Section 13 PSYC 260: Social Psychology

Essential Question: What are some essential DEI topics I can teach in PSYC260 and where is the best place to cover this material?

Abstract: Social psychology can be used to teach students to: (1) understand the psychological roots of prejudice and discrimination, (2) how and why these processes manifest within individuals and our social systems, (3) why it can make us uncomfortable to talk about race and racism, and (4) how prejudice and discrimination can impact people’s well-being. By giving students this information we can empower them to tackle these challenging issues as they confront them in their everyday life. Importantantly, DEI topics relate to many different sections in social psychology, not just the section on“Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination” which comes towards the end of the class. For instance, when teaching about “the Self” it is possible to talk about how part of who we are as individuals is derived from the social groups and social identities we might hold dear. In the Class Topics below we specify 5 topics that can be included in PSYCH 260, provide the materials needed to teach these topics, and outline how to integrate them into the course.

Class Topics and Learning Objectives

• Topic: Implicit Bias
  • Objective: (1) To explain how our attitudes and behaviors might be biased in favor of certain social groups without us being aware of it (even if we value DEI). (2) To explain how these unconscious biases come from racist ideas and systems that exist in our society. This last point is very important to emphasize because some scholars have critiqued research on implicit biases for ignoring structural forms of racism. For example see this paper about how levels of implicit racial bias in the US relate to the history of slavery in those areas.
  • Slide Deck: Here.
  • Resources: Implicit bias (measures like the IAT) are a popular component of most social psychology classes. While this concept is key it is important for us to not think of racism only in terms of implicit racial bias. Please see a critical discussion here.

• Topic: Individual/ Institutional/ Cultural Levels of Racism
  • Objective: To teach students the idea that there are different levels of racism, and that racism can involve more than individual acts of bias or hatred. By the end of the class, the objective will be to shift students’ understanding of racism from strictly being an individual phenomenon, to understanding it as an institutional phenomenon (e.g., government policies and historical events which have placed some groups as a disadvantage) or cultural phenomenon (e.g., placing value on traits associated with particular groups, or normalizing processes which make it difficult to talk about social inequities).
    
  • Slide Deck: Here and here.
  • Resources:
    • The article “More than men in White sheets: Seven concepts critical to the teaching of racism as systemic inequality” (Schmidt, 2005) provides a very clear and accessible overview of how to teach about these threat levels of racism in the class-room.
    • Salter and colleagues have a useful article describing how racist systems are embedded in our everyday way of life. These topics can be challenging for students to confront.
    • Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum is an expert in teaching college students about race. Her 1992 article provides a great resource for thinking about how to create a class-room environment where students are comfortable to discuss race by overcoming common barriers.

• Topic: Stereotype Threat
  • Objectives: Define the concept of stereotype threat to students. Challenge students to apply this knowledge to think critically how they make attributions about their own performance as students (or the performance of others). Describe interventions and techniques for reducing the effect of stereotype threat. Critically discuss how structural forms of racism contribute to stereotype threat (e.g., how does the threat/smogg get in the air?).
  • Slide Deck: Here.
  • Resources: Read one of Claude Steele’s original articles about stereotype threat here.

• Topic: Social Identity Based Motivation/Self
  • Objective: (1) Teach students that part of who we are as individuals (our personal identity or sense of self) is shaped by the social identity of the social groups we belong to. For example, the personal goals, ways of behaving and dressing which feel “right” to me, might be what aligns with what is prototypical of other members of my social group or community of people “like me.” (2) To teach students that our sense of whether we are good or bad at something, might come from whether we feel that people like us are good or bad at those things.
  • Slide Deck: Here.
  • Resources:
    • Daphna Oyserman (2009) provides a nice overview of how what feels right for us personally comes from what feels right for our social groups.
    • This article by Usborne and Taylor (2010) provides a brief review and description of research on how our social identities give us a road map to articulate our own personal identities.

• Topic: Consequences of Systemic Racism for Health
  • Objectives: (1) Teach students about the impact of racial inequities for our health. (2) Explore the psychology behind why racial inequities exist in our healthcare system. (3) Describe how social identity moderates the effectiveness of public health interventions. (4) Describe the important consequences of social support for our health (with a consideration of race and identity).
  • Slide Deck: Here.
  • Resources: Coming Soon!

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.