Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Temporal Model Of Community Organizing And Direct Action, Brad Olson, Judah J. Viola,, Suzette J. Fromm Reed

Faculty Publications

Psychology has much to contribute to engagement in community organizing and direct action. Such organizing and action is psychological: it is motivational, cognitive, attitudinal, and emotional. Psychological knowledge is a cost-free resource. It can be used to counter unjust power structures and their tendency to maintain policies and systems of social harm and inequality. A theoretical model of organizing and direct action that integrates knowledge from community psychology and related disciplines with historic and modern action campaigns is needed. Theory helps us learn from the past to guide us toward more effective future outcomes.