Much of the current psychological research continues to rely on homogeneous groups that fail to represent, or generalize, to all persons. This becomes a significant issue when researchers and clinicians are attempting to understand how children learn in school, how college students handle depressive symptoms, and how families adjust to transitions (e.g., moving homes, financial stressors, or divorce/separation) and use only one group of people to draw conclusions about all persons. Show
Often, these homogeneous samples are referred to as WEIRD participants: Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic. As of 2010, WEIRD participants comprise over three-quarters of psychological study’s samples. The authors of this analysis, Drs. Henrich, Heine, and Norenzayan (2010), point out that many of these WEIRD participants in U.S. psychological studies are college students. A great group (including you, reader), but not representative of humanity as a whole. Cross-cultural and multicultural psychology scholars focus on developing research questions, recruiting samples, and disseminating information that represent diverse populations. However, there are barriers to each step of the research process due to historical and contemporary incidents, both within social science and health research and a global context. Scholars need to be aware of these issues before engaging in cross-cultural and/or multicultural research activity. Historical PerspectivesPsychological Frameworks to Justify Prejudice & RacismPsychology, as a science, is a western family of theories to explain human behavior. That is, psychological theories emerged from western (European, and later, American) physicians, psychiatrists, and experimenters who did not take into account non-western views. Thus, many current theories within psychology may not hold in non-western cultures. Moreover, this development led to “othering” groups that did not fit the theories proposed by early psychologists. “Othered” groups were typically persons who were seen as “abnormal” or behaved inconsistently with the dominant social group. This included immigrants, enslaved and formerly enslaved persons in the U.S., and persons with intellectual disabilities. Social science was often used as a tool to defend or justify prejudicial public policy, including slavery, segregation, and other civil rights infringements. While this seems, at face value, to apply more to historical perspectives rather than contemporary perspectives, there are recent examples of using social science to justify prejudice. For example, Herrnstein and Murray’s (1994) “The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life” used faulty assumptions about IQ and intelligence to promote U.S. policies many have condemned as racist and classist (we will discuss this further in chapter 6). Faulty research such as the one described above can increase systemic racism.As the majority of social scientists now challenge many of these early perspectives, some of these perspectives remain unchallenged by the majority. Sigmund Freud, often credited as one of the fathers of psychology, framed religious beliefs as pathological and superstitious. Later generations of psychologists propelled these beliefs forward, such as Albert Ellis, who created rational-emotive behavior therapy in the 1950’s (Ellis, 1993; a form of cognitive behavior therapy). Ellis often categorized religious beliefs as a form of “irrational thought,” which he defined as a central component of psychopathology. Today, many psychologists continue to mis-interpret religious beliefs and are more likely to over-diagnoize, or pathologize, someone who holds religious beliefs compared to persons who do not express religious beliefs (Vieten et al., 2013). Not surprisingly, religious communities may therefore be reluctant to participate in psychological studies. Exploitation of Groups for Scientific StudyThe history of health and social science-related research includes devastating examples of human exploitation and harm. Often, this exploitation and harm occurred in communities that were marginalized in any given locale and time period. This includes research done without participant consent on persons with intellectual disabilities, including the study of sterilization procedures during the U.S. eugenics movement, the Tuskegee syphilis trials (where African American men were injected with syphilis and then intentionally not treated), and medical and psychological experiments conducted on concentration camp prisoners during the Holocaust. The creation of Institutional Review Boards, which review and approve of all research studies before they can begin, and emergence of ethics codes for various scientific professions have kept many exploitative practices from continuing (see the APA’s Ethical Principles, listed below). American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles: How do each of these principles apply to working with marginalized or otherwise underrepresented populations
when it comes to research? Contemporary PerspectivesAs cross-cultural and multicultural psychology continue to gain momentum within the social sciences, many scholars have identified common barriers to effectively and ethically conduct research with diverse groups. Amer and Bagasra (2013) conducted a systematic literature review (that is, they reviewed all scholarly articles and synthesized patterns across these papers) on psychology research on Muslim Americans. Many of their observations about this collection of studies can be applied to conducting research with marginalized groups in general. They first identified common problems in how researchers conceptualize their target populations and recruitment of participants. This included (1) assuming cultural groups are monolithic, when often led to faulty recruitment strategies, and (2) a failure to understand why potential participants are hesitant to participate in psychological studies. Problem 1: Assuming Cultural Groups are MonolithicAmer and Bagasra (2013) noted that most scholars assumed Muslim Americans behaved in specific ways. In addition