Section 14 PSYC 270: Research Methods in Psychology

Essential Question: What are some essential DEI topics I can teach in PSYC270?

Abstract: Research methods in psychology is an essential place to address DEI issues. First, we can challenge students to think about how colonial ideas and racial biases embedded in our culture can bleed into the methods and questions we ask as researchers (i.e., if we are immersed in a culture that contains racial bias then this might shape our research). Second, some of the research we conduct might serve to maintain racial inequities if the practices we use are unethical, or the questions/methods we use are biased (e.g., challenge students to think about what the consequences could be of looking for racial differences in IQ with biased test instruments and unfounded theoretical assumptions). Finally, research can be exclusionary to many groups, both in terms of researchers from those groups being underrepresented in our field, and from participants from those groups being underrepresented in our data. This means certain groups lack the platform to influence how we think about psychology, and the voices of certain groups are missing from the data we use to make assumptions about psychology. By working through these critical issues with our students we can challenge them to think about the implications that culturally biased or underrepresented research practices can have both for theory and practice. We can then engage students to think of ways we can improve our methods and practices.


Class Topics and Learning Objectives

  • Topic: Ethical Issues in Psychological Research
    • Objective: The purpose of this slide deck is to provide students with a general overview of unethical practices in modern (i.e., WW2 to present) science ranging from studies that directly harmed participants (many of whom were from marginalized groups) to studies that use questionable design to obtain sensationalized results. Students are encouraged to consider how these unethical research studies disproportionately impacted marginalized groups. The lesson ends with a discussion of WEIRD samples.
    • Slide Deck: Here.
    • Resources:


Creative Commons License
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.