A Structural Equation Model of a Set of Operationalized Cognitive Social Learning Variables and Citizen Participation in Neighborhood Organizations

This study investigated the salience of a cognitive social learning model for understanding the process by which an individual decides to participate in a neighborhood association. An operationalized set of cognitive social learning variables served as the dimensions of the hypothesized model to explain citizen participation. The subjects included 229 adult (18 years and older) Jewish Israelis. Of the total pool of subjects, 112 were graduates of Project Renewal neighborhood activist training programs who were interview in their homes. The remaining 11 7 subjects were nonactivists randomly selected from the same neighborhoods as the activists. Forty nine percent of the subjects were men; 86% were married. Questions asked by trained interviewers included a set of operationalized cognitive social learning variables and self reported indices of participation. The data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling statistical method which allowed one to simultaneously examine hypothesized relationships among several constructs in an integrated statistical model. Two different models of participation were tested then compared using three indices of model to data fit; the Comparative Fit Index, ML ChiSquare Statistic, and The RMSR. A ChiSquare Difference test was then conducted to determine the best model to data fit between the two models. For Model 1, the indicators of goodness of fit supported a reasonable fit between the model and data. However, for Model 2, indicators of goodness of fit supported an excellent model to data fit. The majority of the predictions were found to be significant.

activist training programs who were interview in their homes. The remaining 11 7 subjects were nonactivists randomly selected from the same neighborhoods as the activists. Forty nine percent of the subjects were men; 86% were married. Questions asked by trained interviewers included a set of operationalized cognitive social learning variables and self reported indices of participation. The data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling statistical method which allowed one to simultaneously examine hypothesized relationships among several constructs in an integrated statistical model. Two different models of participation were tested then compared using three indices of model to data fit; the Comparative Fit Index, ML Chi-Square Statistic, and The RMSR. A Chi-Square Difference test was then conducted to determine the best model to data fit between the two models. For Model 1, the indicators of goodness of fit supported a reasonable fit between the model and data. However, for Model 2, indicators of goodness of fit supported an excellent model to data fit.
The majority of the predictions were found to be significant.

Importance of Neighborhood, Perceived Skills and Past Experience
Relevant to Participation, and Political Cynicism were found to be directly related to an individual's decision to participate in a neighborhood association. In addition, Perceived Skills and Past Experience Relevant to Participation and Political Cynicism were found to be significant mediating variables in the process of deciding to participate . Given these results the cognitive social learning approach is proposed as an acceptable framework by which the process by which an individual decides to participate might be understood.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to express my deepest appreciation to Paul Florin, Ph.ct. whose support, mentoring and guidance have helped shape my professional identity and has made possible this dissertation. He has also been a true friend throughout my tenure at the University of Rhode Island, offering whatever necessary to ensure the successful completion of my education. Appreciation is also extended to Lisa Harlow, Ph.ct. who trained me in the use of the statistical analysis used and who helped and encouraged me in the most troubling stages of data analysis. The contributions of John Stevenson are difficult to number. He also has provided a strong since of guidance and direction as well as valuable expertise in the area of theoretical conceptualization.
Many thanks to Dick Purnell, ED.ct. who took the time to provide an alternative view and a much needed alternative perspective throughout this project. Finally, and most importantly, I wish to send heart felt thanks to my wife, Joyce and children, Zach and Dakota, who gave up much family time in order to make this project possible. I owe them many missed hours and hope to be able to repay them in triplicate throughout our future together. iv

Introduction
Citizen participation in voluntary community organizations provides inherent advantages and benefits for both the individual and the community (Florin & Wandersman, in press 1992). However, despite positive impacts, community organizations generally ·suffer recruitment difficulties (Prestby, Wandersman, Florin, Rich, & Chavis, 1990). Thus knowing who is likely to participate and why they participate can provide valuable information to these organizations .
There is a large body of research on specific demographic variables associated with participation. This literature is, however, limited in explanatory power (Parkum & Parkum 1980;Smith 1975;. Edwards & White (1980) for example, found that only 8% of the variance in participation in community associations could be accounted for by 11 different demographic variables (Edwards & White, 1980). This avenue of inquiry also does little to advance the understanding of the process of citizen participation. (Edwards & White, 1980;Florin & Wandersman, 1984;Wandersman, Florin Freidman, & Meir, 1987;Florin, Wandersman, Freidman & Meir, 1989). Information and research pertaining to the personality, psychosocial, and attitudinal variables associated with participation is scarce (Parkum & Parkum 1980;Smith 1975;Tomeh, 1974). More recent research (Florin & Wandersman, 1984;Wandersman, Florin, Freidman, & Meir, 1987;Florin, Jones, & Wandersman, 1988) has 1 provided an additional 14% of unique variance to the prediction of citizen participation utilizing Cognitive Social Leaming Variables proposed by Mischel (1973) and operationalized specifically for participation. Based upon this work, Florin and Wandersman (1984) have suggested further investigation of the CSLVs because they provide a framework which examines the process used by an individual when deciding to participate.
It is the purpose of this investigation to further examine the process by which individuals decide to participate in voluntary community organizations through examining the causal relationships between and among the Cognitive Social Leaming Variables and citizen participation in a neighborhood association using a structural equation modeling procedure.

