Sense of community (or
psychological sense of community) is a concept in
community psychology and
social psychology, as well as in several other research disciplines, such as
urban sociology, which focuses on the
experience of community rather than its structure, formation, setting, or other features. The latter is the province of
public administration or community services administration which needs to understand how structures influence this feeling and psychological sense of community.
Sociologists,
social psychologists,
anthropologists, and others have theorized about and carried out
empirical research on community, but the
psychological approach asks questions about the individual's
perception,
understanding,
attitudes,
feelings, etc. about community and his or her relationship to it and to others' participation—indeed to the complete, multifaceted community experience.