Psychology - The decolonisation of psychology project.

Question 1

What is the decolonisation of psychology?

Answer 1

An analysis of colonial interests fundamentally attached to knowledge psychology produced in the past that is still used in the present.

Question 2

Why does psychology need to be decolonised?

Answer 2

• Mainstream psychological knowledge is intertwined with colonial assumptions and ideals.

Question 3

What is postcolonial?

Answer 3

The continuation of colonialism even when the formal period and process of colonialism ended.

Question 4

What is Frantz Fanon’s main interest?

Answer 4

The psychological effect of the relationship from both the perspective of the colonised and coloniser.

Question 5

What does post-colonial studies investigate?

Answer 5

Colonial relations between the coloniser and the colonised.

Question 6

What are the psychological effects of the coloniser-colonised relationship?

Answer 6

1. A master-slave dyad - an unequal power relation.
2. A racial dyad.
3. Black/white is not simply about skin colour, but rather the meanings associated with black/white, cemented and solidified for hundreds of years.
4. Western/Eurocentric psychological theories privilege a white (the coloniser/master) consciousness, and devalue a black (the colonised/slave) consciousness.

Question 7

What does the history of psychology in SA expose?

Answer 7

A colonial legacy, particularly colonial violence attached to the knowledge psychology produced.

Question 8

In this context, what is colonial violence?

Answer 8

A form of psychological violence to one’s identity, or a mental/psychological form of colonisation.

Question 9

As as a result of colonial violence, how did native people suffer?

Answer 9

Native people suffered deep-seated inferiority complexes regarding their skin colour, identity, ethnicity etc.

Question 10

What is Liberation psychology?

Answer 10

1. A movement within the discipline of psychology.
2. Influenced by contexts with longstanding histories of colonialism such as South America, South Africa, etc.
3. The overarching goal is social justice.
4. Recurring emphasis on the perspectives, interests and knowledge of the oppressed.

Question 11

What are the 3 goals of liberation psychology?

Answer 11

1. De-ideologising everyday realities.
2. Recovering historical memory.
3. Privileging marginalised Perspectives.

Question 12

Explain what “De-ideologising Everyday Realities” is.

Answer 12

The aim is to critique the role of ideology and power in dominant institutions like academia and psychology.
- Our everyday knowledge is not neutral, objective or value-free.

Question 13

What is “Recovering Historical Memory”?

Answer 13

The recovery of repressed historical memories is replaced by the imposition of the coloniser’s understandings.

Question 14

What are the aims of RHM?

Answer 14

• Counteract institutional denial or collective forgetting of historical violence.
• Raise awareness of viable alternatives to colonial violence of the modern global order.
• Promotes a reconstruction of identity that provides unity and purpose around alternative understandings of history and progress.

Question 15

What are the main features of “privileging marginalised perspectives”?

Answer 15

• A concentrated effort to understand the realities of the oppressed.
• Give the oppressed a voice; give them authorship.
• Allowing the oppressed to speak shifts the knowledge, views and perspectives of privileged people.
• The production of a localised knowledge made by and for the people on the margins of society.

Question 16

What is cultural psychology?

Answer 16

Considers the relationship between the mind and culture as dynamic and mutually constituted.

Question 17

Explain what sociocultural constitution of psychological experience is (cultural psychology).

Answer 17

This refers to the idea that individuals’ psychological experiences, such as thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, are shaped by their sociocultural environment. Cultural norms, values, practices, and social institutions influence how people perceive themselves, others, and the world around them.

Question 18

Explain what the psychological constitution of sociocultural reality is (cultural psychology).

Answer 18

This concept suggests that individuals, through their psychological processes, actively contribute to the construction and maintenance of their sociocultural reality. People’s thoughts, beliefs, and actions shape the cultural practices, norms, and institutions of their society.

Question 19

What are the two strategies to decolonise psychology?

Answer 19

1. Normalising other experience.
2. De-naturalising conventional scientific wisdom.

Question 20

Explain how we can normalise other experiences.

Answer 20

• Normalising the experiences of the “abnormal” group.
• Recognising local experiences without the need for Western/Eurocentric enlightenment.
• Affirms the intellect and humanity of people in marginalised spaces.

Question 21

Explain how we can de-naturalise conventional scientific wisdom.

Answer 21

• Questioning the relevance and standards of convential and ‘natural’ scientific knowledge.
• Scientific knowledge is inherently Eurocentric and Western, and so its relevance, especially in countries that were colonised, needs to be de-naturalised.

Question 22

What is the main aim of decolonising psychology?

Answer 22

The aim is to resurrect the experiences and voices of people that have forgotten, silenced, marginalised and/or oppressed.