Citizen Participation: A Definition
There is a large body of research related to participation in a variety of activities throughout society. More specifically, citizen participation has been conceptualized in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes. This is so much the case that Langton, (1978) proposed that "the definition and analysis of citizen participation is a formidable task." (Langton, 1978, pg. 13).
A considerable body of research on the subject of citizen participation exists in many different fields including, planning, political science, public administratioi:t, architecture, environment-behavioral studies, community organizations and industrial organization. Concurrently, participation is dealt with in many different environmental contexts and levels such as the neighborhood, the work environment, and in cities to name a few (Churchman, 1987). As a result, there are many different definitions of citizen participation. A representative sample of these definitions follows.
In the area of political science, Verba & Nie (1980)  According to Mulvihill, (1980), in the area of planning, participation is defined in situations where an individual has an option to be a party to an agreement which must be sought within reasonable limits, before a decision affecting him or her can be effected.
In the area of Education, Nettles (1991) suggests that particpation can be defined as Community Involvement. Community Involvement consists of the actions organizations and individuals take 3 to promote student development. Such community involvement is typically defined by the types of roles that community participants play in supporting students.
In the area of community psychology, Heller, Price, Reinhartz, Riger  have defined citizen participation as individuals taking part in decision making in the institutions, programs, and environments that affect them. Participation is commonly used in a way to suggest taking part in an activity, usually in association with other people and implies that power and influence are important elements in the use of the term participation.
Important to this definition is the focus on the individual and the broad range of situations in which citizen participation may take place.
Accordingly, participation occurs in many settings and contexts both in relation to government and in other nongovernmental institutions within the community. Langton (1978) has provided a definition of citizen participation based upon the formal derivatives of the words "citizen" and "participation" in the English language. By combining the etymological roots of the two words, Langton defines citizen participation as "the purposeful activities in which citizens take part in relation to government." (Langton, 1978, pg. 1 7). This definition excludes activities which people participate in relation to other social institutions. Langton thus distinguishes between citizen participation 4 in which people relate to the state and participation in which people relate to social institutions. Langton (1978) distinguishes among four types or categories of citizen participation which are natural outgrowths of his defmition.
Accordingly, Electoral participation is initiated and controlled by government in order to elect representatives and vote on pertinent political candidate or in support or opposition to an issue. Obligatoru participation refers to the mandatory responsibilities that are the legal obligations of the citizenship. This category includes such activities such as paying ones taxes, jury duty, and military service. Citizen Involvement refers to activities which are initiated and controlled by government to improve and/ or to gain support for decisions, programs, or services. This category involves such activities as public hearings, consultations with advisory committees, and attitudinal surveys. Citizen Action refers to citizen initiated and controlled participation for the purposes which they (the citizens) determine.
This type of citizen participation would be seen in associations involved in lobbying, public advocacy, and protest (Langton, 1978).
For the purposes of this research, citizen participation will most closely reflect the definitions offered by Heller, et . al . (1984) in the area of community psychology and "Citizen Action" as defined by Langton (1978). Citizen participation will reflect citizen initiated and controlled activities in which individuals take part in the decision 5 making process in the institutions, programs, and environments that affect them. This definition has been selected due to the attention payed to the impact of the individual in citizen participation and the broad range of situations and contexts in which participation may take place.

Voluntary Associations: A Typology
The diversity of groups which have been categorized as voluntary organizations is enormous and the various conceptualizations of this term in the organizational literature are inconsistent (Prestby, 1984, Perrow, 1979, Smith & Freeman, 1978. A number of classifying schemes or typologies have been developed by scholars in order to better understand voluntary organizations. Such typologies classify organizations by size, internal structure, independence/dependence on external control, sources of support, location, members characteristics, and member relations (Smith andFreeman, 1978, Prestby, 1884). Babchuk and Gordon (1962), differentiate organizations by their expressive and instrumental orientations. In this scheme expressive organizations perform functions which are immediately gratifying and are focused on the individual members. These are rather restrictive organizations and have little accessibility. Instrumental organizations are more focused on task-related activities which extend outside the organization, such as providing a service or producing a product.
According to Gordon and Babchuk (1962), an association can be instrumental/ expressive only when it provides appropriate structure or opportunity for both forms of activity to occur. Clark and Wilson (1961) classified organizations on the basis of incentives which are described as material, solidary, or purposive and which are available to individuals as an inducement to contribute to their activity or group. Even though voluntary associations may offer all three kinds of incentives for participation, these authors believe the distinguishing feature of the voluntary association is its reliance on solidary incentives such as sociability, fun, and prestige. Blau and Scott (1962) divide voluntary organizations into types according to who is the beneficiary of the associations activities. For example, they suggest that "Mutual benefit associations benefit their memberships, service organizations benefit clients, common wealth organizations benefit the public-at-large, and in business organizations, owners reap the primary benefits (Blau and Scott, 1962 Recreational groups are action oriented and provide a casual, unregulated atmosphere for brief involvement. Such groups would include sports teams, social or card playing groups, and a country club. Smith and Freeman (1978), have proposed that voluntary associations can be defined as a nonprofit, private group, unattached to government control, which an individual joins by choice. Members are not born into such associations as they are into the family or the church, nor drafted into them as in the case with the military, nor are they require to join in order to make living as is frequently the case with professional groups." (Smith and Freeman, 1978, pg. viii).
Finally, participation by individuals in neighborhood associations should be differentiated from participation in other types of voluntary associations. According to Florin and Wandersman (1981), a useful distinction is the notion of organizations within communities as 8 opposed to community organizations. The former comprise those fraternal social and voluntary organizations which include such organizations as the Lions Club, churches, and the Red Cross, to name but a few, and which may involve many residents from a particular neighborhood. These organizations are embedded within the community's institutional structure. Participation in such organizations has been called "social participation" (Langton, 1978) and is the type of participation usually measured in the studies of volunteerism. Participation in community organizations, on the other hand, involves membership in a group that purposefully seeks to represent the interests of a given locale and aims to take action to help maintain or improve the locale. This type of participation, in which citizens initiate and control activity for purposes they themselves have determined has been called "citizen action" (Langton, 1978).
For the purposes of this research, voluntary association will be defined here along the lines proposed by Smith & Freeman, (1978), Florin and Wandersman (1981) and Pollster and Pattison (1979) referring to organizations/associations (used interchangeably throughout this research) which are comprised of individuals who enter by choice, who are not born into such organizations, nor are they required to join. These groups/ associations are defined by their advocacy of a cause or promotion of the interests of a defined 9 population. Thus by defmition, voluntary organizations/associations will exclude any business or trade association, and adjuncts to profit making institutions which differ in function and legal status from voluntary associations as defined in this research.

