Section 4 PSYC 101: Intro To Psychology

Essential Question: What are some essential DEI topics I can teach in PSYC101?

Abstract: The course structure of Psych 101 offers up several unique opportunities for promoting DEI. Academia is a leaky pipeline, with the participation of marginalized populations decreasing at each developmental crossroad. Psychology 101 is one of our first opportunities to reach students from diverse backgrounds, and to encourage their participation in Psychology or in other STEM fields. Additionally, the high-level nature of Psychology 101 course content provides an opportunity for instructors to teach high-level science literacy. Finally, for some students, Psychology 101 may be the first, and possibly last, time they get introduced to scientific perspectives on topics like stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. These topics can be politicized, personal, arousing, or uncomfortable for your students – making it all the more important that you help your students think critically about them.


Class Topics and Learning Objectives

  • Topic: History of Psychology
    • Objective: The purpose of this slide deck is to convey (a) the various ways bias influences the scientific method, (b) why history of science is important, and (c) the historical contexts under which psychology was founded.
    • Slide Deck: Here.
    • Resources
      • Roberts, S. O., Bareket-Shavit, C., Dollins, F. A., Goldie, P. D., Mortenson, E. (2020). Racial inequality in psychological research: Trends of the past and recommendations for the future. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15, 1295–1309.
      • Dupree, C. H., & Boykin, C. M. (2021). Racial Inequality in Academia: Systemic Origins, Modern Challenges, and Policy Recommendations. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 8(1), 11–18.
      • Hofstra, B., Kulkarni, V. V., Galvez, S. M. N., He, B., Jurafsky, D., McFarland, D. A. (2020). The Diversity–Innovation Paradox in Science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(17), 9284–9291.
      • Guthrie, R. V. (2004). Even the rat was white: A historical view of psychology. Pearson Education.


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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Teaching by UNC Psychology & Neuroscience DEI Education Subcommittee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.