University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1981 The syp chological sense of community and the small college campus : a community psychology perspective on the role of the dean of students. Joseph Ivan Mandell University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Mandell, Joseph Ivan, "The psychological sense of community and the small college campus : a community psychology perspective on the role of the dean of students." (1981). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 3698. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/3698 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SENSE OP COMMUNITY AND THE SMALL COLLEGE CAMPUS: A COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVE ON THE ROLE OP THE DEAN OP STUDENTS A Dissertation Presented By JOSEPH IVAN MANDELL Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION May 1981 School of Education Joseph Ivan Mandell All Rights Reserved ' , THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND THE SMALL COLLEGE CAMPUS: A COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVE ON THE ROLE OF THE DEAN OF STUDENTS A Dissertation Presented By JOSEPH IVAN MANDELL Approved as to style and content by: 7^/2/0 uXjbhn W . Wide man. Chairman A, /. r~ . _ A /()JUCAv9<f\ tS • \ v Sougiass’ R. Forsyth,T-i ... T j. v Membert\r, ' A r/7 r. Theodore Slovin, Member O'a Mario D. Fantinil Dean School of Education iii DEDICATION Especially for Phyllis, and Jonathan, Susan, Elisabeth and Daniel. — ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To Doug Forsyth, Ted Slovin and Jack Wideman without whose patience, tolerance and encouragement I could not have completed this work, with particular indebtedness to Ted for having introduced me long ago to community psychology and more recently to the writing of Seymour Sarason, and above all to Jack who was always there to tell me I could when I thought I couldn’t and to show me how and light the way — I should like to acknowledge my grateful recognition and enduring thanks. » J.I.M. v ABSTRACT The Psychological Sense of Community and the Small College Campus: A Community Psychology Perspective on the Role of the Dean of Students (May 1981) Joseph Ivan Mandell, B.A., Windham College M.A., New York University Ed.D., University of Massachusetts Directed by: Professor John W. Wideman Sense of community is a term, common in our language, used with instinctive certainty as to its mean- ing and sources by professional and layman alike. Sarason added the word "psychological," and with that refinement the expression was elevated to the level of a construct which holds implications for the practice of community psychology: the psychological sense of community (PSC). Sarason posed a clear challenge for that profession when he asserted that a field which purported to be con- cerned with community had to be based on the development and the maintenance of PSC. The dean of students of a small campus is the person typically charged with looking after the "quality of life" in that setting; in so doing the dean often finds himself involved in a variety of tasks vi , that are observed to parallel those of a community psy- chologist. Underlying this report is the proposition that community psychology provides a pragmatic framework and valid model for student affairs administration. The major portion of the study is devoted to an analysis of literature representing a broad spectrum of disciplines and a wide variety of phenomena and issues that relate to the human community. It attempts to show the interrelatedness of these findings in terms of what makes, sustains, enhances or destroys community and how this knowledge relates to the concept of PSC. The study explores the meaning of sense of commun - ity, first through an examination of the idea of community itself, then through a review of basic notions regarding factors which induce people to cohere in groups, and the mechanisms that promote bonding, cohesiveness and group spirit. The means by which intentional communities (e.g. communes) build into their systems a sense of community and commitment are examined. Also explored is the concept particularly as of territory as an analogue to community, the communal it relates to the biological correlates of also viewed response to crisis. The communal response is principally through Buber's socio-theological perspective, Centre. through his concepts of I-Thouness and The a review of his Sarason's concept of PSC is studied through vii principal works. Also reviewed is a study designed to develop PSC into a measurable construct. The community psychological perspective is studied along with the lit- erature pertaining to the college as community and how the role of the dean of students relates to such a perspective. The final chapter raises some questions for future study and examines the implications of the findings through illustrations taken from the writer's experiences as a