Chapter 2: A different story of psychology: Rediscovering historical memory

This chapter focuses on telling the stories of key events and people in the history of psychology. We center the narratives and theories of psychologists who are often rendered invisible in the canon of traditional psychology. We explore the contribution of Women, Black/African American, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian/Asian American, LGBTQIA+ clinicians, and those who sit at the intersections of multiple identities. We also provide additional information about some of the “founders” or well-known psychologists in intro books and explore the relationship between their theory development and their historical, geographical socio-political context.

Embodiment Practice: This workbook might bring up a variety of thoughts and feelings. You may have used and helpful strategies to help you manage whatever comes up for you. We offer an embodiment practice for grounding, being present with the material, and potentially for managing any thoughts or feelings that come up for you.

• Feel your body
• You can do this sitting or standing. Focus on how your body feels from head to toe, noticing each part. Consider:
  • your hair on your shoulders or forehead
  • the weight of your shirt on your shoulders
  • whether your arms feel loose or stiff at your sides
  • your heartbeat, and whether it’s rapid or steady
  • whether your stomach feels full or you feel hungry
  • whether your legs are crossed, or your feet are resting on the floor
• Curl your fingers and wiggle your toes. Are you barefoot or in shoes? How does the floor feel against your feet?

Relating to Reality: Comparing Your Life with the Scenario or Personal Perspectives: Connecting Your Experiences to Real-Life Situations

She enters the classroom to start her first day of graduate school in psychology. She is both proud and a little nervous as a first-generation graduate student. She knows that she has the support of her parents, family, and friends in her pursuit of a PsyD. She introduces herself to the other students and notices that she is the only visibly Brown skinned student in the class. Only one of her professors identifies as a Person of Color. She is in graduate school because she wants to engage in healing work with people of the Black diaspora who have experienced multiple levels of trauma; interpersonally, in community, and from systems. She takes multiple classes in her first semester: Research, History, and Trauma. None of the courses highlight theories from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color psychologists. When she asks her professors about this lack, almost all look flustered. Some add the names of marginalized psychologists as an aside, some tell her that there would be a special discussion about “diversity issues” at the end of the course, while others tell her that her questions were not relevant to the course. However, she did not believe these answers were sufficient; she knew there was more to psychology and wanted to discover it. So, she reached out to her fellow students and others who felt similarly. They ended up doing their own research, found many stories, events, and theories they had not been exposed to. And, in the end, they presented their findings to their professors at a faculty meeting, along with a petition calling for professors to tell the stories of all people in psychology. Her experiences are not unique. They used the following quote as their organizing mantra: “Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”

As a reminder, Liberation psychology is an approach to understanding individuals, communities, culture, and society that centers those impacted by oppression and marginalization. It is an approach that resists oppression, engages in social action, and calls on the field of psychology to center justice. It argues that shifting the focus in the field of psychology (and in education) to root causes of problems, identifying the impact of oppression in psychology, and utilizing a strength-based focus in teaching, theorizing, and intervening, will support transforming systems of injustice and oppression for justice and holistic well-being.^[1]

(2.1) Have you had any experiences that are similar to anything you read in the above story? If so, how did you feel? How did you respond? If not, what are your feelings after reading the above? How do you think you would respond?

(2.2)Do you see any principles of liberation psychology in this story? If so, which ones? If not, what could be added to reflect principles of liberation psychology?

The next sections of the workbook will go on a journey of naming the stories of psychologists who are often made invisible in the field. We will identify key events in the history of psychology that are often not centered or discussed in psychology textbooks or courses.

This section will start with the stories of Dr. Robert V. Guthrie, who “shed light on the embarrassment that was early psychology and its extraordinary dedication to racism” (Guthrie, 2004, p. xi), and will continue by reviewing key events from the 1850s to the 2000s.

Allwood & Berry (2006) reiterate how human behavior in general is directly influenced by the cultural context in which that behavior is developed. They go on to remind us that concepts, theories, methods, and interpretations were created in a specific cultural context – a Western European-American one, based on the Judeo-Christian religion and worldview. As they state, ”The outcome is the widespread presence of one indigenous psychology (that of Western societies), which has been exported to, and largely accepted by other societies”.^[2] Their statements reinforce the reality that US psychology does not produce or make known universal truths, but instead reinforces a specific psychology, a specific belief of being in the world, a belief that does not always reflect the realities of many groups of people.