Benefits of Participation:
Participation in voluntary community organizations provides advantages and benefits for both the individual and community (Wandersman & Florin, in press). However, despite these positive impacts, community organizations generally suffer recruitment difficulties and are vulnerable to rapid decline into inactivity (Florin, Chavis, Wandersman, & Rich, 1992 (Alterman & Frenkel, 1985;Cassidy, 1980;Draisen, 1983;Godschalk & Zersel, 1983;Harris, 1984;National Commission on Neighborhood, 1979: Rohe & Gotes;, 1982Schoenenberg & Rosenbaum, 1980;Wooley 1985) . These impacts range from relatively simple clean up and beautification programs, to home repair, maintenance and improvement programs to more ambitious building projects.
Considerable research pertaining to the physical condition of the neighborhood indicates that the condition of the neighborhood is related to one's desire to move, one's confidence in one's neighborhood, and the degree of satisfaction one feels with their neighborhood (Ahlbrandt & Cunningham 1979;Zehner 1972;Miller, et. al. 1979 Wandersman, et al. (1992) found that residents who had functioning neighborhood associations were more likely to invest in home improvements, demonstrating a confidence in financial investments in their home which as found less frequently among those residents residing on neighborhoods without neighborhood associations (Wandersman, Unger, Florin, & Chavis, 1992).
Communities may also benefit from citizen participation in community organizations through a specific association's involvement in the delivery of social services provided to community residents.
According to Wandersman and Florin (in press) the actual vehicle used for service delivery varies greatly across associations, yet studies indicate that service delivery increases in a majority of cases where associations become involved in such delivery. For example, Yin and Yates (1974) reviewed 2125 case studies of decentralization and concluded that service delivery improved in 72% of the cases, with the most improvement occurring where residents had the most 12 control over the services provided.
In terms of interpersonal relationships and improvements in neighboring behaviors, Unger and Wandersman (1983)   ). Ahlbrandt (1984) found statistically significant correlations between participation in a neighborhood organizations and the belief that neighbors are interested in neighborhood problems. Furthermore, Cole (197 4) reported that participation in various neighborhood programs increased trust and confidence in the government in general.
Further support for the benefit of citizen participation in voluntary community association, specifically neighborhood association, is provide by Chavis, Florin, Rich & Wandersman (1987).
Utilizing data collected in the conduct of the Block Booster Project, these authors found that members of block associations had significantly more positive attitudes toward their block than did those individuals who selected not to participate in a block association. As well, Chavis, et al (1987) found that members were more likely to think their block compared favorably with other blocks, to feel that conditions had improved and would continue to improve on their block, to express a higher sense of community with others on the block and to plan on staying on the block longer. (Chavis, Florin, Rich, & Wandersman, 1987) .
Wandersman , Unger, Florin, & Chavis (1992), utilizing 14 longitudinal data for a one year period, compared neighborhoods with neighborhood associations to neighborhood those without neighborhood associations in the Neighborhood Participation Project.
They found that the positive ratings of the neighborhood for those neighborhoods with association went up, while ratings went down for neighborhoods without associations. Further evidence of the benefit of participation was indicated by the evidence of increased perceptions of severity of neighborhood problems for those neighborhoods without neighborhood associations and decreased perceptions of severity of neighborhood problems in neighborhoods with associations (W andersman, Unger, Florin & Chavis, 1992).
Finally, research in the area of change in the participants' view of self (e.g. self efficacy, Bandura 1986) indicate that participation in a community association can and does increase the participants' perceptions of self efficacy in such domains as personal and political self efficacy (Cole 1974;Levens 1968;Verba & Nie, 1972;Zurcher, 1970). Wandersman and Florin (in press) citing results of the Block Booster Project, found that members of block associations were significantly more likely than nonmembers to demonstrate expectations of collective efficacy such as thinking that residents can solve neighborhood problem by working together and expecting that residents would intervene in the neighborhood to maintain social control.

