The Ecological Paradigm: Persons in Settings

Abstract

(from the chapter) A central theme of community psychology is the idea that people live in a variety of social settings that influence their well-being. Any explanation of individual behavior without reference to these influential contexts is incomplete and may lead to misdirected efforts at social change. An examination of ways in which community psychologists have studied persons in settings over the past 30 yrs reveals considerable diversity in the definition of setting, the phenomena of interest, and the relationship between the two. A dominant paradigm or theory has not emerged: the study of person in settings has been as diverse as the types of settings in which people live. What emerge instead are several overlapping conceptual approaches. These include behavioral settings, structural characteristics, and social climate. Relations between people and settings and models of influence are also important parts of community psychology's approach to studying persons in context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)