#generalization discrimination psyc

[psyc1002-blog]

Generalization and Discrimination

Generalization and discrimination (past reinforcers) – Past reinforcers also serve as antecedents for responses to similar, but not identical, stimuli. 

Example: When a child sees a pigeon, he/she identifies it as an animal with a beak, and is told that it is a bird. He/she will then identify any animal with a beak as a bird. This is called generalization. But then the child sees a penguin, and is taught that it is one of the species of birds that cannot fly. When the child learns to tell the difference between flying and non-flying birds, he/she is discriminating.

[howardstudent]

Baby’s First Literature Review

Racism: Internal and External

Department of Psychology, Howard University

PSYC 016-01: Psychology New Student Orientation

November 11, 2020

Racism: Internal and External

The Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 has sparked a major mainstream conversation about racism in the United States. Different expressions of racism, especially antiblackness, can be observed throughout the world, but most of the literature on racism comes from the U.S. Conversations on antiblack racism in America date back to 1773, when the first African American author was published (Library of Congress). Phyllis Wheatley, the aforementioned author, was not critical of her white oppressors but she did discuss the struggle of being enslaved, though she mainly focused her works around her Christianity (Library of Congress). In the over 200 years since then, a nearly infinite amount of content has been produced on the topic of racism. 

Racism is actually a fairly new concept in human history. “Race” as a word first entered the English language in the late 1500s (Wade). Its earlier meaning was synonymous with “kind” or “type”, and was a more general term (Wade). It was not until the 1700s that it began to be used commonly to refer to humans in a sorting manner. Built into this use of the word was a type of ranking system and in America, European settlers were at the top, followed by the conquered Native Americans, with African slaves holding the lowest rank (Wade). It is important to note that race is not a categorization system based on science. While there are physical differences between races of people, and some genetic qualities may be more common among individuals of a certain race, race is a social construct. This is most obvious when examining concepts like “whiteness”, and how the ingroups and outgroups of whiteness have changed over time. People of Irish descent were at one point not considered white, but now they generally are (Wade). This is not to imply that there are not real life repercussions associated with the concept of race, but rather to add context to the conversation and to further expose how absurd white-supremacy, and racism as a whole, are.

Black people are central to the discussion of racism in America because of the long history of antiblackness. Racism is something black folks are faced with from “crib to coffin” (Jones, 2020). Racism is often treated as a purely external issue, but its influence is so prevalent that it has bred “internal racism” (Sosoo, 2019). Both contribute to the pain, suffering, and oppression of black people. Racism wreaks havoc on black people’s self-image and mental health. Which is worsened by the fact that racism and racial disparities are even commonplace in the medical field. This creates a positive feedback loop where a black individual may seek medical assistance in coping with stress linked to racism they face, and they are then confronted with racism coming from their healthcare providers. 

Shawn Jones (2020) discussed African Americans attempting to cope with racism-related stress throughout their lifetime . It seems as though addressing and even dismantling internalised racism may be tangential to this process. Effua Sosoo studied “The Influence of Internalized Racism on the Relationship Between Discrimination and Anxiety” among college students (2019). Internalized racism further perpetuates racism and it’s deconstruction from within oneself is crucial to helping black Americans cope with and heal from the racism they face.

Jones (2020) breaks down racism throughout a black individual’s life, chronologically, as follows:

To illustrate, research suggests that racism—and not simply racial group—drives the persistent low birth weight disparities among Black babies (De Maio, Shah, Schipper, Gurdiel, & Ansell, 2017). As these children develop, research indicates that they will likely face differential treatment as early as preschool, an age wherein Black children’s suspension rates (48%) are nearly twice those of their White counterparts (26%; U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2014). The period of adolescence then brings stories such as one in which a 16-year-old Black teen was taunted publicly for eating chicken at a pep rally contest, with video and inflammatory narrative shared across social media by his White peers (Wootson, 2017). As racism persists in early and middle adulthood, Black Americans may contemplate abbreviating their names given persistent biases in hiring practices (Nunley, Pugh, Romero, & Seals, 2015). Racist reverberations extend into older adulthood for Black Americans, with burgeoning research suggesting that poverty and racism raise the risk of developing Alzheimer’s (Alzheimer’s Association, 2017). These correlations and numerous others have been further synthesized by an at-once impressive and disheartening number of reviews linking racism and health or well-being across hundreds of studies spanning the last three decades (see Hope, Hoggard, & Thomas, 2015; Pascoe & Smart Richman, 2009; Pieterse, Todd, Neville, & Carter, 2012; Priest et al., 2013; Williams & Mohammed, 2009). These reviews generally congregate around one reality: that racism is a pernicious and unique stressor, with the potential to thwart the physical, physiological, and psychological health of Black Americans. This developmental overview seeks to add to this growing body of literature, applying a life-course perspective to investigate racism-related stress (RRS) and coping over time. (para. 2)

