Looking Within: Elevating Black Scholarly Contributions to Empirical Approaches in Developmental Science

Over the past century, Black American scholars have designed, applied, and promoted conceptual frameworks and research models that propose nuanced understandings of psychological development. This article highlights examples of their contributions to understanding the differential impact of diverse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American psychologist 2023-05, Vol.78 (4), p.512-523
Main Authors: Elisha, Isabelle M., Karras, Juliana E., Ruck, Martin D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Black People
Civil rights
Cognition
Cognitive development
Ethnic Identity
History of Psychology
Human
Human Development
Interdisciplinary aspects
Psychological aspects
Psychological development
Psychologists
Racial Identity
Situation
Situational factors
Social functioning
Social skills
Sociocultural Factors
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Summary:Over the past century, Black American scholars have designed, applied, and promoted conceptual frameworks and research models that propose nuanced understandings of psychological development. This article highlights examples of their contributions to understanding the differential impact of diverse contextual and situational factors. Through examinations of the psychological effects of Blackness on the development of cognition, competence, identity, and social functioning, Black psychologists outline pathways and provide tools for ecological culturally rooted methodologies. These multidisciplinary approaches run in contrast to dominant trends in the field and thus broaden developmental science's reach and influence. In the 1950s, developmental research by Black psychologists was instrumental to the fight for civil rights. Today, it continues to provide a basis for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Public Significance Statement Recent calls for representation, discussions of systemic issues, and closer attention to the mental health of Black Americans highlight the need for renewed attention to the contributions Black scholars have made to our understanding of how culture and context impact lived experiences. This article outlines how Black scholars have designed, applied, and promoted nuanced approaches to the study of human growth and development. Research by Black scholars was foundational to the fight for civil rights and continues to provide a basis for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
ISSN:0003-066X
1935-990X
DOI:10.1037/amp0001055