conservar un
esta-do de cosas, tiende a eliminar las crticas. Y aho-gar los
aspectos crticos es una de las formas deexpresin del autoritarismo
y de sus abusos depoder, que comienzan por eliminar las
disensionesen un campo especfico y terminan suprimiendotodo aspecto
crtico, inclusive con desaparicinfsica de quienes los plantean. En
el a