For example, Guthrie (2004) points out that the history of Black psychology begins with African civilizations, including those of the Yoruba, Shona, Nubian, and Songhai kingdoms. Each of these kingdoms was noted for its culture, breadth, and artwork. And each had their philosophies and ways of understanding the world and the people in it. One of the oldest libraries in the world, the Library of Alexandria, was in Egypt, on the African continent. It “became the intellectual jewel of the ancient world… at its peak it may have included over 500,000 papyrus scrolls containing works of literature and texts on history, law, mathematics and science”.^[3] Yet, these empires and their intellectual contributions are not referenced in psychology courses as contributors to “American” psychology, even though African people were and continue to be part of American culture. Similarly, many current psychological interventions utilize “Eastern” beliefs and worldviews, such as mindfulness, which is an aspect of Buddhism. However, the cultures that give rise to these interventions are rarely given credit or cited for their contribution to the field. Additionally, the theories and interventions are divorced from the cultural context within which they developed, giving rise to cultural appropriation.

Kirmeyer (2015) writes, “Mindfulness meditation and other techniques drawn from Buddhism have become increasingly popular as therapeutic interventions in psychiatry. In much of this work, Buddhism is portrayed as a psychology closely akin to cognitive psychology. However, in the societies where it originated, Buddhism is a system of practice that has strong ethical and moral dimensions. Does extracting techniques like meditation from the social context in which they originate change the nature and effects of the practice? What is the relationship of these practices to everyday Buddhism as lived in Asian countries or by migrants to the West? How has the Westernization and psychologization of Buddhism and other contemplative traditions altered their meaning? What are the implications of a cultural and contextual view of mindfulness for continued dialogue between Buddhist thought and psychiatry?”.^[4]

(2.2) Do you think the cultural context of where a theory develops matters? Why or why not?

Are you curious about how mental illness was treated throughout the world? Is there a specific country or region that you could look into, and ask questions such as: “How was mental illness treated in _____ during ____ time?” Hold on to this information before reading the following sections about psychology.

The United States as a constitutional republic is 248 years old, dating from the Declaration of Independence in 1776. While this makes it relatively young compared to many civilizations worldwide, it’s important to acknowledge that this refers specifically to the European-derived nation-state, not to the Indigenous peoples and nations who inhabited these lands for thousands of years before European colonization. Many Native American nations and civilizations have histories stretching back millennia on this continent, with rich and complex societies, governments, and cultural traditions that long predate the founding of the United States.
Before examining the development of psychology within the United States, it’s important to understand how mental health and illness were conceptualized in other cultures and civilizations throughout earlier historical periods. Keep in mind, this is not a comprehensive list, only a sampling.

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian approaches to mental health included healing methods like dream interpretation and cathartic rituals. Many of these rituals are similar to methods used today. For example, a cathartic exercise was to write a letter to a deceased relative (Metwaly, et al. 2021). Ancient Egyptians recognized that the brain was the source of mental abilities, and acknowledged states of consciousness in a way that is consistent with today’s understanding of cognitive functions such as concentration and attention (Nasser, 1987).

China

Early Chinese thought included a detailed psychological system, developed long ago, that shares notable similarities with early Greek thought. According to Fernberger, (1935), both systems relied on a foundation of cosmological elements and used psychological analyses to establish a basis for ethics and explain ethical reactions. The ancient Chinese system connected the Five Elements to human experiences like sensations, emotions, and virtues.

According to the ancient Chinese, emotions like grief or anger were thought to disrupt the flow of Qi, which led to mental disturbances (Zhang, et al., 2015). Qi, which translates to “breath” or “air”, is the vital energy, or life force that drives bodily functions and maintains life. According to Zhang (2015), Chinese medicine was based on Yin and Yang principles, the Seven Emotions were categorized with opposing effects on Qi and blood circulation. Emotions like happiness, anger, and fright, attributed to Yang, were believed to stimulate circulation. Conversely, emotions such as sorrow, sadness, and fear, linked to Yin, were thought to impede circulation.

South Africa

According to Shange and Ross (2022), African traditional healing practices for mental illness have been deeply rooted in spirituality, collectivism, and holistic care. Traditional healers, including diviners (Sangomas) and herbalists (Inyangas), diagnose mental illness through throwing bones, spiritual consultations, observations, and history-taking. Causes of mental illness can be attributed to ancestral callings, social transgressions, emotional trauma, and physical factors like substance abuse or head injuries. Treatments can involve cleansing rituals, herbal medicines, burning of protective herbs, and ceremonies to restore spiritual balance. Some healing methods emphasize understanding “why” illness occurs and restoring harmony between the individual, their ancestors, and the community. While these practices have been marginalized during colonial rule, they remain widely used today, often alongside biomedical approaches.