to conflating religious and ethnic identities (something unfortunately very common when studying persons with Middle Eastern/North African and/or Muslim backgrounds; Abu-Ras et al., 2008), many researchers assumed all Muslim Americans would be regular mosque-goers. In the U.S., many people (70.6%; Pew Research Center, 2016) identify as Christian, though most people are not surprised to hear that a large portion of U.S. Christians only attend church services a few times a year. Thus, U.S. Christians are recognized as having varying levels of religious commitment and service attendance. The same should be true of Muslim Americans, but many researchers rely on reaching out to local mosques to recruit participants. Thus, samples may be limited to Muslim Americans who attend services more regularly and therefore identify as more highly religious. This skews the data and makes it difficult to generalize findings to all Muslim Americans. Certainly, if a political pollster only collected data on political leanings from people living in Los Angeles and New York City, many would agree immediately that the data were biased! Malcolm X became Muslim while in prison.The tendency to regard cultural groups as monolithic – that everyone must behave in the same way – expands beyond religious affiliation. For instance, researchers studying Latinx (Latino/a) populations must be careful about who is in their sample and, therefore, for whom the results might apply. For example, recruiting a sample of third-generation Colombian Americans living in a suburb on the west coast probably doesn’t generalize well to a group of recent immigrants from Mexico settling on the east coast. Researchers must consider levels of acculturation and immigration status, national origin, language, and current location (e.g., does the current location have anti-immigrant laws in place?). Problem #2: Not exploring – and appreciating – why people are hesitant to be participantsAfter 9/11, there was a surge of research on Muslim Americans’ experiences (Amer & Bagasra). However, there was also a tremendous surge of Islamophobia and xenophobia as other Americans scapegoated Muslim and Middle Eastern persons for the terrorist attack. Due to this, and the history of social science being used to justify prejudice, many Muslim Americans were hesitant to participate in studies: many were concerned that their answers to questions about mental health, substance abuse, and other sensitive information might be used against them in the public sphere (Amer & Bagasra, 2013). This 9/11 example points to two things that make people reluctant to engage in psychological research. First, negative public and media depictions of cultural groups mean that some members of these groups feel a need to protect their group’s reputation, by not disclosing various psychological struggles to researchers (Barkdull et al., 2011). Second, many cultural groups – regardless of whether they are experiencing prejudice – see mental illness, substance abuse, and other sensitive pieces of information (e.g., marital difficulties, etc.) as private and stigmatizing experiences that should not be shared with non-family members (Aroian et al., 2009). Thus, people who do choose to participate in these studies are likely not representative of the entire cultural group in question. Culturally-Responsive Approaches to ResearchAmer and Bagasra (2013), among many others, have suggested alternative approaches to engaging in research with diverse groups. An increasingly popular framework is called community-based participatory action research (CPAR; Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008). This framework addresses the entire research process – from developing the initial research questions through how the data and findings are reported. Developing Research Questions with CPARThere is a tendency for researchers to develop their research questions without actually consulting the population in question. CPAR encourages researchers to include members of the target population in the development of the questions being asked. Sometimes, the population – community – in question may not even find the study topic to be relevant or most important to their daily lives. Or, the community may identify additional questions or ask questions in a different way, based on their experiences, language, and cultural concepts. Not only does including the community in developing research questions give the community autonomy and respect (APA ethics principles), it also ensures that the community is interested in and committed to the study. Study Materials & Recruitment with CPARHow do researchers include the community when they develop or select their measures and procedures for study? For example, if a research team wishes to use a survey – does the survey wording capture the community’s experience? Is it in the language or dialect that is most accessible to the community? CPAR recommends researchers use focus groups with community members to review potential survey measures and adapt the measures accordingly. These are the race and ethnicity questions for the 2010 U.S. Census. What racial or ethnic identities are missing? Why is this a problem?Similarly, focus groups with the community can be useful for identifying the most effective and ethical recruitment strategy for study participation. How will data be collected? Do community members have regular access to the Internet, or is the phone or face-to-face more effective (or more culturally valued)? Focus groups also ensure that the researchers and community members form a relationship that prioritizes the community’s needs and experiences. Imagine a researcher with no tie to a particular cultural community attempting to recruit people for a face-to-face interview on domestic violence – this would not be successful, and may make community members feel targeted or tokenized. Sometimes researchers may identify a gatekeeper – usually a community leader (or in the case of faith groups, a religious leader) – who is respected and influential within their community. If a gatekeeper demonstrates