Considerable attention has been paid to the academic achievements of Asian Americans because there is convergent evidence that this population has attained high educational mobility. In trying to explain the achievement patterns, researchers have largely limited their investigations to one of two contrasting hypotheses involving (a) hereditary differences in intelligence between Asians and Whites and (b) Asian cultural values that promote educational endeavors. Research findings have cast serious doubt over the validity of the genetic hypothesis. Yet, there has been a failure to find strong empirical support for alternative hypothesis concerning cultural values. It is proposed, under the concept of relative functionalism, that Asian Americans perceive, and have experienced, restrictions in upward mobility in careers or jobs that are unrelated to education. Consequently, education assumes importance, above and beyond what can be predicted from cultural values. Research and policy implications of this view are noted.

This study tested an affect-specific explanation for the Asian and White American differences in depression and social anxiety. Construal of the self as independent or interdependent in relation to others (H. R. Markus & S. Kitayama, 1991) was hypothesized to be 1 possible way in which culture may be expressed in individuals' psychological functioning, which in turn was hypothesized to be linked specifically to social anxiety. College students (N = 348; 183 White Americans and 165 Asian Americans) completed self-report measures of depression, social anxiety, and self-construals. Asian Americans scored significantly higher than White Americans on measures of depression and social anxiety. When the covariance between depression and social anxiety was statistically controlled, ethnicity and self-construal variables were found, as predicted, to be associated with measures of social anxiety but not depression. These findings suggest a more differentiated perspective on the relations between culture, ethnicity, and emotional distress.

Colonial mentality, or internalized colonialism, has been discussed by scholars and by Filipino American community members as a significant factor in the experiences of contemporary Filipino Americans, yet this construct has not received empirical attention in psychology. The authors of the current study addressed this gap in the Asian American psychological literature by developing the Colonial Mentality Scale for Filipino Americans, a theoretically derived and psychometrically tested multidimensional measure of colonial mentality. Exploratory (n ϭ 292) and confirmatory (n ϭ 311) factor analyses on Internet-obtained data suggest that colonial mentality among Filipino Americans is best conceptualized and measured as composed of 5 related factors, each of which represents unique manifestations of the construct. Results also suggest that colonial mentality is associated with the psychological well-being and mental health of modern day Filipino Americans. Research and clinical implications are discussed.

Since the publication of Sue et al. (Am Psychol 62:271–286, 2007a, b) seminal article, there has been an enormous scholarly interest in psychology on this construct of racial microaggressions—subtle everyday experiences of racism. In this paper, we provide a review of racial microaggressions research literature in psychology since 2007, following the publication of the first comprehensive taxonomy of racial microaggressions, which provided a conceptual framework and directions for research related to racial microaggressions. However, our review suggests that important conceptual and methodological issues remain to be addressed in the three domains: (1) what are racial microaggressions and who do they impact; (2) why are racial microaggressions important to examine; and (3) how are racial microaggressions currently studied and how might we improve the methodologies used to study racial microaggressions. We propose recommendations to further facilitate racial microaggressions research, improve the scientific rigor of racial microaggressions research, and contribute toward a more complete and sophisticated understanding of the concept and consequences of racial microaggressions—a construct that is undoubtedly salient and psychologically relevant among many members of racial minority groups.

Colonial mentality is a term used widely by ethnic studies scholars and by the Filipino American community to refer to a form of internalized oppression among Filipinos and Filipino Americans. The authors propose that colonial mentality is a construct that is central to the understanding of the psychology of contemporary Filipino Americans. Drawing on larger scholarship from postcolonial studies and psychological research on oppression, the authors review the historical and sociological contexts in which to understand the significance of the colonial mentality concept for the Filipino American population. The authors also review the existing literature on colonial mentality and provide specific recommendations for incorporating this construct into research and practice with Filipino Americans. It is argued, through this illustrative example of colonial mentality among Filipino Americans, that examining the psychological impact of colonialism is a way to incorporate larger historical and sociological contextual variables into ethnic minority research and practice.