Demographic Variables as Predictors of Participation
Given the benefits of citizen participation , it seems both relevant and important to understand who participates in such organizations as well as why they participate (Florin & Wandersman 1984;Wandersman, Florin, Meir & Freidman, 1986;).
The question of who participates in community associations has been addressed historically through the systematic study of the demographic characteristics of those individuals who select to participate in a variety of community associations. At its earliest stage of development, prediction of citizen participation focused on specific demographic characteristics of participants. According to Edwards & White ( 1980) these variables proved to be less predictive than one would hope. However, even though demographic variables have accounted for little of the overall variance in these investigations, it is noteworthy to document the contributions this research has made to the initial understanding of participation in voluntary community associations.
The specific demographic variables/ characteristics which have been the focus of previous research include gender, age, marital status, education and occupation (Smith, 1975) . Florin and Wandersman (1984) in their study of the predictive power of a set of traditional demographic variables found that individuals were more likely to participate in a neighborhood association if they were older, married, a home owner, female and from a smaller household . Florin, Freidman, Wandersman & Meir (1986) utilizing a set of demographic variables traditionally studied in the prediction of participation established that variables such as age, education, and marital status were able to minimally discriminate leaders of neighborhood association from nonmembers and members from nonmembers of neighborhood associations.
In their study of the predictive power of a set of traditional demographic and personality variables vs the power of variables operationalized from Mischel (1973), Florin, Jones, & Wandersman (1988) found that both sets of variables were comparable in the ability to predict participation in a neighborhood association. However it was also found that the demographic variables important in the prediction of participation were home ownership, marriage, age, and length of residence. As well, those of the highest participation levels were also higher on social status as indicated by occupation and education.
More recent research focusing on demographic characteristics of students who participate in community service volunteering by Fitch ( 1987) indicates that those students most likely to be participants in community services associations are involved in community service prior to entering college and have parents who were role models for volunteering.
Toe work of Fitch (1991) is an effort to understand the differences between volunteers and nonvolunteering students utilizing both demographic and motivational variables. He found that students who were most likely to volunteer were social majors and women.
Interestingly, Fitch found that those students who had yet to declare a major were least likely to be volunteers in off campus as well as campus wide volunteer associations.
In a national study of citizen participation in mutual aide associations in Canada, Gottleib (1991) found that 58% of mutual aide volunteers were women between the ages of 25-44 years. As well, those most likely to be volunteers in mutual aid associations were college educated, from middle-class homes, married or living with a romantic partner, employed and found to be participating in more than one service association.
In addition to the variables previously cited, race and socioeconomic status have been investigated in an effort to better understand their relationship to participation as it exists in the urban residential environment (Wandersman , Florin, Freidman, & Meir 1986 ( 1980) found that only 8% of the variance in participation in community associations could be accounted for by eleven different demographic variables.

Personality & Attitudinal Variables As Correlates of Participation
Although there is a rather large body of research on the specific demographic variables associated with participation. research regarding the personality and attitudinal variables associated with participation is scarce and limited (Parkum & Parkum, 1980;Smith 1975;Tomeh. 1974). Early in the study of this phenomenon, looking at personality variables, Bronnfenbrenner (1960) and Gough (1952), noted an individuals' verbal and relational capabilities were associated with participation in community activities. Gurin, et.al. ( 1969) found a persons' Locus of Control to be related to political activity and Sanger & Alker, (1972) found the same personality variable, Locus of Control to be related to activity in the women's movement . In a separate attitudinal study, Carr, Dixon. and Ogles (1976) have shown that membership in a neighborhood organization is positively correlated with favorable attitudes toward the neighborhood.
Research in the area of altruism has also provided some insight into the phenomenon of citizen participation. For example, Unger (1991) in an effort to investigate the relationships of altruism to volunteerism found support for the proposition that altruism, defined as self sacrifice with no apparent reward, is an important motive in volunteering behavior. This altruistic motive is based not on self rewards, but rather on providing benefits for others. According to Unger (1991), rather than responding to potential personal benefits, the volunteer, in general, appears to be motivated by his or her perception of the needs of the community. Fitch (1987) in his investigation of the characteristics and motivations of college students who volunteer for community service associations, found that students were significantly more likely to volunteer for altruistic reasons than for egotistic reasons.
Furthermore, those subjects who scored high on a religiosity scale rated altruistic reasons for volunteering for community service more often than any other group. Latting, (1990), in a study of the motivational differences between black and white volunteers found that black volunteers were significantly more likely to volunteer for altruistic purposes than white volunteers, while white volunteers were significantly more likely to volunteer to learn something new.
A cross cultural study conducted by Wandersman, Florin, Freidman & Meir, (1987)    found that for both cultures, individuals were more likely to participate in a neighborhood association when they reported higher levels of: involvement in community activities, political self efficacy, citizen duty, perceived problems in the neighborhood, sense of community in the neighborhood, importance of sense of community, personal influence in the neighborhood, self esteem, and importance of the neighborhood.
In their comparisons of members and nonmembers of neighborhood/neighborhood associations, Wandersman, et.al. (1987) suggest that their fmdings indicate that members did not differ from nonmembers in terms of their overall ratings of satisfaction with their residential environment than nonmembers. However, members did see more specific problems in their residential environment than nonmembers . This would indicated that members perceived a greater need for change than nonmembers. Members also differed significantly from nonmembers in terms of the perceived importance of the residential environment. Members, due to a more significant perception of importance, would thereby be motivated to participate.
Finally Wandersman, et.al. (1987) found that there were significant differences in the perceptions in personal influence and general belief 22 in political efficacy. Members perceptions of their own ability to act successfully were greater than nonmembers.
Cost-Benefit approaches based upon political economy theory (Moe, 1980;Olson, 1965;Rich 1980)  report that the least active participants reported experiencing significantly more of all costs and significantly more of the social/ organizational type costs than more active participants.

