South African Psychology &
Racism
Created @April 4, 2022 5:08 PM
Class
Type
Materials
Reviewed
How did psychology perpetuate apartheid's policies
and practices?
1. South Africa's silence over racism: most research focused on white people and
their experiences
2. Racisms of omission and commission: omission (what it failed to do: it failed to
speak up about the poor facilities for training black psychologists) and commission
(it was responsible for many human rights violations)
3. Racist diagnostic systems: it created different criteria of mental health and illness
for black and white people (e.g. "bantu hysteria")
4. Black as the negative “Other”: psychological research described black people as
"different" or "Other"
5. Psychology's racist organizational structure: it provided "evidence" for apartheid
racist policies and it excluded black people from its organizations.
Why indeed did South African psychologists not resist
apartheid?
South African Psychology & Racism 1
Racism
Created @April 4, 2022 5:08 PM
Class
Type
Materials
Reviewed
How did psychology perpetuate apartheid's policies
and practices?
1. South Africa's silence over racism: most research focused on white people and
their experiences
2. Racisms of omission and commission: omission (what it failed to do: it failed to
speak up about the poor facilities for training black psychologists) and commission
(it was responsible for many human rights violations)
3. Racist diagnostic systems: it created different criteria of mental health and illness
for black and white people (e.g. "bantu hysteria")
4. Black as the negative “Other”: psychological research described black people as
"different" or "Other"
5. Psychology's racist organizational structure: it provided "evidence" for apartheid
racist policies and it excluded black people from its organizations.
Why indeed did South African psychologists not resist
apartheid?
South African Psychology & Racism 1
