Understanding the Psychology of Diversity [Hardcover]

Bruce E. (Evan) Blaine (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1412921082 | ISBN-13: 978-1412921084 | Publication Date: April 13, 2007 | Edition: 1

Understanding the Psychology of Diversity is a wide-ranging textbook that covers the cognitive and emotional underpinnings of prejudice attached to all forms of inequality, and will be a very useful textbook for an array of students. The book features chapters on traditional prejudice topics such as categorization and stereotypes, sexism, racism, and social stigma. Mixed in with this content are further chapters that explore newer and more nontraditional diversity topics, such as sexual-orientation and social class-based prejudice, weight and appearance-based prejudice, and diversity on television.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The students targeted by this book need not be on a psychology programme as no prior knowledge of psychology is assumed, but psychology students could be well served in that the book embeds the psychology of prejudice in the realities of current lives. it is certainly a book which those teaching in this area would find useful as a resource book...I would recommend the book on account of the diversity of diversity issues addressed, the rigorous grounding in the academic literature, and the interesting and well-researched weblinks , diversity issues, readings and the occasional film to watch'
Paul Sander
Psychology: Learning & Teaching

'The students targeted by this book need not be on a psychology programme as no prior knowledge of psychology is assumed, but psychology students could be well served in that the book embeds the psychology of prejudice in the realities of current lives. it is certainly a book which those teaching in this area would find useful as a resource book...I would recommend the book on account of the diversity of diversity issues addressed, the rigorous grounding in the academic literature, and the interesting and well-researched weblinks , diversity issues, readings and the occasional film to watch'
Paul Sander
Psychology: Learning & Teaching (Annie Lee Jones CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY )

About the Author

Bruce E. Blaine (PhD, SUNY at Buffalo) is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Statistics Program at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. He is widely published in social and health psychology. His other research interests include obesity treatment effectiveness and meta-analytic research methods.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd; 1 edition (April 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1412921082
• ISBN-13: 978-1412921084
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,114,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Where is the Sociopolitical Diversity? Intellectual Diversity?, April 25, 2010

By 

W. Saunders "Esquire" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding the Psychology of Diversity (Paperback)

Understanding the Psychology of Diversity by Bruce E. Blaine, contains a reasonable survey of the literature in the field, but with notable gaps. This book's author in future editions (And current professors teaching this course) should endeavor to fill some of those gaps by providing students with a book reading list, module content, video instruction, and other media as choices to the student to help balance the content. Blaine states that if, "...the study of diversity includes the need to understand the presence of, as well as the problems and issues associated with, social and cultural difference in our society, then psychology has much to offer" (Blaine, p. 7). Further, Blaine accurately outlines some of the difficulties in teaching this course. "When we study diversity we confront the fact that social injustices exist. Too much emphasis on social injustices (e.g. where they originate, how they can be addressed) adds a political element to the book which may be intrusive...It seems that a course on the Psychology of Diversity should provide a safe place for students to think about the moral implications of inequity. In writing this book I avoid explicit (but probably, given my own social and politically (liberal/progressive) attitudes, not implicit) polemic regarding social injustice and leave to both the instructor and the student to strike their own balance between academic learning and social advocacy" (Blaine, p. 8). Given Blaine's admission that Psychology of Diversity has both a political and moral world-view bias, it is in the spirit of providing students with a full spectrum of ideas, opinions and beliefs that those who teach diversity courses should work to provide balance. No effort should be made to indoctrinate or proselytize any one single world view or philosophical ideology as some in the Psychology of Diversity field have advocated (McFalls, Elisabeth L. and Cobb-Roberts, Deirdre, 2001). Rather, it should be every professors objective to provide the full spectrum of ideas in this fascinating field. The curriculum in this Psychology of Diversity course will be greatly enhanced by including a broad range of ideas on social policy issues, theory, and practice in this field. Students will indeed be well served by informing themselves, in an open-minded empirical way, and "by a critical examination of all points on the political spectrum" in the Psychology of Diversity field (Wester and Vogel, 2002, p. 296). Such information would foster "critical thinking, more complex reasoning styles [as well as] values clarification, moral development, and social responsibility" (Wester and Vogel, 2002, p. 296). Further, to effectively teach psychology students how diversity research itself is carried out one must examine the premise of the research itself, how the research was conducted, how the scientific method (if at all) was applied when conducting the research, and how the conclusions that may effect public policy was carried out.

Blaine is not alone in pointing out possible bias in the field of Psychology of Diversity. Redding (2001) pointed out an example of the sometime contradictory conclusions arrived when examining psychology research and how this is impacted by lack of sociopolitical diversity:

As an example of liberal bias affecting problem definition and the questions researchers choose to address, consider research on adolescents' legal competence. Psychologists have suggested two liberal but somewhat contradictory positions on whether adolescents are "competent": (a) that adolescents should be allowed to make medical treatment decisions (e.g., abortion decisions) because they are "cognitively competent" to do so and (b) that adolescents should not be tried or punished as adults because they are "immature" and thus not fully culpable for their crimes. By focusing on cognitive competence rather than the psychosocial maturity variables differentiating adult from adolescent judgment, researchers' pro-choice position that adolescents should be afforded greater decision-making autonomy enabled researchers to favor the liberal conclusion that adolescents should be allowed to make certain medical treatment decisions without parental consent. Yet focusing on psychosocial immaturity in the context of juveniles' criminal culpability enabled psychologists to argue against conservative "get tough" on crime policies of adjudicating juveniles as adults (pp. 206-207).

There are many solutions to the problems in society conceptualized by the Psychology of Diversity field. Unfortunately, most solutions offered in the study of Diversity, including this Text book by Blaine, and by the field of psychology in general tend to grow from a set of sociopolitical Liberal value-laden premises founded upon communitarianism, collectivism, centralized-planning, and trust in Government social welfare programs (Redding 2001; Redding 2002; Wester and Vogel, 2002). While sociopolitical Conservative and Libertarian values such as individual liberty, self-reliance, trust in private or faith based charity programs, trust in capitalism, and a strength-based (not victim or pathology based) psychology in the study of diversity are virtually absent from the field (Redding, 2001; Brown, 2007).

If you wish to follow the "Party-Line" and march lock-step with what has been taught in this field for decades, then this is the book for you! However, for those with a critical thinking perspective you may want to look else where or add additional resources that expand your classes sociopolitical diversity. In addition, since it is so difficult to find intellectual diversity that would give students access to a greater spectrum of ideas in much of the overall literature or textbooks in the field of diversity in psychology, it is necessary to go outside of the profession of psychology to allied professions to discover scientifically valid and unique books, research, videos, or other articles that offer a diverse voice. If as Blaine recommended that the purpose of the course should be to strike a balance and in echoing his assertion that "...educated students should have some (varied) tools for thinking about diversity", then expanding options is critical.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good purchase, May 18, 2011

By 

Pleased UCF student - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Understanding the Psychology of Diversity (Paperback)

I was very pleased with my purchase. It arrived on time and the condition of the book was as noted by the seller.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Service, June 30, 2010

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Genn - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding the Psychology of Diversity (Paperback)

Quick response and great price. Got the product about 4 days after I ordered it. Great service!