Course Description
Multicultural Issues covers how to recognize, understand, and respect the complexity, key concepts, theoretical perspectives, and empirical findings of sociocultural and international diversity.
Course Objectives
After completing this course, students will be able to
- Provide basic definitions of key terms and ideas related to multicultural psychology
- Discuss the psychological approach to multiculturalism
- Discuss the important cautions and challenges that face psychology researchers who wish to examine issues with a multicultural approach
- Describe the cognitive processes involved in the shaping, and reshaping, of our perceptions of others
- Discuss some of the early theories that were proposed to address racial, ethnic, and cultural identity
- Differentiate among the specific mechanics involved in conducting research in multicultural psychology
- Describe the process of developing hypotheses
- Discuss issues involved in recruiting participants for multicultural psychology research
- Discuss the issues involved in developing culture-sensitive measures of psychological concepts
- Describe multicultural research within a sociocultural context
- Describe the role of biological psychology in attempting to understand multicultural issues
- Discuss the influence of genes on behaviors
- Describe the emphasis of societal and personality influences on multicultural issues
- Introduce social psychology’s ideas and theories and discuss how they contribute to our understanding of prejudice
- Discuss the development of racial and ethnic identity
- Identify the most influential theories in the field of developmental psychology with particular emphasis on the development of racial and ethnic identity
- Discuss some of the research associated with racial and ethnic differences and similarities in the developmental process
- Discuss some historically significant information with regard to African Americans
- Introduce some important aspects of African American culture and identity development
- Identify some of discrimination’s effects on mental health
- Identify effective buffers against the negative effects of discrimination
- Introduce various Asian American cultures and their values
- Describe the impact discrimination has had on identity and its formation
- Discuss the impact of discrimination on mental health
- Discuss the effective buffers to discrimination within these communities
- Introduce the four major subgroups of Americans of Spanish origin
- Describe the more recent Latin American immigrants
- Discuss their cultural values and identity
- Describe discrimination’s impact on acculturation and upward mobility
- Discuss the diverse cultures, languages, and religions that middle easterners bring to the U.S.
- Present a brief historical introduction to the Indians and Alaska Natives of the U.S.
- Discuss the main cultural values of American Indians and Alaska Natives
- Describe the most pressing mental health issues
- Discuss discrimination and its effects on mental and physical health
- Describe the cultural values and identity of multiracial Americans
- Discuss the impact of multiracial identity on mental health
- Introduce research on the adjustment of multiracial persons
- Discuss the educational limitations and achievements and career development among multiracial persons in the U.S.
Week 1
Lecture: Introduction
Lecture: Introduction to Multicultural Issues in Psychology
Outcomes: After completing this module, students will be able to
- Provide basic definitions of key terms and ideas related to multicultural psychology
- Explain the psychological approach to multiculturalism
- Discuss the important cautions and challenges that face psychology researchers who wish to examine issues with a multicultural approach
- Discuss the cognitive processes involved in the shaping, and reshaping, of our perceptions of others
- Discuss some of the early theories that were proposed to address racial, ethnic, and cultural identity
Week 2
Lecture: Research Methods in Multicultural Psychology
Lecture: Research Methods in Multicultural Psychology: Measurement Issues
Outcomes: After completing this module, students will be able to
- Differentiate among the specific mechanics involved in conducting research in multicultural psychology
- Explain the process of developing hypotheses
- Discuss issues involved in recruiting participants for multicultural psychology research
- Discuss the issues involved in developing culture-sensitive measures of psychological concepts
Week 3
Lecture: Biological and Social Psychology
Outcomes: After completing this module, students will be able to
- Discuss multicultural research within a sociocultural context
- Describe the role of biological psychology in attempting to understand multicultural issues
- Discuss the influence of genes on behaviors
- Discuss societal and personality influences on multicultural issues
- Describe how social psychology’s ideas and theories contribute to our understanding of prejudice
Week 4
Lecture: Developmental Psychology and Personality
Outcomes: After completing this module, students will be able to
- Discuss the development of racial and ethnic identity
- Identify the most influential theories in the field of developmental psychology with particular emphasis on the development of racial and ethnic identity
- Discuss some of the research associated with racial and ethnic differences and similarities in the developmental process
Week 5
Lecture: African American Culture and Identity
Outcomes: After completing this module, students will be able to
- Discuss some historically significant information with regard to African Americans
- Explain some important aspects of African American culture and identity development
- Identify some of discrimination’s effects on mental health
- Identify effective buffers against the negative effects of discrimination
Week 6
Lecture: Asian American Culture and Identity
Outcomes: After completing this module, students will be able to
- Discuss various Asian American cultures and their values
- Describe the impact discrimination has had on identity and its formation
- Discuss the impact of discrimination on mental health
- Explain the effective buffers to discrimination within these communities
Week 7
Lecture: Latino/Latina Americans and Middle Eastern American
Outcomes: After completing this module, students will be able to
- Describe the four major subgroups of Americans of Spanish origin
- Describe the more recent Latin American immigrants
- Discuss their cultural values and identity
- Describe discrimination’s impact on acculturation and upward mobility
- Discuss the diverse cultures, languages, and religions that middle easterners bring to the U.S.
Week 8
Lecture: American Indians and Alaska Natives
Lecture: Multiracial Americans
Outcomes: After completing this module, students will be able to
- Present a brief historical introduction to the Indians and Alaska Natives of the U.S.
- Discuss the main cultural values of American Indians and Alaska Natives
- Describe the most pressing mental health issues
- Discuss discrimination and its effects on mental and physical health
- Describe the cultural values and identity of multiracial Americans
- Discuss the impact of multiracial identity on mental health
- Discuss the research on the adjustment of multiracial persons
- Discuss the educational limitations and achievements and career development among multiracial persons in the U.S.
The course description, objectives and learning outcomes are subject to change without notice based on enhancements made to the course. March 2012
