How Scientific Practices Formed Developmental Psychology in African American and Black Communities:
An overview of the practice and application of development in learning environments
Rhyus Goldman
Pitzer College
Abstract
This paper examines published articles on how scientific practices formed developmental psychology in African American and Black communities. It takes a closer look at communal, intergroup, and interpersonal learning (Hurley, 2009) and how that informs to students' learning methods. The formation of group identity (Sanchez, 2016) within young Black and African boys occurs through the creation of tight bonds. The paper also delves into the early stages of how Black and African Americans were treated through the scientific practices within the field of developmental psychology. Lastly, it looks at how all three factors play into effect within the socialization of developing children through specific and circumstantial understanding of individuals' backgrounds. The major themes that this paper will discuss are, Impact of Scientific Practices on Developmental Psychology (Harris, 2014), Community and Group Learning, Formation of Group Identity and Support (Sanchez, 2016), Historical Context and Social Identity, Cultural Considerations in Development (Segret, 2020) Challenges and Call to Action.
Keywords: Developmental Psychology, Scientific Practices, Group Learning
The Effects of How Scientific Practices Formed Developmental Psychology in African American and Black Communities: An overview of the practice and application of developmental psychology
African and Black people were brought to and shaped the United States of America against their will and consideration of their personhood. Enslavement created true social division among people based on race and class that served as a catalyst for the exploitation and racialization of people in America today. Three hundred years of purposeful mistreatment, silencing, and truth distortion up to the present moment in the Black diaspora can be examined through the practice and application of developmental psychology.Contemporary psychologists examine the ways that stages in modern development work in cultural attunement, sensitivity, and humility, Njoroge and Tobón, 2020, work in group learning, Hurley, 2009, as well as findings of emotional intimacy among boys, Sanchez, 2016. Racist stereotypes are perpetuated and contribute to the systemic racism ingrained in society, which is why these psychologists’ findings are so important towards understanding the impact of scientific practices on developmental psychology. This has led to research on how to better account for the developmental processes encompassing the complex dynamics of group learning and its interaction with students' ethnocultural backgrounds, particularly in African American contexts (Sanchez, 2016). There is a compelling need to further apply this research into practice within learning environments.
Despite the challenges, there is a call to action for educators, scholars, and practitioners to understand and address the unique needs of African American children by considering the complex interplay of historical and contextual factors in their development. This is especially true when considering the deep-rooted entanglement of scientific practices, particularly in the field of psychiatry (Seget, 2020) with the historical and social context of African American and Black communities. Yet throughout the adversity that African and Black children faced, in the past, and continue to face in the present moment, there is constant work being done to challenge the racist and classist notions of how scientific knowledge can be conducted. In this literature review, examples will be provided on how scientific practices inform and shape the constructed and applied information of developmental psychology within African American and Black communities. (Njoroge and Tobón, 2020)
Literature Review
Effects on Developmental Psychology in Learning Environments
Research has found that there are different ways of teaching in which a student can acquire skills that will make them more adept in their school experience and the future. Ethno-Cultural differences from one's background are a major reason to which some students succeed in some classroom environments and others don't. (Hurley, 2009) Communal, intergroup, and interpersonal learning are the three major pillars for how classes are taught. Many students do not learn within an environment that would work best for them, creating a narrative that an individual, as a student, is not as adept as their peers who thrive under the system that they are taught in. African American and Black students show that within-group variation in communalism (Hurley, 2009) creates a better narrative of how situational and cultural experience can give insight on developmental processes during childhood. The study finds that cooperative learning (Hurley, 2009) is shown to have higher consistency with communal tendencies for African Americans. The Hurley, 2009 study reminded us that “we do not mean to offer communal learning as a singular solution for any problem.” However, it does provide indicators towards educators meeting their students' needs by understanding the circumstance at which they come from, and implementing a more intricate way of helping their students develop. (Harris, 2014)
Effects on Developmental Psychology in Practice
Close emotional relationships are a key factor and foundational to understanding the science of the development of a sense of self for young Black and African Americans. This comes through the development of creating a safe space, within that space individuals find social support, group identity, and thus lead to bonding and friendship (Sanchez, 2016). Specifically, when young African American students were paired with an older mentor, they created relationships with rapport building by doing activities and getting to know each other. “The five processes that led to close mentoring relationships were (a) rapport-building activities, (b) safe space, (c) mutual support, (d) group identity, and (e) trust.” (Sanchez, 2016) Through this mentoring an effective safe space was built where relationships that were similar to family could support group identity. The participants felt secure that they could trust each other, thus fostering shared experience and insight could be learned and afrimed, bolstering group identity. The “Brotherhood” created constructs that are harder to find when one guards themselves off and is not completely comfortable when trust is not established. The safe space that was created in the mentoring program allowed room for one to be unapologetic due to the social support that was reinforced by the bond that was formed. The study concludes by stating, “Focusing efforts to resist traditional conventions of masculinity and defy negative stereotypes about boys of color by helping them create safe havens to have emotional intimacy with other adolescent boys would be beneficial for their healthy development” (Santos, 2013).
