Notes on decolonizing psychology: from one Special Issue to another

Abstract

In this article, we describe a special thematic section on the topic of “Decolonizing Psychological Science” that we have edited for the Journal of Social and Political Psychology. Three approaches to decolonization were evident in contributions to the ongoing project. In the indigenous resistance approach, researchers draw upon local knowledge to modify “standard” practice and produce psychologies that are more responsive to local realities. In the accompaniment approach, “global expert” researchers from hegemonic centers travel to marginalized communities to work alongside local inhabitants in struggles for social justice. In the denaturalization approach, researchers draw upon local knowledge and experience of marginalized communities as an epistemic resource to resist the coloniality of knowledge and being in hegemonic psychology. The task of decolonization requires more than the production of local psychologies attuned to the conditions of particular communities. In addition, it requires decolonial versions of global psychology that are conducive to the wellness of all humanity beyond a dominant Eurocentric subset.

Decolonial Pedagogy in Community Psychology: White Students Disrupting White Innocence via a Family Portrait Assignment

“…Therefore, a decolonizing standpoint in community psychology can afford the discipline with a liberatory framework wherein Indigenous and non‐Eurocentric worldviews are recognized as legitimate forms of knowledge (Gone, ; Reyes Cruz, , ). Reyes Cruz and Sonn's (/2015) proposal for a decolonizing standpoint in community psychology is consistent with efforts to develop critical epistemologies and methodologies that work to make visible the renderings of power (Adams et al., ; Dutta, ; Seedat & Suffla, ; Sonn, , ).…”

“…When left unchallenged, however, colonial ways of thinking can reproduce hegemonic social science epistemologies and methodologies. Perspectives in community psychology have sought to challenge the discipline's epistemological and methodological orientations, and how these implicate the field in the reproduction of power (Adams et al., ; Dutta, ; Montero & Sonn, ; Seedat & Suffla, ). Indeed, within community psychology, and allied disciplines, a decolonizing standpoint that aligns with liberation is taking fold.…”

“…These writings engage topics of decoloniality that range from culture (Gone, ; Reyes Cruz & Sonn, /2015) and diversity (Harrell & Bond, ; Trickett, ), to empowerment (Serrano‐García, ), to critical epistemologies that decolonize and democratize research and practice (Dutta, ; Langhout, ; Montero, , ; Moane, ; Watts & Serrano‐García, ). These trends are significant and worth noting, yet some scholars within the field have called for a more explicit centering of decoloniality in theory, research and action (Adams et al., ; Gone, ; Langhout, ; Okazaki et al., ; Reyes Cruz, , ; Reyes Cruz & Sonn, /2015).…”

“…Community psychology, like other psychological sciences, is inherently rooted in Western/Eurocentric epistemologies (Adams et al., ; Reyes Cruz & Sonn, /2015). Therefore, a decolonizing standpoint in community psychology can afford the discipline with a liberatory framework wherein Indigenous and non‐Eurocentric worldviews are recognized as legitimate forms of knowledge (Gone, ; Reyes Cruz, , ).…”

“…Within U.S. community psychology, decoloniality in theory, research and action remains on the margins (Reyes Cruz & Sonn, /2015). Yet, recent scholarship on decolonizing psychological science offers a productive path forward (Adams, Gómez Ordóñez, Kurtiş, Molina, & Dobles, ; Dutta, ; Montero & Sonn, ; Nelson & Prilleltensky, ; Seedat & Suffla, ). Central to decoloniality is deconstructing systems of power, associated with racialized coloniality, or as Quijano () describes it the coloniality of power .…”