Readings in Ethnic Psychology [antikvár]

Introduction Almost since the beginning of its history, the United States has been blessed by the cultural and ethnic diversity of its people. American Indians trace their early roots to massive population moves from other continents. Later, the country was peopled by immigrants from Europe searching for economic advancement or religious and philosophical freedoms; Africans brought against their will to labor the land; Mexicans whose land was annexed to the United States; Asians who worked the land and built railroads; and, the groups of Europeans, Asians, and Latin Americans who in the past few decades have contributed with their labor to the economic advancement of the country. The resulting tapestry of cultures and ethnicities created a multicultural society that continually tries to define itself, probably because of its uniqueness and the extent of its diversity. Unfortunately, this multicultural process while enriching people's lives also has created interpersonal difficulties and societal problems that are still unresolved. At the end of the twentieth century, residents of the United States are grappling with issues such as prejudice, racism, unequal distribution of resources, moves to declare English as the official language, limited nature of services to immigrants, lack of culturally appropriate research and services, and challenges to affirmative action policies to redress past injustices. Social and behavioral scientists have made important, although at times limited, contributions to our understanding of these problems. Psychologists also have been slow to recognize the benefits of ethnic diversity and to apply psychological principles to the solution of social problems. For example, researchers and practitioners alike have typically ignored the role of culture and ethnicity on human behavior. Our research has seldom looked at the beliefs, attitudes, norms, and behaviors of members of our various ethnic groups. Our practitioners have seldom incorporated ethnic and cultural characteristics in the design or implementation of their interventions. Our training of professionals often ignored the variations brought about by ethnicity and culture in our theories and related research findings. Fortunately, this sad state of affairs has begun to change. Training programs, including undergraduate departments, have begun to include cultural and ethnic components in their curricula. Researchers are being asked by governmental and private firnding sources to include