Effects of Forming Scientific Practices
Lacking acceptance or accounting of Black and African American experience in developmental psychology is an intentional construction to keep race and class hierarchy. Those who fit, and those who don't, it adds layers of complexity of love and the necessity of acceptance, community, and acceptance. In the beginning of the twentieth century, social dominance was enforced when America’s Jim Crow and the Nazi party in Germany would soon unite in an aryan embrace, and psychiatric patients were on the front lines of their race wars (Segret, 2020). Psychiatric patients were treated with little care if they were not a part of the aryan race. This predicated Social Dominance Orientation (Sidanius, Devereux, Pratto 1992), meaning within human social groups, there exist discernible group-based social hierarchies that vary across societies. Serget gives insight to the efforts of forming scientific practices of development by using Paul Gilroy’s study. Gilroy writes, “Understanding the history and culture of the African diaspora—so shaped by racial slavery and imperial conquest—required us all to rethink modernity’s times and spaces, in other words as Gilroy suggests to rethink modernity from the slave’s point of view.” (Gilroy, 1993) He writes about an African American man in 1910, Stork Hardly, who seemingly had epilepsy that was becoming worse and he was admitted to the psychiatry ward. When Hardly was being treated, he was asked about his happiness level, to which Hardly ironically laughed. The circumstances of his life highlight the systemic racism embedded within psychiatric institutions, where diagnoses were often influenced by racial biases and discriminatory practices. Moreover, it reveals how scientific ideas, such as eugenics, were utilized to justify and perpetuate white supremacist ideologies, further marginalizing and dehumanizing African Americans. Toni Morrison captures social identity theory, (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) as the need for self esteem leading to personal identity and group identity. In reflecting on this time period for African Americans, she writes, “You do not deserve love regardless of the suffering you have endured. You do not deserve love because somebody did you wrong. You do not deserve love just because you want it. You can only earn by practice and careful contemplation the right to express it and you have to learn how to accept it.” (Morrison, 2017)
When reflecting on the work that Sanchez, 2016, and Hurley, 2009, have done by focusing on individual children, and also incorporating the work of future educators, scholars, and practitioners, one must become familiar with the political, historical, and contextual factors that influence the functioning and development of African American children (Harris, 2014). The falsehoods created by flawed scientific practices have stifled developmental psychology that can be deconstructed from the history of America’s Jim Crow and the Nazi party in Germany would soon unite in an aryan embrace, and psychiatric patients would be on the front lines of their race wars (Segret, 2020). Hurley, 2009 states that when educators learn to see their students’ cognitive and behavioral tendencies through an interpretational lens that takes into account the integrity of the children’s home- and community-based socialization experiences, we can hope to interrupt cycles of stereotyping and bias, shape pedagogies that capitalize on their existing strengths, and, in so affirming them, contribute in consistently positive ways to their social and emotional development as African Americans. This opposes and relates against these harmful malpractices that have plagued developmental psychology for Black and American American people.
Strategies in Developmental Psychology
It is essential to understand the sensitive cultural differences that must be incorporated through children's early stages of development. Having a more nuanced understanding of the family’s cultural expectations will prevent misunderstanding and miscommunication (Njoroge and Tobón, 2020). When proper tools are in place that support a nuanced understanding of a student, like integrating cultural considerations into assessments and treatment planning, a foundational understanding that addresses individual and direct needs can be met. For a child's success, ultimately promoting optimal development and wellbeing across different cultural contexts is needed.
