American Psychologist最新文献

In 2021, the American Psychological Association (APA) passed a series of resolutions that initiated a process of atonement for its participation in promoting, perpetuating, and failing to challenge racism and discrimination toward communities of color (APA, 2021a, 2021b). The purpose of this special issue was to examine the ways in which the field of psychology has perpetuated racial hierarchy and harm toward communities of color. More importantly, the included articles offer guidance on the mechanisms and strategies that will aid in the dismantling of racism in the field of psychology and support efforts of reconciliation, repair, and healing. In this introduction, we present a brief history of racism in the field of psychology and highlight theories and methods that should be considered as efforts to combat systemic racial inequities. Articles in this special issue fall into four specific themes that include bias and scientific racism in research, intergroup collaboration, organizational and clinical implications, and changing the culture of psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Recently, there have been several calls for psychologists to dismantle systemic racism within the field (e.g., Buchanan et al., 2021; Dupree & Boykin, 2021; Wilcox et al., 2022). In this article, we discuss why incorporating critical histories into psychology curricula can be beneficial to this effort. We focus on three potential pathways: critical histories provide counterstories that challenge racist narratives, critical histories promote contexts that encourage antiracism practices (antiracist affordances), and critical histories can signal identity safety and belonging. To adequately integrate critical histories into psychology curricula, we make three recommendations. First, create and support a departmental curriculum that engages critical histories in the field of psychology at the undergraduate and graduate level (we offer some example topics and readings). Second, based on our own training experiences, we recommend that psychology graduate programs facilitate opportunities to take interdisciplinary courses that cover the history of race and racism in domestic and/or global contexts. Finally, we recommend funding research and supporting student projects that produce critical histories in psychology to expand the knowledge base of our field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychology, like water, is not inherently toxic. However, historical and contemporary currents, particularly those pertaining to racism in the United States, have poisoned the field and caused harm to Black communities. As early-career scholars, the authors note both the importance of and challenges inherent in rectification, especially in light of the American Psychological Association's (APA) resolutions in 2021 aimed at addressing and redressing systemic racism within psychology and beyond. Through a primary focus on anti-Black racism and the use of an extended metaphor of water, we utilize personal reflection, interviews, and historical accounts to better understand how racism has impacted the field of psychology from within to better consider efforts to reduce its impact on the greater Black American community. We note how the APA was founded with and perpetuated racist scholarship and practice and consider the founding and subsequent resistance of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) as a cautionary tale to depict what can happen when the water becomes too toxic. We then seek to use this history of internal dynamics to better understand a superordinate goal, that is, how to extend antiracism efforts outward. We interviewed venerable Black psychologists and provided our own recommendations to consider what is necessary to support healing among Black communities impacted by racism. We conclude by acknowledging that although the waves of psychology can be consuming, terse, and painful, our ability to detoxify the water is possible with perspectives that cultivate deep pools of inquiry, mutual understanding, and action. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Calls for culture change abound. Headlines regularly feature calls to change the "broken" or "toxic" cultures of institutions and organizations, and people debate which norms and practices across society are now defunct. As people blame current societal problems on culture, the proposed fix is "culture change." But what is culture change? How does it work? Can it be effective? This article presents a novel social psychological framework for intentional culture change-actively and deliberately modifying the mutually reinforcing features of a culture. Synthesizing insights from research and application, it proposes an integrated, evidence-based perspective centered around seven core principles for intentional culture change: Principle 1: People are culturally shaped shapers, so they can be culture changers; Principle 2: Identifying, mapping, and evaluating the key levels of culture helps locate where to target change; Principle 3: Culture change happens in both top-down and bottom-up ways and is more effective when the levels are in alignment; Principle 4: Culture change can be easier when it leverages existing core values and harder when it challenges deep-seated defaults and biases; Principle 5: Culture change typically involves power struggles and identity threats; Principle 6: Cultures interact with one another and change can cause backlash, resistance, and clashes; and Principle 7: Timing and readiness matter. While these principles may be broadly used, here they are applied to the issue of social inequality in the United States. Even though culture change feels particularly daunting in this problem area, it can also be empowering-especially when people leverage evidence-based insights and tools to reimagine and rebuild their cultures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The underlying mechanisms of bright light therapy (BLT) in the prevention of individuals with subthreshold depression symptoms are yet to be elucidated. The goal of the study was to assess the correlation between midbrain monoamine-producing nuclei treatment-related functional connectivity (FC) changes and depressive symptom improvements in subthreshold depression. This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted between March 2020 and June 2022. A total of 74 young adults with subthreshold depression were randomly assigned to receive 8-week BLT (N = 38) or placebo (N = 36). Depression severity was measured using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). The participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and after treatment. The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), ventral tegmental area (VTA), and habenula seed-based whole-brain FC were analyzed. A multivariate regression model examined whether baseline brain FC was associated with changes in scores on HDRS during BLT treatment. BLT group displayed significantly decreased HDRS scores from pre- to posttreatment compared to the placebo group. BLT increased the FC between the DRN and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and between the left VTA and right superior frontal gyrus (SFG). Altered VTA-SFG connectivity was associated with HDRS changes in the BLT group. Moreover, the baseline FC between DRN and mPFC could predict HDRS changes in BLT. These results suggested that BLT improves depressive symptoms and increases midbrain monoamine-producing nuclei and frontal cortex connectivity in subthreshold depression, which raises the possibility that pretreatment FC of DRN-mPFC could be used as a biomarker for improved BLT treatment in depression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

This article memorializes William R. Safarjan (1943-2023). Dr. Safarjan spent much of his career working as a clinical psychologist for the California Department of State Hospitals at Atascadero State Hospital, 1984-2009. During his professional career, Dr. Safarjan served in many roles with the California Psychological Association, including president in 1998, liaison to the California Psychological Association, and membership chair and chair of the research political action committee. He served as vice chair of the American Psychological Association (APA) membership committee, chair of the APA committee of state leaders, council of representatives from California. In addition to his work in psychology, Dr. Safarjan served in several professional organizations including Rotary International where he was recognized as an outstanding club president (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Journal analyses have documented the historical neglect of research pertaining to the Majority World in psychological science, and the need for inclusivity is clearly articulated to ensure a science that is comprehensive and globally applicable. However, no systematic efforts have explored the perspectives of researchers working with Majority World communities regarding the challenges they experience in conducting and disseminating research and ways to address them. Our aim was to explore these challenges from the perspective of these researchers using an embedded mixed-methods design. Based on responses of 232 researchers who engage in psychological research with Majority World communities (68.1% from Africa, Asia, or Latin America, remaining from the Minority World), we identified challenges in three areas: (a) stemming from an inherent bias against Majority World research, (b) experienced by all researchers, which nonetheless are heightened for those engaging in research with Majority World populations, and (c) specific to researchers affiliated with Majority World institutions. Based on the findings, we recommend journal editorial teams and funding agencies: (a) acknowledge and address the bias inherent in the publication and funding process, (b) recruit editorial team members, program officers, and reviewers from the Majority World, (c) train editorial team members, program officers, and reviewers from the Minority World to thoughtfully evaluate Majority World research, and (d) provide resources for researchers affiliated with Majority World institutions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).