Cognitive Social Learning Variables and Participation
According to Florin and Wandersman (in press) when taken as a whole, the social psychological and cost/benefit results lend empirical support to Henig's (1982) three step-stage model of mobilization.
Henig proposes that the individual perceives a condition, evaluates it as important to his or her well-being and calculates that something can be done about it. Florin & Wandersman (1984) postulate that a framework is needed which examines the process of participation.
Unlike utilizing empirically based variables which have no theoretical underpinnings, they suggest a theoiy is needed which examines the internal processes by which an individual decides whether or not to participate (Florin & Wandersman, 1984). Florin & Wandersman (1984) suggest operationalization of Mischel's cognitive social learning variables as an alternative approach to predicting and understanding participation.
The cognitive social learning variables (CSLVs) postulated by Mischel ( 1973Mischel ( , 1977 serve as a heuristic underpinning of an alternative approach to understanding and predicting participation 25 proposed by Florin and Wandersman (1984). Mischel (1973) synthesized the cognitive learning variables from constructs about persons which were developed in the areas of cognitive psychology and social learning theory. He suggests that these cognitive social learning variables should not be conceptualized as traits and that they are not capable of predicting broad cross situational behavioral differences between persons. However, "these variables provide useful ways of conceptualizing and studying how the person constructs his or her complex behavior patterns in interaction with the conditions of his or her life." (p. 341). Mischel's variables can be described as follows:  Table 5, pg. 64) 5. Self-regulatory systems and plans. This variable suggests that an individual will regulate his or her behavior by self-imposed guidelines.
While there will be external consequences for any given behavior in a particular situation, the individual also sets his/her personal goals and reacts with self evaluation, criticism/ satisfaction, given h ow well his/her behavior corresponds to the given criteria. In this study Self-27 regulatory Systems and Plans is represented by the ind ividual's level of Citizens' Duty.
Mischel's approach to understanding an individual's behavior is at the center of the longstanding debate in psychology pertaining to the prediction of human behavior across situations. This debate has many proponents, and focuses on the influences on behavior and its prediction: predicting behavior has long been considered important.
The traditional approach to this problem has focused on the contributions of internal factors such as traits or external factors such as the situation on behavior.
According to Endler & Magnusson (1976) the study of traits has dominated personality research and theory for a number of years.
Proponents of the traditional trait model propose that traits are the prime determinants of behavior and serve as a predispositlonal basis for apparent response-response consistencies of behavior in different situations. Thus, Allport (1937) conceived of traits as tendencies or predispositions to respond that were not linked to specific stimuli or responses, but were general and enduring. Cattell (1965), a more recent trait theorist, proposed a differentiation of traits. He believed that traits could be divided into two primary categories, surface and source traits. Surface traits were proposed as clusters of overt trait responses that overlap, while source traits were defined as the underlying causal entitles that determine the surface responses which 28 may be general or specific in nature.
The position of the psychodynamic theories have also focused upon person factors as important determinants of behavior in various situations. This position is very similar to that proposed by trait theorists. However, the psychodynamic theorist is concerned primarily with personality structure, dynamics and development.
They propose that interpsychic conflicts among the id, ego, and superego create anxiety which then causes the individual to develop mechanisms of defense which help to ward off or defend against this anxiety. Again, it is important to note that behavior is determined by internal forces which both create and motivate behavior.
The situationalists believe that the stimuli in the situation, or the situation factors, are the determinants of human behavior. According to Endler and Magnusson (1976) this is basically a stimulus-response approach. For example, Skinner (1953Skinner ( , 1960 refuses to infer internal motives, drives, or traits and focuses on empirical analysis of the stimulus (reinforcements) conditions and the reinforcement contingencies that shape human behavior. The more contemporary social learning theorists such as Bandura (1977), Rotter (1950), and Mischel (1973) focus on what the individual does rather than on underlying traits, motives or dispositions.
The modem interactionists model (Bowers 1973;Endler 1973Endler , 1975Endler , 1976Endler & Magnusson 1976;Magnusson & Endler 1976;Mischel 1973Mischel , 1977, emphasizes the importance of person -situation interactions in personality. According to Endler & Magnusson (1976) "Behavior involves an indispensable, continuous interaction between individuals and the situations they encounter. " (Endler & Magnusson, 1976, p. 958). Accordingly, the individual is both influenced by the situation which s/he encounters, but also acts to influence the situation by selecting which situations/he will perform, thereby influencing the character of that situation. The basic elements of this interactionists model can be summarized as follows: 1. Actual behavior is a function of a continuous process of multidirectional interaction or (feedback) between the individual and the situations he or she encounters.