dean at a small, private college, and in terms of the conception of the dean of students as community psycholo- gist . The study as a whole may be viewed as a documen- tation and as an argument in support of this conception with the emphasis placed on attitude (the PSC perspective) rather than on technology. viii . If* I 3-in not for myself who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? Hillel All for one, one for all, that is our device. Alexandre Dumas The proper way of dying is from fatigue after a lifetime of trying to mitigate agency with communion. David Bakan The quest for community will not be denied, for it springs from some of the most powerful needs of human nature —needs for a clear sense of cultural purpose, membership, status, and continuity. Robert Nisbet A field which purported to be concerned with community had to be concerned with and based on the development and maintenance of the psychological sense of community . Seymour B. Sarason A college is a corner of men’s hearts where hope has not died. Here the prison house has not closed; here no battle is yet quite lost. Here we assert, endow, and defend as final reality the best of our dream as men. Here lies our sense of community. Howard Lowry The ultimate therapy is to translate our private problems into corporate issues. Therapy involves identifying and building communities of concern Parker J. Palmer ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 Prologue 1 The Problem 3 Significance and Delimitations of the Study 13 The Literature 16 Some Explanations 19 II. COMMUNITY AND THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY 23 Definitions and Concepts 23 "Lost Community" 34 Summary and Discussion 39 III. PEOPLE IN GROUPS 44 Social Psychology of Groups and Organizations 44 Freud's Group Psychology 52 Cooley’s Concept of the Primary Group .... 61 Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft 64 Intimate Secondary Relationships 67 Same-Sex Bondedness: "Men in Groups" and "the Idea of Fraternity" 70 Summary and Discussion 78 IV. INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY 87 Communes and Commitment ...... 87 Black Mountain College: An Experiment in Community and Education 99 Summary and Discussion 105 108 V. THE COMMUNAL RESPONSE TO CRISIS 108 Crisis as a Bonding Mechanism ........ Crisis, Territory and Biological Morality: Ardrey's Territorial Imperative 115 x Alternative Hypotheses 127 Summary ‘ and Discussion 131 VI. BUBER’S CONCEPT OF "THE CENTRE" 136 Community and the "living center" .... 136 Summary and Discussion 1^6 VII. SARASON'S CONCEPT OF "THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SENSE OF COMMUNITY" 151 Community in Human Services: Culture, Settings and Networks 151 Summary and Discussion 170 VIII. GLYNN'S CONSTRUCT DEVELOPMENT OF PSC .... 174 Review of the Study 174 Summary and Discussion I 87 IX. PREVENTION, COMPETENCE AND GROWTH: THE COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE 191 Community Psychology 191 Consultation and Community Organization . 199 An Example of a Community Psychology Model of Intervention: The Concept of "Strain" 203 "Manning" of "Behavior Settings" .... 206 The College Setting: The "Ecological Perspective" and "Student Development" Models 209 A Community Mental Health Model Applied to a College Campus 214 Summary and Discussion 219 X. THE COLLEGE AS COMMUNITY 227 What is College Community? 227 A Professor’s View of Community and College Survival 234 Working for a Sense of Community on Campus 240 The College as Non-Community: Campus Alienation 251 The 1972 NASPA Conference: "The Communitization Process in Academe" . 256 xi Summary and Discussion 274 XI. THE STUDENT AFFAIRS DEANSHIP: IN LOCO COMMUNITATIS ? ~ TT~. 298 The Role of the Dean of Students .... 298 Summary and Discussion 312 XII. CONCLUSIONS: QUESTIONS, REFLECTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 31? Overview ^l'j Suggestions for Future Study ...!.. 318 Personal Recollections: "A Small, Intimate Liberal Arts College” .... 321 The Dean as Community Psychologist . 337 Student Development and Personal Growth (A Caution) 342 Some Fundamentals of Community 345 Being in Community: Love or Responsible Concern? 353 The Problem of Individual Differences . 356 Individual Versus Society: A Recurring Question 359 Individual Psychology and Community: - The Adlerian View 363 Final Perspective: Leadership, the Community Index and Growth-Enhancing Structures 366 Epilogue 371 BIBLIOGRAPHY 375 APPENDIX 391 xii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Prologue In the winter of 1976 Windham College experienced its first collapse, and with it collapsed the writer's job as dean of students and his plans for a doctoral study using that school's student population. The next two years found him groping for a topic which he vaguely sensed was already formed in the back of his mind, having to do with his experience at the College, but not yet articulated.