The study goes on to lay out their parameters, explaining (Jones, 2020),

As articulated by S. P. Harrell (2000) and derived from Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) broader conceptualization of stress, RRS refers to “race-related transactions between individuals or groups and their environment that emerge from the dynamics of racism, and that are perceived to tax or exceed existing individual and collective resources or threaten well-being” (S. P. Harrell, 2000, p. 44). Harrell describes six prominent types of RRS: (a) racism-related life events (time-limited, specific life experiences), (b) vicarious racism experiences (observation and report of others’ racism experiences), (c) daily racism microstressors (subtle slights and exclusions), (d) chronic-contextual stress (social systemic and institutional racism), (e) collective experiences (“cultural-symbolic and sociopolitical manifestations of racism,” p. 46), and (f) transgenerational transmission (discussions of historical events). Importantly, these various types of racism-related stressors may (and often do) co-occur and interact, as well as interact with other stressors, including general and other-social-roles-related stressors (e.g., sexism, heterosexism, Islamophobia). (para. 5)

Interestingly, internalized racism is not included in any of six types of racism defined by S.P. Harrell. This is important as Sosoo (2019) explains “numerous studies have linked internalized racism to metabolic health (e.g., Chambers et al., 2004), but it has also been associated with psychological distress (Molina & James, 2016; Szymanski & Obiri, 2011)” (para. 2). The study was conducted among college students which fits well into Jones discussion. It concludes with stating that,

Analyses revealed that the relation between racial discrimination and psychological distress may depend on other factors such as levels of internalized racism. A significant interaction was found between racial discrimination and internalization of negative stereotypes such that racial discrimination was associated with increased anxiety symptom distress at T2 for individuals with moderate and high, but not low, levels of internalization of negative stereotypes. (Sosoo, 2020, para. 29)

To give credit where credit is due, both studies show deep analysis. However, Jones’ (2020) study went further in examining coping methods utilized by African Americans, beyond looking at racism from various input sources. Both send a strong message about the importance of addressing racism in America, and both point out the negative physical and mental effects racism has on black people. They both argue for a reduction of prevalence of racial stereotypes and racial discrimination. Sosoo’s study reveals that individuals who experience internalized racism “are more likely to report experiences of anxiety symptom distress, such as distress from feeling tense or scared” (2019, para. 29). This is potentially explained by the idea that their “experiences of racial discrimination may serve as a confirmation of these negative views, leading to psychological and physiological symptoms of anxiety” (Sosoo, 2019, para. 29). Therefore it is vital that all forms of racism must be considered, addressed, and dismantled for the sake of black people’s overall health, happiness, and wellbeing.

References

Jones, S. C., Anderson, R. E., Gaskin-Wasson, A. L., Sawyer, B. A., Applewhite, K., & Metzger, I. W. (2020). From “crib to coffin”: Navigating coping from racism-related stress throughout the lifespan of Black Americans. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(2), 267-282. doi:10.1037/ort0000430

Library of Congress. (n.d.). Revolutionary Period (1764-1789). Retrieved November 11, 2020, from http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/revolut/jb_revolut_poetslav_1.html#:~:text=Wheatley grew up to be,learn to read and write?

Sosoo, E. E., Bernard, D. L., & Neblett, E. W. (2020). The influence of internalized racism on the relationship between discrimination and anxiety. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 26(4), 570-580. doi:10.1037/cdp0000320

Wade, P. (2020, July 28). The History Of The Idea Of Race. Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/race-human/The-history-of-the-idea-of-race