The individual is an intentional, active agent in this interactive
process.
3. On the person side of the interaction, cognitive factors are the essential determinants of behavior although emotional factors do play a role.
4. On the situation side, the psychological meanings of the situations for the individual is the important determining factor. (Endler & Magnusson, 1976, p. 4

.)
As a major force within the modern interactionist model in psychology, Mischel's (1973) conceptualization of the mechanism of interaction begins with the recognition that the environment contains 30 a potential flood of stimuli with which the individual must deal. In order to operate efficiently and effectively in the environment, the individual must avoid an overwhelming overload and must perceive, process select and interpret certain stimuli. For Mischel (1973), these filtering mechanism are best thought of as cognitive processes which are "psychological products within the individual of cognitive development and social learning experiences." (p. 265). According to Mischel's position, the attributes of the individual could be linked to the basic psychological processes rather than traits. "Person variables are linked to the basic psychological processes that regulate or guide how a person will behave in particular contexts." (Mischel, 1984, p. 295) The number of variables proposed by Mischel emphasizes the importance of multiple causation in that behavior is the result of many variables. This also implies that differences between individuals in any given situation can be the result of differences on any one variable or combination of variables within the person. Thus, to focus research on a specific variable in the study of human behavior can lead to distortions of understanding and prediction.
The power of situations is also recognized by Mischel as is the active role of the individual in selecting situations in which to perform.
He suggests that situations can be conceived of as strong or weak to the extent that they permit the idiosyncratic pattern of the individual's psychological mechanisms to emerge. The individual not only reacts to the environmental stimuli, but often actively selects certain situation and modifies conditions through choices, cognitions and actions.
According to Florin, Wandersman, Freidman, & Meir (1992), in an interactionist psychology that stresses the inseparability of person and situation in determining behavior, research approaches that measure each aspect separately can be less than satisfying. They propose that cognitive social learning variables may provide the potential to move us beyond the difficulty associated with the research focused on separate parts of the behavioral equation. They suggest "that when the cognitive social learning variables are operationalized in terms of a particular situation or type of situation, they enable us to see the individual's perception, construction, and . organization of the situation that is simultaneously influenced by both idiosyncratic factors and the situation." (Florin, Wandersman, Freidman, & Meir, 1992, p. 9). In this approach, the psychologically significant situation for an individual is assessed rather than attempting to identify objective situational factors. From an interactionist frame of reference and as proposed by Florin, Wandersman, Freidman, & Meir (1992) this approach identifies the individual's meaning ascribed to a situation as the most influential situational factor affecting the person's behavior.
This then is an attempt to utilize a person -by-situation unit as the unit of analysis. According to the cognitive social learning perspective "This implies the inseparability of person and situation and shifts the unit of study away from global traits inferred from behavioral signs to the individual's cognitive activities and behavioral patterns studied in relation to the specific conditions that evoke, maintain, and modify them and which they, in tum, change." (Mischel, 1984, p Florin et. al. ( 1992) found that the factor structure of the operationalized cognitive social learning variables was essentially replicated with a different sample from a different culture. Items making up each factor could be clearly identified and there were minimal intercorrelations of the items between factors.
In reference to the second question of this study, the results indicated that the operationalized cognitive social learning variables, across two different samples from two different cultures proved to be consistently stronger than a larger set of the traditional variables usually used in participation research. In both the Israeli and U.S.
samples the operationalized cognitive social learning variables accounted for more variance in the criterion variable. As well, these operationalized cognitive social learning variables produced more discriminate functions, two rather than one, and correctly classified more cases than the traditional set of variables.
The operationalized CSLVs, in both samples, performed well in determining levels of participation for these samples. According to Florin et al. (1991) the variables accounted for respectable proportions of variance in the criterion variable (21 % in the U.S. sample and 28% in the Israeli sample). The operationalized CSLVs also classified cases well above the chance level of 33% ( 55% for the U.S. sample and 64% in the Israeli sample).
In response to the question pertaining to similarity in distinguishing level of participation across cultures, Florin et. al.
( 1992) discovered that while different traditional variables were related to participation in the two cultures, the operationalized CSLVs, in approximately the same relative order of importance, were related to participation in both the US. and Israeli individuals.

The Model
Previous research has compared operationalized CSLVs against traditional variables and has identified which operationalized CSLVs were most related to participation (Florin & Wandersman, 1984).

