In: A Critical Introduction to Psychology ISBN: 978-1-53616-491-6
Editor: Robert K. Beshara © 2019 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Chapter 13
THE FUTURE OF PSYCHOLOGY
Shose Kessi, PhD*
Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town,
Cape Town, South Africa
In mainstream psychology textbooks, psychology is defined as the
scientific investigation of human mind and behaviour. Although the study
of mind and behaviour can be found across many religions, cultures, and
philosophies, its disciplinary tenets in the form of formal teaching, clinical,
and research practices in schools and university contexts have their roots in
the emergence of European science in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The philosophical underpinnings of mainstream psychology are therefore
firmly located within a Western canon, which is one of coloniality in
practice and in thought (Grosfoguel 2007). Indeed, some of the earliest
research projects in psychology, often referred to as race-science, involved
the hierarchical categorisation of race groups through psychometric testing
(Howitt & Owusu-Bempah 1994; Richards 1997). This body of work
influenced and legitimised slavery, colonisation, and apartheid across the
globe. By producing knowledge about the ‘other’ as inferior and less than
- Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].