Psychology 114
1. A brief history of psychology in South Africa:
Why study the history of psychology in SA: learning from the past, to influence the
future (more productive, not oppressive)
Historically, psychology has been based on:
1. Eurocentric values (Western) = knowledge based on white, heterosexual,
middle class and educated European/American societies
2. Positivist-empirical science = knowledge is only considered true/valid,
when it is produced under conditions that are observable, highly
controlled, and quantified (e.g., laboratory and not natural environment)
Why is psychology’s Eurocentric & positivist knowledge problematic?
Mainstream psychology is loosely based on Eurocentric/Western values and a
positivist model of scientific query
Not socially relevant for everyone of different ethnic groups, cultures, etc.
History of psych. in SA can be divided into 2 important periods:
South African Psychology pre-1994 (main features)
1. SA an apartheid state
2. Labelled itself as humanitarian (solver of human rights)
3. Supported the reproduction of apartheid = denying/ignoring
suppressive system (through reasoning/justifying racist ideologies)
4. Took up humanitarian role = solve problems of white people only
(documenting lived experiences of white people, which were
published in journals). Whilst the lived experiences of black people
were largely ignored
5. Under representation of black psychologists (decreases availability of
psychologists up until today)
6. Racially defined diagnostic systems (treating mental health differently
depending on race, e.g., black people with depression having “bantu
hysteria)
7. Objectifying black people as “others” = treating them as
alien/different (negatively)
8. Psychology’s major concern – “poor white people” (e.g., large
amounts of funding made available to treat problem. Thus, ranking
concerns of white people over black people)
Why did South African psychology not resist apartheid?
1. SA psychologists indoctrinated into systems of knowledge/ideologies
= left them little room to criticise or challenge racism
2. Most psychologists were white & middle class, thus they benefitted
from apartheid’s racism
3. Black psychologists represented under 10% of registered
psychologists (thus not having a significant number to create
resistance)
, 4. Eugenics movement – supported by psychology during apartheid
(ideas that black people are mentally & morally inferior to white
people)
5. The ‘Extension of the University Education Act No. 45 of 1959’ = white
people had access to highly funded universities (for pysch training)
compared to black students
6. The psychology curriculum did not encourage to question/resist
racism/apartheid
7. The Psych. Institute of the RSA controlled the content and curriculum
of psych programmes at universities (non-compliance could result in
denied promotions/salary increases, etc)
8. Publications Act No. 42 of 1974 = banned more than 18 000 books
from universities (books that encouraged critical thinking, that could
challenge apartheid/racism)
South African Psychology post-1994
o 1994 = SA’s first ever democratic election; end of Apartheid; era of
hope and change
1. Psychology side-stepping topic of racism/race = even though era
of apartheid had ended, there was evident lack of knowledge
surrounding issues with racism
2. Reforming psychology = group of progressive psychologists,
critique psych institutions and implement training courses for
people who could not access psychological-skill resources before
3. Removing psychology from ties with apartheid = effort to breakup
organisations whose principles shared that of the apartheid
regime. Led to creation of new organisations
4. Such as PsySSA (Psychological Society of South Africa) = goal of
PsySSA is to make psychology as a discipline more socially relevant
and responsive to problems in SA
5. Black and female scholars were encouraged by psych. based
public houses to publish articles and generate research (shifting
the production of knowledge in psych. from Western, Eurocentric,
positivist voices to that of people who were before silenced)
6. New forms of marginalisation (ongoing challenges):
i. Low rates of publishing from the minority of black
academics in psychology
ii. Minority (black) academics stationed at disadvantaged
universities – where research/publication is not a given
iii. Black academics burdened with unusually large volumes of
students = left them little time for research/publishing
iv. English still primary medium of publication (minorities not
first language English speakers)
7. Continued use of Eurocentric knowledge in psych. = most
universities using western psychological models and theories (little
relevance for South African context)
1. A brief history of psychology in South Africa:
Why study the history of psychology in SA: learning from the past, to influence the
future (more productive, not oppressive)
Historically, psychology has been based on:
1. Eurocentric values (Western) = knowledge based on white, heterosexual,
middle class and educated European/American societies
2. Positivist-empirical science = knowledge is only considered true/valid,
when it is produced under conditions that are observable, highly
controlled, and quantified (e.g., laboratory and not natural environment)
Why is psychology’s Eurocentric & positivist knowledge problematic?
Mainstream psychology is loosely based on Eurocentric/Western values and a
positivist model of scientific query
Not socially relevant for everyone of different ethnic groups, cultures, etc.
History of psych. in SA can be divided into 2 important periods:
South African Psychology pre-1994 (main features)
1. SA an apartheid state
2. Labelled itself as humanitarian (solver of human rights)
3. Supported the reproduction of apartheid = denying/ignoring
suppressive system (through reasoning/justifying racist ideologies)
4. Took up humanitarian role = solve problems of white people only
(documenting lived experiences of white people, which were
published in journals). Whilst the lived experiences of black people
were largely ignored
5. Under representation of black psychologists (decreases availability of
psychologists up until today)
6. Racially defined diagnostic systems (treating mental health differently
depending on race, e.g., black people with depression having “bantu
hysteria)
7. Objectifying black people as “others” = treating them as
alien/different (negatively)
8. Psychology’s major concern – “poor white people” (e.g., large
amounts of funding made available to treat problem. Thus, ranking
concerns of white people over black people)
Why did South African psychology not resist apartheid?
1. SA psychologists indoctrinated into systems of knowledge/ideologies
= left them little room to criticise or challenge racism
2. Most psychologists were white & middle class, thus they benefitted
from apartheid’s racism
3. Black psychologists represented under 10% of registered
psychologists (thus not having a significant number to create
resistance)
, 4. Eugenics movement – supported by psychology during apartheid
(ideas that black people are mentally & morally inferior to white
people)
5. The ‘Extension of the University Education Act No. 45 of 1959’ = white
people had access to highly funded universities (for pysch training)
compared to black students
6. The psychology curriculum did not encourage to question/resist
racism/apartheid
7. The Psych. Institute of the RSA controlled the content and curriculum
of psych programmes at universities (non-compliance could result in
denied promotions/salary increases, etc)
8. Publications Act No. 42 of 1974 = banned more than 18 000 books
from universities (books that encouraged critical thinking, that could
challenge apartheid/racism)
South African Psychology post-1994
o 1994 = SA’s first ever democratic election; end of Apartheid; era of
hope and change
1. Psychology side-stepping topic of racism/race = even though era
of apartheid had ended, there was evident lack of knowledge
surrounding issues with racism
2. Reforming psychology = group of progressive psychologists,
critique psych institutions and implement training courses for
people who could not access psychological-skill resources before
3. Removing psychology from ties with apartheid = effort to breakup
organisations whose principles shared that of the apartheid
regime. Led to creation of new organisations
4. Such as PsySSA (Psychological Society of South Africa) = goal of
PsySSA is to make psychology as a discipline more socially relevant
and responsive to problems in SA
5. Black and female scholars were encouraged by psych. based
public houses to publish articles and generate research (shifting
the production of knowledge in psych. from Western, Eurocentric,
positivist voices to that of people who were before silenced)
6. New forms of marginalisation (ongoing challenges):
i. Low rates of publishing from the minority of black
academics in psychology
ii. Minority (black) academics stationed at disadvantaged
universities – where research/publication is not a given
iii. Black academics burdened with unusually large volumes of
students = left them little time for research/publishing
iv. English still primary medium of publication (minorities not
first language English speakers)
7. Continued use of Eurocentric knowledge in psych. = most
universities using western psychological models and theories (little
relevance for South African context)