Hypotheses:
The relations. This is preferred to a one-shot structural model assessment which most likely provides little evidence of causality (Bullock, Harlow, & Mulaik, In press, 1992). Accordingly, to further check the plausibility of Model 1, an alternative model, Model 2 ( Figure II)

Instruments:
The Neighborhood Activist Questionnaire (Wandersman, Florin, Friedman, & Meier, 1987) replicated operationalized CSLVs developed in earlier research (Florin & Wandersman 1984). For each variable, items were chosen or created which seemed particularly relevant to the specific context of participation. The questionnaire was analyzed using a Principle Components Factor Analysis (varimax rotation) N=225. An examination of four, five and six factor solutions indicated that the five factor solution (confirming the five CSLVs) made the most sense of the data. In addition, the scree test (Cattell, 1966) for the number of factors to be retained confirmed the fivefactor solution. These five factors accounted for approximately 51 % of the variance in the factor matrix (Wandersman, et. el., 1987). The results of this analysis, showing item loadings (cross-referenced to item designations from Tables 2 through 6) are presented in Table 1.

The Variables:
Perceive Skills and Past Experienc Relevant to Participation is predicted by six items from the Neighborhood Activist Questionnaire.
The variable needed to represent the cognitive and behavioral capabilities that might be relevant to the act of participating. Items under construction competencies were generated using a framework developed by Wiseman (1977), of requisite skills for effective participation in citizen advisory committees. These items measured the individual's perceived competencies in such areas as leading a group, influencing others and ability to organize people for action.
These subjective perceptions were also seen as reflecting a selfefficacy expectation (Bandura, 1977). Bandura distinguishes between "outcome" expectancies or a person's estimate that a given behavior will lead to certain outcomes (identical to what is described below under expectancies) and "efficacy" expectancies or the person's belief in his or her capability to produce and successfully execute the behavior required to produce the outcomes. This distinction may be crucial in a person's choice of level of participation. Another assumption was that experience with participation in various community settings would probably provide one with the opportunity to develop skills which then could transfer to participation in a neighborhood organization. Thus, composite scores reflecting the individual's degree of participation (frequency of involvement) and leadership in 15 other community organizations (e.g. labor unions, church or synagogue, business or civic groups) were created. (Table 2, page 61). (6) items of the Neighborhood Activist Questionnaire. The encoding variable was intended to reflect the perception and categorization of the neighborhood as an environment. The assumption here was that the individual's present view ("encoded view") of the neighborhood might influence the choice of level of participation. People who were more satisfied with the neighborhood as it is might be less likely to participate or not be as motivated to take as active a role as others who were less satisfied. Items were created which measured satisfaction with the neighborhood as a whole and satisfaction with specific aspects of the neighborhood (e.g., housing conditions, street conditions, safety, quietness, neatness, etc.). ( help a neighbor. The concept of "citizen duty" was chosen as the type of self-regulatory system appropriate to this research. Sense of citizen duty is defined as the feeling that one (and others) ought to participate in a political process, regardless of whether such political activity is seen as worthwhile or efficacious. Wording in items from the sense of citizen duty scale were modified to reflect locale based relevance.

Perception of Neighborhood Problems is predicted by six
(e.g., "So many other people are active in local issues and organizations that it doesn't matter much to me whether I participate or not"). (Table 6, page 65).

The Dependent Construct:
The dependent construct in this study was measured by the level of participation in a neighborhood association. This variable was operationalized by three self report measures of involvement. The first measure, PARTIC 1, was a measure of the individuals' time dedicated neighborhood activities during a typical week (Table 7, page 66). The second measure, PARfIC2, was a measure of types of activities the inidividual reported doing as a neighborhood activist (Table 8, page 67). The third measure, PARfIC3, was a self report measure the roles/tasks each individual were responsible for as a neighborhorhood activist (Table 9, page 68).  (1) attended no meetings: (2) 1-2 meetings attended (3) less than half of meetings; (4) more than half attended; Range 15-60. Leadership in Community groups. Respondent was asked if he/she perceived him/herself to be a leader in any of the 15 organization listed. The affirmative responses were then totaled.        (Bentler, 1987) statistical program.

RESULTS
Two hypothesized models of Citizen Participation were analyzed using the Bentler EQS statistical package (BMDP, Bentler 1990).  (Harlow, 1992). For well fitting models, the ratio of x2 to the degrees of freedom is expected to be less than 5:0. The Comparative Fit Index (Bentler, 1990) (Hayduk, 1987). The Comparative Fit Index  Table 11.
In such cases where prior empirical research has established strong and reliable relationships among variables, yet which yield poor model to data fit, one can reject the data or reject the model.
According to Bentler (1987Bentler ( , 1988 rejecting the data would be an inappropriate solution. He suggests that minor model adjustments are a more appropriate solution for such problems in first run analysis of structural models (Bentler 1987).  In order to investigate possible problems with the apparent model fit to data, the factor loadings for the model were examined (See Table   11). Since the factor loadings can be said to be the measure of the accuracy of fit between the measure and the factor, they should be in the range of .7 to .9 in cases where much is known about theory prior to model analysis. In cases where research is new or less prevalent, lower factor loadings are permissible. Examination of the loadings for Model # 1 presented in Table 8  The Standardized Solution with factor loadings are shown in Table 12.

