Critical race theory in human development and family science

The years since George Floyd's murder in 2020 have been characterized by both a renewed attention to systemic racism and a backlash intended to silence conversations about race. Critical Race Theory (CRT), in particular, has become a larger part of the public discourse around race than ever before. Although CRT developed in the 1980s as a critical approach in legal studies and was incorporated into social psychology in the 1990s, psychology's engagement with CRT has been much more limited than that of other fields. In two installments, this special issue aims to (re)introduce psychological researchers to Critical Race Theory (CRT), to underscore CRT's importance and limitations in the context of psychological research, to feature novel applications and new directions in CRT, and to address the current political climate of opposition to discussions of CRT. The first installment looks inward to examine how psychology can more effectively advance racial equity within the field and the research we conduct by continuing to incorporate a CRT lens throughout higher education and research. The second installment looks outward to highlight psychological research that uses CRT frameworks to advance racial justice in society.

Section: Section Ii: Critically Engaging Psychological Science With A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Focusing the critical race psychology lens: CRT and the psychological study of social issues

Salter,

Moadel‐Attie,

Miller

et al. 2024

“…We believe that CRT can inform and transform cognitive sciences into a just and rigorous science. This special issue on CRT covers a variety of sub-disciplines to which CRT can be applied (Nicolai et al, 2024;Sheppard et al, 2024). Given that, we will pay special attention to ways in which CRT can be applied in cognitive science.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical cognitive science: A systematic review towards a critical science

Carbajal,

Moore,

Cabrera Martinez

et al. 2024

Many leading scholars have highlighted the use of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in approaching research and practice in psychology. Critical Race Theory allows for cognitive science to take a more intersectional perspective rather than perpetuate the exclusionary and universal limitations associated with traditional cognitive science. This review and commentary apply CRT to cognitive science to address three main goals. The first is describing the history of cognitive science and how CRT tenets can help understand the need for a critical race perspective. Second is applying the CRT tenet of recognizing racism in cognitive science through a rigorous systematic review. The third is highlighting the tenet of whitewashing psychological phenomenon to explain epistemic exclusion and provide recommendations to combat it. CRT is an important framework in cognitive science as it can help combat the harmful methodologies and implications that have been perpetuated for decades (e.g., racist assumption of intelligence, exclusion of participants because of hair texture).

Whiteness hurts society: How whiteness shapes mental, physical, and social health outcomes

Efird,

Wilkins,

Versey

2024

Confronting whiteness could complement and amplify the study of Critical Race Theory and enhance psychologists’ capacity to effectively study and address health and social issues. Whiteness is a racialized social system and a set of beliefs that uphold White American social supremacy and the oppression of populations of color. We discuss how prior scholarship has addressed whiteness and we illustrate how whiteness can harm health and well‐being among White Americans and broader society. By documenting the negative effects of whiteness, we encourage divestment from the construction of reality that inequitably produces power and privilege, and ultimately, threatens society. Understanding how whiteness operates will aid the development of interventions and policies that reduce the inequity that results from whiteness and the enduring nature of racism. Finally, we call on psychologists to actively divest from systems of whiteness within our field; otherwise, we are complicit in how whiteness hurts society.