India

According to Nizamie and Goyal (2010), the treatment of mental illness in ancient India was deeply influenced by Ayurveda, with texts like the Charaka Samhita describing mental disorders as imbalances in the three doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, and recommending treatments such as herbal medicine, meditation, and purification rituals. Temples served as early healing centers where priests and healers provided spiritual and psychological care, often integrating religious practices with medical interventions. The physician Sushruta also contributed to early psychiatric understanding, recognizing hereditary and environmental factors in mental illness and advocating for holistic treatments.
During colonial rule, British authorities established mental asylums in India, prioritizing custodial care over indigenous healing traditions, which led to the marginalization of traditional Ayurvedic and spiritual approaches to mental health treatment.

Iraq and The First Hospital Dedicated to Mental Health

We have the history of modern psychology as it’s understood and taught in the United States. Separately, there’s the longer and globally diverse history of mental health treatment. For instance, the first hospital dedicated to mental illness is often cited as being in Baghdad, Iraq, in the 8th century. Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakariya Al-Razi is recognized for his revolutionary contributions to mental health treatment at the time. He challenged the prevailing belief that mental health issues stemmed from supernatural causes, arguing instead that they should be treated as medical conditions. Furthermore, he acknowledged the significant impact of early childhood relationships on an individual’s mental well-being and functioning.^[5]

Psychology in the United States was developed predominantly by White men during the pre and post Civil War period (approximately 1850-1900). These early psychologists supported belief in White superiority through research on individual differences among racial groups. Programs, departments, degrees, societies and schools were created during a time of national debates on slavery, the continued attempted genocide of Indigenous people and removal of them from their traditional lands to reservations, the Chinese Exclusion Act which at the federal government level prohibited immigration from China, and the decision of “separate but equal”  in education by the Supreme Court in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision.^[6]

According to a comprehensive report by The Cummings Center for the History of Psychology (CCHP) at The University of Akron, “our historical review of psychology’s harms to people of color indicates that psychologists have, in both the past and present:

• Established and participated in scientific models and approaches rooted in scientific racism;
• Created, sustained, and promulgated ideas of human hierarchy through the construction, study, and interpretation of racial difference;
• Promoted the idea that racial difference is biologically based and fixed;
• Used psychological science and practice to support segregated and subpar education for people of color;
• Created and promoted widespread use of psychological tests and instruments that discriminated against people of color;
• Failed to take concerted action in response to calls for an end to testing and psychometric racism;
• Supported the widespread use of educational assessments and interventions that were lucrative for the field of psychology, but harmed people of color;
• Provided ideological support for and failed to speak out against the colonial framework of the boarding and day school systems for First Peoples of the Americas;
• Created, sustained, and promoted a view of people of color as deficient or damaged;
• Applied psychological science and practice to oppose “race-mixing” and to support segregation, sterilization, and anti-marriage laws, using the ideas of early 20th century eugenics;
• Failed to represent the approaches, practices, voices, and concerns of people of color within the field of psychology and society;
• Failed to respond or responded too slowly in the face of clear social harms to people of color.”^[7]

Early psychiatrists/psychologists/anthropologists used religious, philosophical, and scientific views to uphold their beliefs in the inferiority of darker-skinned people. These views were used to justify colonialism and slavery. Benjamin Rush, a White physician who was later referred to as the “Father of American Psychiatry,” created the term drapetomania. Drapetomania was a diagnosis given to enslaved people, and its characteristic was enslaved people’s “uncontrollable desire for freedom,” which led them to escape slavery. Rush made the desire to leave the horrors of slavery into a psychiatric condition and recommended that slaveholders whip the desire out of them.^[8]

Both anthropologists and psychologists investigated differences in racial intelligence, personality characteristics, and physical features, and they joined under the term “Ethnical Psychology.” Ethnical psychology was created in 1871 in Germany and was the melding of psychology and ethnology (a subset of anthropology that focused on the study of race). However, psychology textbooks often start the story of psychology with Western philosophy and William Wundt’s first laboratory of experimental psychology in Leipzig, Germany, in 1879. Textbooks focus on how his work led to two schools of thought: structuralism and functionalism. However, what is often not named is the sociopolitical context that surrounded Wundt and his work and how that shaped his methods and conclusions.

Seeing what was happening in the world while the first “psychology laboratory” was created, are you beginning to see modern psychology within a historical context? Does this bring up any questions for you as you learn about historical figures or events within the field of psychology?

(2.3) Have you heard of the term Ethnical psychology? Did you know of the early relationship between anthropology and psychology? How do you feel about the use of psychology to justify racism, colonialism, and slavery? Feel free to respond to the extent that you choose to. We encourage you to avoid constraining yourself and your answers by focusing on making sure your feelings sound logical or clear. Feel free to express yourself as you want.

