The long-term goal of this project is to gain a broader understanding of how multiple contexts in which individuals interact influence political behavior and attitudes. By drawing upon and adapting work from community psychology the research questions in this project ask 1) from where does an individual get his/her sense of community --does it come from one, two, or multiple contexts? and 2) how does sense of community influence political behaviors and attitudes such as participation, tolerance, community satisfaction, and political knowledge? For example, people might have a sense of community from their neighborhoods or their workplaces but they may also have a sense of community from belonging to an organization or a church. Attention to where this sense of community develops and how much variation exists within each context are critical to broadening our understanding of how to model the process of how, why, and when social forces influence individuals. attitudes and behaviors. Does sense of community enhance participation, foster tolerance, lead to greater community satisfaction, increased trust, and produce more interest in local governance? Original data from a random group of citizens in Tallahassee, Florida will be collected to address these questions.
Intellectual Merit In recent years, academic research in the social sciences rightly has paid increasing attention to the impact of social context on the behaviors and attitudes of the individuals. Unfortunately, this research has approached the concept of .context. quite narrowly, most often merely identifying a single context per individual, with little or no information included regarding the nature of the person's actions within that context. By drawing on insights from the work in the field of community psychology, the proposed project promises a significant intellectual advance. First, the process underlying contextual effects can be modeled with considerably more nuance and sophistication than has been typical in past research, potentially bringing a much richer understanding of the interplay between individuals and the contexts in which they are embedded. Second, by demonstrating the relevance of research in community psychology for questions examined in political science, this project will exemplify the benefits of interdisciplinary research. Findings will help strengthen theoretical advancements in community psychology by establishing how well those theories .travel,. and use of those theories will bring a stronger, more rigorous foundation to substantive social science research in this area.
Broader Impacts Generally speaking, social scientists agree that community influences individual behavior and attitudes. This project takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how multiple contexts in which individuals interact influence their behaviors and attitudes by combining elements of political science, sociology, and community psychology research. As community leaders and local policymakers attempt to meet the needs of their citizens and promote democratic values within their cities it is critical that they have a broader understanding of how social forces (particularly ommunity) influence individuals. behaviors and attitudes.
