Psychology 144 Test Notes.
Covers everything you need for the semester test: Race and Psychology, Gender and psychology, Classical psychoanalysis, Psychoanalysis and new directions, Psychoanalysis as a tool, Behaviourism, and Humanism
Psychology semester
test notes
Race and Psychology
• What is Race?
o Grouping or categorization of peoples based on physical or biological
differences.
o Skin colour, hair texture, facial features, and eye formation.
o No Biological Validity for racial categories
o Human physical variations overlap
o No genes that can identify distinct groups
• How was it construed and perpetuated?
o Lewin’s Equation
§ Kurt Lewin - context is important in understanding
behavior
§ B = f(P+E)
§ Behavior is a function of a Person and his Environment
o Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory
§ Urie Bronfenbrenner
§ Individual exists in different Sub-systems
§ Systems are divided into 5 different levels
§ Microsystem
o The person and individuals in
immediate social environment
§ Mesosystem
o Involves interactions between
microsystems
, o Home, neighbourhood, peer groups,
school, or work
§ Exosystem
o Social setting surrounding the person
o Religious institutions, media, etc.
§ Macrosystem
o Broader spheres of influence
o Cultures, subcultures, economic and
political systems, COVID pandemic
§ Chronosystem
o Systems may be influenced over a
period of time
o An individual’s lifespan
§ All these systems have an effect on the individual
o Scholars assert race is a social construct
o Race developed by society to group or categories various people
o Criteria for categorization are not universal or fixed
o Apartheid manufactured its own particular understanding of race
o People were divided in 4 population groups
§ Whites, Indians/Asians, Coloureds, Blacks/Natives
o Hierarchically Arranged
o Pencil Test
• Race in Psychological Research
o Racial categories still used in SA
o Post-apartheid South Africa has been unable to move away from
apartheid racial categories
o Why is using race in research problematic?
§ Reduce human lives and experiences to neatly defined
categories
§ Assumes categories are fixed and unchanging
o Niewoudt et al purports that Coloured people are a “homogenous
group” described as “poor, lower working-class community”
o Why is using race in research problematic?
§ Reproduces politically constructed racial categories
§ Perpetuates stigma, discrimination, and racism
, § Perpetuating stereotypes that inform stigma and
discrimination
o Niewoudt et al states that coloured women present with low education
levels and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours
o Niewoudt et al. article draws heavily on colonial racist stereotypes
o Problem is not unique to this article
o This article allows us to highlight problems with using racial
categories within research
Where to from here?
• Hendricks at al have provided 5 steps to promote ethical science and practice.
o Researchers to reflect on personal racial suppositions and conceptualisations.
o Institutions of Higher Learning to take responsibility in setting up rigorous
research management systems. Provide training in ethical research, research
integrity and research for the public good.
o Ethics committees should aim to remove potentially discriminatory research.
Include critical scholars in race theory on panels
o Journal reviewers and editors to be more vigilant in the reproduction and
dissemination of research
o Grant agencies and the Department of Higher Education to reflect on
processes and assess whether they are sensitive to issues of race and
discrimination.
History of psychology
• Psychological Knowledge Produced
o Western/Eurocentric frame of reference
o Mainstream schools of thought
§ Psychoanalysis – Sigmund Freud
§ Behaviorism – John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov
§ Humanism – Carl Rogers & Abraham Maslow
History of Race in Psychology
• Three models found to guide and conceptualise research on people of colour
o The Inferiority model
o The Genetic Deficiency Model
o The Culturally Deprived Model
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through EFT, credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying this summary from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller Daryanvdw. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy this summary for R65,00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
