Psychological Principles and the Black Experience

Front Cover
University Press of America, 1990 - Psychology - 180 pages
This book demonstrates how the basic body of knowledge in psychology can be applied to the experiences and behavior of blacks, as differentiated from those of whites. The author begins with a brief description of African culture, discusses the slave trade, and presents a sketch of the initial experiences of other ethnic groups in the United States. Following a discussion of black psychology and black psychologists, the author analyzes and relates specifically to the black experience such precepts as learning theories, perception, intelligence, frustration/adjustment, and personality. Includes discussion on criminal behavior, substance abuse, suicide and mental illness from a black perspective. The author concludes with an exploration of the factors that must be considered if psychological intervention with black patients and clients is to be effective. Contents: A Brief Look at the Past; Black Psychology and Black Psychologists; Learning and Conditioning; Perception and Consciousness; Black Intellectual Ability; Frustration and Adjustment; Personality; Socially Deviant and Socially Destructive Behavior; Mental Disorders; and Helping Troubled Blacks.
 

Contents

A Brief Look at the Past
1
Slavery in Africa
4
The Beginning of the European Slave Trade
5
The Source and Types of Africans Sold into Slavery
8
The Experiences of Other Ethnic Groups in the United States
10
African Survivals
17
Black Psychology and Black Psychologists
23
Black American Psychologists
25
The HeredityEnvironment Controversy
70
CultureSpecific CultureFree and CultureFair Tests of Intelligence
93
The Scholastic Aptitude Test
97
Frustration and Adjustment
101
Reactions to Frustration
103
Defense Mechanisms
104
Sources of Frustration for Blacks
107
Black Coping Devices
109

Traditional Methods of Studying Behavior
31
Learning and Conditioning
35
Classical Conditioning Theory
36
Operant Conditioning Theory
42
Social Learning Theory
45
Conditioning and Language Development
46
Language Development and Black English
47
Perception and Consciousness
54
Understanding Perception
55
Perception and the Black Experience
59
Black Intellectual Ability
64
History of Intelligence Testing
65
Validity and Reliability
68
BlackWhite Differences in Intelligence Testing
69
Personality
117
Black Personality
118
Socially Deviant and SelfDestructive Behavior
128
Substance Abuse
131
Suicide
136
Mental Disorders
142
Abnormality and Black Behavior
145
Helping Troubled Blacks
150
Racial Factors in Psychological Intervention
151
Nonracial Variables in the Pyschotherapeutic Relationship
157
African Personality as a Factor in the Helping Process
158
References
163
Index
175
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About the author (1990)

Lawrence N. Houston is Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Rutgers University.

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