During this period, enslaved people and Indigenous people did not meekly accept racism and colonization. Slave revolts^[9] occurred with Nat Turner’s multiracial revolt in Virginia in 1931 being one of the most well-known. There were also the New York City Conspiracy of 1741, Gabriel’s Conspiracy of 1800, and German Coast Uprising of 1811.^[10] Additionally, people from Sojourner Truth to Harriet Tubman to Frederick Douglass spoke vocally about the humanity of Black people and their abilities. Black people also taught each other literacy even when being able to read was illegal under the Black Codes, which made the education of enslaved people illegal,^[11] and supported one another’s escape on the Underground Railroad.

EXAMPLE OF TEXT

During this period, the US was involved in the First World War and large-scale immigration. The majority of the more than 15 million new immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe. In response, many Americans engaged in sometimes violent anti-immigrant sentiments.
Between 1900 and 1925, the eugenics movement was at its peak in the United States and Europe, shaping policies and attitudes toward disabilities, mental health, race, and immigration. Eugenics was the belief that the human race could be improved through selective breeding, leading to harmful policies that targeted people with disabilities, mental illnesses, and other marginalized groups. It justified forced sterilization, segregation, and discrimination, reinforcing negative stereotypes and systemic barriers that persisted for decades. Many sterilization laws remained in effect until the 1970s, and the stigma created by eugenics still impacts disability rights today. During this period, psychological research often focused on racial differences with a White supremacist bias, which helped justify eugenic policies. Many psychologists actively participated in and promoted eugenics, using their research to support ideas of genetic superiority and inferiority. Eugenics supporters in Congress used psychological research to argue that certain groups were “genetically inferior” and should be restricted from immigrating to the U.S. This contributed to the passage of the Johnson-Reed Act, which severely limited immigration from southern and eastern Europe while favoring immigrants from northern and western Europe, who were seen as more culturally and racially similar to White Americans. The Act also expanded the ban on Asian immigrants, reflecting broader anti-immigrant and racist sentiments.^[12]

First Annual Field Workers’ Conference, Eugenics Record Office, Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York, June 20 and 21, 1912

The American Psychological Association (APA) created a historical chronology that provides a retrospective review of the harm inflicted on people of color within the field of psychology. It is essential to differentiate between this historical analysis and the ongoing legacies that arise from that history and continue to shape contemporary policies and practices. While history is dynamic and its consequences often evolve, our focus here is specifically on examining past actions and their lasting effects that persist in the present. This historical chronology illustrates how research and practice have centered on White culture, using it as a global benchmark. This cultural focus, which has been apparent since the inception of the field, is deeply intertwined with the social and political context of the United States at the close of the 19th century. Organized psychology emerged within these conditions, contributed to their creation and maintenance, and still carries their lasting influence.^[13]

The APA historical chronology encourages deeper engagement, allowing users to examine the causes, effects, and lasting consequences of these pivotal actions, promoting critical thinking about psychology’s past and present.

The interactive timeline below highlights five key events from 1900-1925, based on the APA historical chronology mentioned above, illustrating psychology’s impact on people of color.

(2.4) What are your reactions to these key events? What surprised you? What did you already know about? What would you like to learn more about? What do you know about the history of US psychology that is not covered in the timeline?

(2.5) In your own words, describe how race and racism were involved in the early development of the field of psychology.

Place information here that points to the appendix, where access to a timeline assignment and related worksheets are located.    

During this period, WWI ended, the US experienced the Great Depression, and entered WWII. The US government also interned in camps, 120,000 Americans who were of Japanese ancestry. Influenced by participation in war-fighting for rights that they did not have at home and continued educational attainment, People of Color continued to fight against the racist and colonialist aspects of the US.

• Many POC utilized the court systems, challenging segregation of Black and Latinx children, challenging government control of Indigenous lives, particularly land and education.
• Psychology expanded during WWII with psychologists increasingly connected to the military via assessment, clinical work, and occupational classification, still based on harmful beliefs about hierarchical racial classification.^[14]

POC psychologists continued to push back against mainstream White Psychology.^[15]

• Francis Cecil Sumner helped found the psychology department at Howard University and continued his research on racial bias, inequality, and racism. He also published several articles, which was a major achievement considering the racism in research and publishing.
• In 1933, Inez Beverly Prosser became the first Black woman in the US to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Cincinnati. Her work focused on how racism impacted children’s mental health. She also researched the different ways that Black children learn, finding that they perform better when they have Black teachers and classmates.

This interactive timeline highlights five key events from 1925-1950, based on the APA historical chronology, illustrating psychology’s impact on people of color.

Interactive Timeline goes here

Place information here that points to the appendix, where access to a timeline assignment and related worksheets are located.    

“Race, Psychology, and Testing: 1925–1950”

This interactive exercise highlights 8 key events from 1925-1950, based on the APA historical chronology, illustrating psychology’s impact on people of color. The selected events represent major themes: scientific racism, resistance by psychologists of color, development of biased standardized testing, and institutional responses.