The Community and Social Psychology is the applied study of the relationship between social systems and individual well-being in the community context, a field shaped by the crossroad between «personal fields» and «environmental fields». Its main objective is to promote health and well-being and improve quality of life of individuals within their contexts. The course is focused on the necessity to create a common understanding of the main purpose of the disci-pline and of the educator’s role into community projects. The theoretical foundations of the community and social psychology are discussed, in order to aware students about its basics and historical roots. Then, health and well-being and crisis and resources concepts are explained in order to understand mutual influence between individuals and their environments. A section is also dedicated to interventions, to discuss the actual and future applications of the discipline’s methods and tools. 

Community and social psychology is the frame for understanding problems "in situation", considering the mu-tual interaction between personal disease and social context: it lets to assess and sustain individuals’ and groups’ resources, enhancing their opportunities and empowering their ability to face the daily challenges. For that, it creates the mindset and the crucial competences for educators willing to participate into multidis-ciplinary projects, focused on building personal and collective well-being into communities and society. The course contributes to aware students about the need to: 

•  consider the personal and social dimensions of human experience, assuming that psychological processes are closely interconnected with social ones; 
• promote a culture of action-oriented and real-world oriented interventions, applying research in com-munity and organizational settings; 
• sustain an interdisciplinary approach.  

The course foresees theorical lessons and individual’s and teams’ exercises, in order to promote an active par-ticipation and involvement into the learning process. 

Requests for students: Active participation in lessons and discussions. 

The competence acquired is assessed through:

1. a research project: during the course, students are asked to work in sub-groups on an assigned research topic (ie.: community cohesiveness, NEET, ecc.) and prepare a public presentation for the last lesson;
2. oral exam to verify students' theoretical knowledges.

Written exam: the individual involvement into the project is evaluated, by assessing the personal contribution into the process. The minimum rating for passing the written exam and access to the oral exam is 18/30. 

Oral exam: ability to discuss critically the experience done during the research project, knowledge of the topics, critical reasoning skills, clarity and relevance of the language. 

Reference text (mandatory): 

• Francescato, D., Tomai, M., & Ghirelli, G. (2002). Fondamenti di psicologia di comunità: principi, strumenti, ambiti di applicazione. Carocci ed. (chapters: 2, 4, 8, 9, 11). 
• Koh, E., Twemlow S. (2016). Towards a Psychoanalytic Concept of Community (II): Relevant Psychoanalytic Principles. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 13(2): 124–141. 
• Koh, E., Twemlow S. (2017). Towards a psychoanalytic concept of community (III): A proposal. Internation-al Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 14: 261–272.

In the case of attendance at least of 50% of class hours, but less than 66%, the following integration is required: 

• Hogg, M. A., & Vaughan, G. M. (2017). Social psychology. Pearson (specific chapters will be recommended).