Article Version of Record

Decolonizing psychological science: Introduction to the special thematic section

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Adams, Glenn
Dobles, Ignacio
Gómez, Luis H.
Kurtiş, Tuğçe
Molina, Ludwin E.

Abstract / Description

Despite unprecedented access to information and diffusion of knowledge across the globe, the bulk of work in mainstream psychological science still reflects and promotes the interests of a privileged minority of people in affluent centers of the modern global order. Compared to other social science disciplines, there are few critical voices who reflect on the Euro-American colonial character of psychological science, particularly its relationship to ongoing processes of domination that facilitate growth for a privileged minority but undermine sustainability for the global majority. Moved by mounting concerns about ongoing forms of multiple oppression (including racialized violence, economic injustice, unsustainable over-development, and ecological damage), we proposed a special thematic section and issued a call for papers devoted to the topic of "decolonizing psychological science". In this introduction to the special section, we first discuss two perspectives—liberation psychology and cultural psychology—that have informed our approach to the topic. We then discuss manifestations of coloniality in psychological science and describe three approaches to decolonization—indigenization, accompaniment, and denaturalization—that emerge from contributions to the special section. We conclude with an invitation to readers to submit their own original contributions to an ongoing effort to create an online collection of digitally linked articles on the topic of decolonizing psychological science.

Keyword(s)

coloniality decolonial theory epistemic violence cultural psychology liberation psychology indigenization accompaniment denaturalization colonial mentality colonialidad giro decolonial opción decolonial violencia epistémica Psicología Cultural Psicología de la Liberación indigenización acompañamiento desnaturalización mentalidad colonial

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2015-08-21

Journal title

Journal of Social and Political Psychology

Volume

3

Issue

1

Page numbers

213–238

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Adams, G., Dobles, I., Gómez, L. H., Kurtiş, T., & Molina, L. E. (2015). Decolonizing psychological science: Introduction to the special thematic section. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3(1), 213–238. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.564
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Adams, Glenn
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Dobles, Ignacio
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Gómez, Luis H.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Kurtiş, Tuğçe
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Molina, Ludwin E.
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-11-26T12:45:12Z
  • Made available on
    2018-11-26T12:45:12Z
  • Date of first publication
    2015-08-21
  • Abstract / Description
    Despite unprecedented access to information and diffusion of knowledge across the globe, the bulk of work in mainstream psychological science still reflects and promotes the interests of a privileged minority of people in affluent centers of the modern global order. Compared to other social science disciplines, there are few critical voices who reflect on the Euro-American colonial character of psychological science, particularly its relationship to ongoing processes of domination that facilitate growth for a privileged minority but undermine sustainability for the global majority. Moved by mounting concerns about ongoing forms of multiple oppression (including racialized violence, economic injustice, unsustainable over-development, and ecological damage), we proposed a special thematic section and issued a call for papers devoted to the topic of "decolonizing psychological science". In this introduction to the special section, we first discuss two perspectives—liberation psychology and cultural psychology—that have informed our approach to the topic. We then discuss manifestations of coloniality in psychological science and describe three approaches to decolonization—indigenization, accompaniment, and denaturalization—that emerge from contributions to the special section. We conclude with an invitation to readers to submit their own original contributions to an ongoing effort to create an online collection of digitally linked articles on the topic of decolonizing psychological science.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Adams, G., Dobles, I., Gómez, L. H., Kurtiş, T., & Molina, L. E. (2015). Decolonizing psychological science: Introduction to the special thematic section. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3(1), 213–238. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.564
    en_US
  • ISSN
    2195-3325
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1373
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1766
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.564
  • Keyword(s)
    coloniality
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    decolonial theory
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    epistemic violence
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    cultural psychology
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    liberation psychology
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    indigenization
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    accompaniment
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    denaturalization
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    colonial mentality
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    colonialidad
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    giro decolonial
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    opción decolonial
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    violencia epistémica
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    Psicología Cultural
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    Psicología de la Liberación
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    indigenización
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    acompañamiento
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    desnaturalización
    es_ES
  • Keyword(s)
    mentalidad colonial
    es_ES
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Decolonizing psychological science: Introduction to the special thematic section
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    1
  • Journal title
    Journal of Social and Political Psychology
  • Page numbers
    213–238
  • Volume
    3
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record