Passing: Ineffective Scientific Practices for Development
If a child comes from a background that is not conducive to the child , Harris expands that it could come from the situation in which they are raised, whether that be White adoptive or foster parents being ill equipped to socialize African American children about racial issues or the number of African American children residing in homes with incomes at or below the poverty level is a result of geographical factors (Harris, 2016). The Afrocentric Model of Personality (Laher, 2013) suggests that character adaptations are heavily affected by the treatment of a biological basis by external influences. It is more nuanced than nature versus nurture due to the many complexities of forming one's self concept and is refined through character adaptations. The conditions for the development of personality are formed by biological tendencies and norms which are created through particular life events that affect behavior and continue to shape adaptations towards ongoing personality development. This is why (Hurley, 2009) emphasizes that his findings are not singular solutions to the greater study of Black and African American development.
Dynamics of Group Learning
The studies by Sanchez, 2016, Hurley, 2009, Njoroge and Tobón, 2020, and Harris, 2014 align and prove that if there is a true understanding of how to socialize a student in a classroom environment, then the student will thrive. They agree that when the background a student comes from is circumstantially different from their peers, there is a need to get to know individual social and personal identities. Social support and perceived familial involvement are significant predicatetors for a child's self esteem or lack thereof. The studies that have been discussed in this paper have shown examples of personal and group achievement. When done successfully and inspite of societal factors, Black and African American students develop positively. The collective research ultimately advocates for a nuanced approach to education that acknowledges and leverages cultural diversity, aiming to create equitable learning environments that empower students from all backgrounds to succeed.
Culture
Hurley, 2009 delves into why communalism appears to be a benefactor for African American students, but the meaningful take away that should be considered is community culture and the expansive structure that comes into effect within group learning. This pairs with the study that was conducted by Sanchez, 2016 in which the importance of creating close mentoring relationships, emphasizing bonding, reciprocal love, and responsibility. Both create positive factors towards the development of Black and African Americans despite negative environmental influences that stem from social and societal predispositions.
Discussion
Throughout the literature, it is demonstrated how scientific practices have significantly impacted approaches in developmental psychology with African American and Black communities, an understanding of the challenges and experiences, and the crucial role of community support and acceptance in navigating systemic oppression. There is an emphasis on Afrocentric themes of collective work and responsibility by making and maintaining positive social relationships through helping others while also nurturing one's own self view. The historical treatment of Black and African American individuals and communities through the field of developmental psychology, influenced by racial biases and eugenics, underscores the importances of the work that has been discussed by the contemporary scholars referenced in this paper to continue to apply positive adaptations despite negative environmental influences. The research clearly shows that taking ownership and precision of one’s own environment, as well as reflecting on one's own circumstances in relationship and community with others who share similar cultural experiences, provides a vital way to restore humanity and empower marginalized youth who are distinctly different and diverse. The need for this research to be further applied through practice within learning environments is imperative for the betterment of our society.
References
Sanchez, Bernadette, Kevin D. Pinkston, Adina C. Cooper, Carlos Luna, and Shelby T. Wyatt:
"One falls, we all fall: How boys of color develop close peer mentoring relationships." Applied Developmental Science (2016): 1-28. DOI: 10.1080/10888691.2016.1208092.
Hurley, Eric A., Brenda A. Allen, and A. Wade Boykin.
"Culture and the Interaction of Student Ethnicity with Reward Structure in Group Learning." Cognition and Instruction (2009): 128-146. DOI: 10.1080/07370000902797346.
Harris, Yvette R., and James A. Graham.
"Demographics: A Portrait of African American Children and African American Adolescents." The African American Child: Development and Challenges Account (n.d.): 1-18.
Morrison, Toni.
"The Origin of Others: Configuration of Others." In The Origin of Others, 55-74. Book Chapter 4
Njoroge, Wamjikū F.M., and Amalia Londoño Tobón.
"Infant Psychiatry, Culture and Early Childhood." In Cultural Psychiatry With Children, Adolescents, and Families, 283-295. Book Chapter 17
Segrest, Mab.
"Jim Crowed Psychiatric Modernity: Administration of Lunacy: Racism and the Haunting Psychiatry at Milledgeville Asylum." In Administration of Lunacy: Racism and the Haunting Psychiatry at Milledgeville Asylum, 116-125. Book Chapter 5
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