75
Regression pathways for Importance of Neighborhood, Perceived

Skills and Past Experiences Relevant to Participation and Political
Cynicism were significant at the p. < .01 level while the pathways for Perception of Neighborhood Problems and Citizen's Duty were not significant.  (Bentler, 1990). Thus, Table 13 Table   13).
Three relationships were predicted between the Citizen's Duty  Table 11).
To Summarize, the results of Model # 1 indicate that the Model is a reasonable representation of the data. There were several important hypotheses which were supported along with more specific predicted relationships.
For the subjects, perceived problems in the neighborhood or the subject's encoded view of the neighborhood as an environment did not significantly effect level of participation. This relationship was a negative relationship indicating that as an individual's perceptions of problems increased, participation decreased. It was found that as the individual's valuing of the neighborhood increased so did level of participation. The more skills for participation an individual possessed, the higher his/her participation level. What a subject expected to happen in a given situation was found to be positively related to participation. Though Sense of Citizen's Duty was hypothesized to have a direct effect on Participation, this hypothesis was not supported by the data. A Sense of Citizen's Duty did not appear as a necessary precursor to Participation.
Among the six predicted relationships, four were found to be significant. For the subjects, valuing the outcome of the neighborhood association's activities was found to be significantly related to Citizens Duty. Additionally, Sense of Citizen's Duty was found to be significantly related to the individual's PSPE or perceived skills for effective participation and experience in participation with other organizations.
The subjects' Political Cynicism were found to be positively related to level of skills. As was predicted, a subject's sense of duty was positively related to his/her Political Cynicism. The subjects' perceived view of the neighborhood as an environment was not significantly related to Importance of Neighborhood or how much the individual valued the neighborhood. Finally, the subjects' encoded view of the environment was not found to be significantly related to Political Cynicism.
In order to assess how well the model accounted for variance of the  (Hayduk, 1987). The Comparative Fit Index (CFI) was= .86 indicating model to data fit below the acceptable .9 as outlined by Hayduk (1987).
Examination of the factor loadings (Table 14) indicated that variables PNPl, PNP4, IN4, PSPEl, PSPE2, and PC2 yielded poor factor to model fit as was found in the first run of Model # 1. Similar results for these variables across both models provided further evidence that they should be dropped from the analysis.
Model #2 was submitted for analysis a second time following the decision rule for dropping variables in Confirmatoi:y Factor Analysis proposed by Merenda (1983) and instituted for Model #1. No variable with a factor loading below .45 was allowed to enter the analysis. The second run included 19 of the ortgnal variables.

Measurement Equations, Standard Errors, and Regression
Pathways are presented in Table 16. All factor loadings for the latent constructs were significant at the p. < .01 level or better. As indicated in   Figure 4).

Comparison of the Models
Given the strong showing of both models as alternative explanations for participation in neighborhood associations, a   (1987). Examination of the factor loadings for the measurement model revealed six (6) Prestby and Wandersman (1985). These four functions are understood to support a sense of community among the members (Chavis and Wandersman 1985). In another study, Chavis and Wandersman (1985), focused on the sense of community construct for its role in stimulating community development as well as other benefits for the neighborhood . A sense of community is achieved through empowerment of mediating constructs such as community organizations, the church, schools, neighborhoods, and workplace. In their analysis of blocks in which block associations were active, Chavis and Wandersman (1985) found sense of community to be related to block association participation, neighborhood relations, as well as to contribute to a sense of empowerment, and block satisfaction . In light of the present findings, sense of community (Importance of Neighborhood) appears to be an important positive determining variable in the process by which an individual decides to participate in a neighborhood organization.  (Harlow, 1992). Accordingly, Perceived

Skills and Past Experience Relevant to Participation and Political
Cynicism have been found to be more than just direct predictors of participation, they have simultaneously been established to be related to other variables in a mediating capacity.
A further contribution of this research is the operationalization of the dependent construct. With the exception of the research of Prestby, Wandersman, Florin, and Meier (1991). participation has been operationalized by a single measure. Due to the flexibility of the Structural Modeling method used in the present research, multiple measures of the dependent construct were operationalized.
Participation operationalized in this way offers a much richer and more realistic picture of the individual's activities. As well, the Factor Structure of the Independent Variable holds together well with each Factor Loading reaching no less than .87 (See Figure 4).
This research reveals theoretical and practical implications of investigating operationalized cognitive social learning variables. At the broadest level, the CSLV approach is a step toward an interactional psychology focused on the dynamic person-by -situation interactions.
The orientation of this research relates to the inseparability of the person and the situation. In concentrating on the inseparability meaning of interaction the "reciprocal action" use of the term is advocated as well. These two meanings are closely related and the latter is best characterized by its emphasis on process over time.
Therefore, the present research can best be conceptualized as a crosssectional slice of a dynamic process.
Cognitive social learning variables can best be used when the primary interest involves the prediction of behavior in a specific 111 situation. which will benefit the potential member in beyond the participatory experience they are designed to promote. For example, learning the skills necessary to participate in an organization is readily transferable to other non participatory experiences. Providing such education and training in these areas then provides an incentive for those who might benefit. interventions (Jones, 1985).