A CONCEPTUAL-FRAMEWORK FOR THE ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL POLICIES

Increasing the involvement of psychologists in policy analysis requires clarification of the specific contributions that can be made by community psychologists and other applied social scientists. The present article examines the nature of social policies and outlines a model of the policy‐making process. The “cycle of social policy” model emphasizes the stages of problem identification, policy formulation and adoption, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination. Attention is focused on the sociopolitical and organizational contexts in which policy processes occur. Potential roles for psychologists and other social scientists in policy making are identified. Two New Zealand examples, police intervention in domestic disputes and legislation intended to reduce imprisonment rates, are used to illustrate the application of the model. Copyright © 1990 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company