Racial Bias, and Mental Health
Psychology should be one of the least prejudiced sciences, because all of the science comes from grey matter. The Science, unfortunately, is racist, and demeaning. Although the bias is subtle, displayed primarily through micro-aggressions. The way racism has become overt in certain parts of life has greatly minimized the attention on the Science’s field. Explosive and derogatory rhetoric has become so prevalent that these smaller, less overt transgressions have made the smaller seem commonplace. Researchers find this to be most common through the experimental research conducted in private laboratories, says Keith Tuffin, co-creator of Psychology, Community, and the Recovering Racist, a novel that studies the context of racism through the bicultural lens of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
I believe Science, specifically Psychology, should be viewed as a body, rather than a generalization of topics. The body of Psychology offers a crossing over of many ideas and values that are present in many different aspects of itself. Racism is included. The Science is flawed, so are all aspects of Science, and it’s unfortunate to rely so heavily on flawed systems.
According to Tuffin, it’s relatively accurate to say that certain biases are found most commonly in places post-colonization. This could arguably be one of the reasons why there is so much social discourse within the United States currently. Psychology, Community, and the Recovering Racist focuses primarily on cultures in New Zealand and their struggles. The methodology in this concentration of racism can be deduced to “justifying discrimination, legitimizing exploitation and rationalizing prejudice” (Tuffin). I find it most interesting that this type of bias can be so present in Science, the type that is arguably the easiest to do without bias because the only thing that matters is cognition and behavior. It’s unfortunate, to say the least. Psychologists and therapists should offer the most comfort to their patients, but even that part of healthcare that’s supposed to be open-minded and trusted is filled with deceit.