support for the research being conducted, usually the community will be more willing to engage. This means taking the time to develop a relationship with community leaders where the researchers value and see the community leaders as part of their research team. Analyzing and Distributing Results with CPAROnce the data are collected, researchers should meet with the community and share the study findings. At this point, researchers should invite community feedback on what was found and include this feedback when they write up their reports. Often, this is more important if the study included interviews – where community members’ words may be misconstrued during analysis. When researchers publish their data and findings, they should consider how they are discussing the community in question: are they using person-first language? Are they continuing to frame the study questions in a way that aligns with the community’s needs and values? ConclusionsPsychological science has made significant gains when it comes to studying and working with diverse groups. One of the biggest gains is the diversification of psychological scholars – having diverse voices asking research questions makes those research questions more culturally relevant and responsive. However, the field has a long way to go in this regard, as there are many barriers for women and people of color in academic psychology and research (Howe-Walsh & Turnbull, 2016; Williams, 2019). The APA will regularly update and release guidelines for working with diverse groups to address some of these issues. Researchers need to understand the history of social science research in order to appreciate why particular groups may be skeptical of psychological science. Researchers also need to be aware of current, ongoing social issues and medial portrayals of various cultural groups as this influences how members of these groups may engage with research. Finally, researchers – and consumers of research (including you!) – need to critically evaluate whether their approaches to science are community-inclusive, affirming, and empowering. ReferencesAbu-Ras, W., Gheith, A., & Cournos, F. (2008). The imam’s role in mental health promotion: A study at 22 mosques in New York City’s Muslim community. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 3(2), 155–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564900802487576 Amer, M. M., & Bagasra, A. (2013). Psychological research with Muslim Americans in the age of Islamophobia: Trends, challenges, and recommendations. American Psychologist, 68(3), 134-144. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032167 American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. American Psychologist, 57(12), 1060–1073. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.12.1060 Aroian, K., Hough, E. S., Templin, T. N., Kulwicki, A., Ramaswamy, V., & Katz, A. (2009). A model of mother–child adjustment in Arab Muslim immigrants to the US. Social Science & Medicine, 69(9), 1377–1386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.08.027 Barkdull, C., Khaja, K., Queiro-Tajalli, I., Swart, A., Cunningham, D., & Dennis, S. (2011). Experiences of Muslims in four Western countries post—9/11. Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work, 26(2), 139–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109911405491 Ellis, A. (1993). Changing RET to REBT. The Behavior Therapist, 16, 257-258. Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). Most people are not WEIRD. Nature, 466(7302), 29-29. https://doi.org/10.1038/466029a Herrnstein, R. J., & Murray, C. A. (1994). The bell curve: Intelligence and class structure in American life. Free Press. Howe-Walsh, L., & Turnbull, S. (2016). Barriers to women leaders in academia: tales from science and technology. Studies in Higher Education, 41(3), 415-428. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.929102 Minkler, M., & Wallerstein, N. (2008). Introduction to community-based participatory research: new issues and emphases. Community-based participatory research for health: From process to outcomes, 5-23. Pew Research Center (2016). Religious Landscape Study. Retrieved from https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/ Vieten, C., Scammell, S., Pilato, R., Ammondson, I., Pargament, K. I., & Lukoff, D. (2013). Spiritual and religious competencies for psychologists. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(3), 129. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032699 Williams, M. T. (2019). Adverse racial climates in academia: Conceptualization, interventions, and call to action. New ideas in Psychology, 55, 58-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2019.05.002 What are the components of multicultural psychology?Multicultural Psychology also considers internal (e.g., within the individual) and external (e.g., the impact of relationships, social, institutional, structural, and community) factors when seeking to understand how culture impacts psychological processes, well-being, and mental health.
What is multicultural psychology quizlet?multicultural psychology. the systematic study of behavior, cognition, and affect in settings where people of different backgrounds interact. culture. the values, beliefs, and practices of a group of people, shared through symbols, and passed down from generation to generation. diversity.
What is multicultural perspective in psychology?The multicultural perspective is an ideological orientation that values the recognition and inclusion of diverse ethnic and cultural groups as sources of identity and culture that are favorable to society, because they promote positive intergroup relations and social equality.
What is the importance of multicultural psychology?Multicultural psychology has helped in identifying a person within different cultures and also to facilitate interaction between individuals from different cultural backgrounds. In the United States, for instance, people from different parts of the world (immigrants) came together to form the present day America.
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