Our field often emphasizes individual-level functioning instead of broader social, cultural, and political forces. Widen your inquiry to address sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts. Examine if the experiences of historically disenfranchised people are reflected in the questions asked.Discuss whether foundational research involved representative samples and review whether findings have been replicated across gender, race, and social class.Question whether important phenomena or research findings addressed in class are relevant or even applicable across different groups of people.Students also become aware that psychology can be value-laden when professors help them: Moreover, qualitative research can advance social justice by amplifying the voices of research participants, particularly people who have been mischaracterized by psychology and broader society, such as women, people of color, and sexual minorities. Psychology instructors can teach about qualitative research that models greater power-sharing between researchers and participants through its open-ended questioning and community immersion (Kidder & Fine, 1997). Students learn to conduct quantitative studies in research methods courses instructors most often rely on quantitative findings to inform their lectures. However, students also should understand that psychologists’ worldviews shape the questions we pose in research, the strategies we use to answer those questions, and how we understand phenomena.įor example, most psychological research uses quantitative methods. Modern psychology is often framed as a science that uses empirical methods to advance knowledge about the mind, the brain, and behavior in an objective manner. Here are two ways to bridge the gap.Įxplain to students that psychology is not always value free. However, the desire to emphasize topics such as societal inequalities can be complicated because text material and core concepts within many subfields often ignore such issues. Social justice can be promoted by the content you teach. Link Your Content With Social Justice Themes
#Social questions of developmental psychology how to#
To assist psychology professors who are uncertain about how to proceed, I summarize four general teaching tips by which faculty can meaningfully address social justice in their classes. The discussion of how psychological knowledge can help solve social problems or why social and political factors are important for psychological understanding may not seem to fit within the framework of many of our courses. The challenge that many psychology faculty members encounter in this regard is how to integrate social justice themes into their teaching. The standards urge psychologists to remain aware of these factors, avoid discrimination, and oppose unjust practices. Moreover, the ethical principles of the American Psychological Association (2002) even require psychologists to ensure that their work benefits and respects the rights of all people, regardless of age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, or socioeconomic status. For example, psychologists have studied many topics related to social justice (e.g., prejudice, discrimination, and conformity), and several subfields have coalesced around these issues, including community psychology, multicultural psychology, and the psychology of women. Although its values, assumptions, and approaches may differ from traditional psychology, social justice has an impact on our discipline. People who advocate for social justice believe all members of society should have equal rights and access to opportunities.
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