Relation of racial identity attitudes to self-actualization and affective states of black students
There is much Deaf psychology can learn from established Afri-centered and Gay-Lesbian-Bi-Transgender (“GLBT”) psychologies. While that to which they pertain are different, the themes of oppression, colonialism, psychological self-mutilation, and redemption through actualization are very similar. While material for a true Deaf psychology, at least on the theoretical level, are currently lacking, I find that Afri-centered and GLBT research are quite pertinent. It is easy to draw parallels and adapt their theories to a Deaf perspective. Eventually, I hope that this new Deaf psychology will become self-sufficient and generate new material without having to resort to adaptation. I’m curious as to whether or not there is a name for a Deaf psychology? Surdism? Deaf-centered psychology? I don’t feel like I’m in a position to coin names.
Parham & Helms (1985) point out that current psychological exams do not apply to black people, therefore creating quantifiable measurements for psychological assessments of black individuals is rather hard. Most psychological assessments, at least in the past, were normed on white, male, college-aged individuals. Even when there were movements to incorporate females into psychological assessment norming samples, the females tend to be white. Gergen (1985) explains that people are a product of social processes. That means personal identities and behavior reflect the culture and social systems in which they were developed. Male and female behavior may differ because of gender (which can be seen as a product of society as well as biology), overall behavior is shaped by cultural norms. A psychological assessment exam normed on only white people will create a set of measurements which apply only to white people. When other ethnic groups are assessed using the measures normed on white-people, the other ethnic groups will not score well on the psychological exams. In the past, this has led to a rather unfavorable view of black individuals in white society (Parham & Helms, 1985). The psychological assessments do not help black people, rather, they reinforce the system which was originally designed to oppress non-white groups. In order to accurately assess black identity awareness, it is important to develop assessments normed on black people.
While a number of deaf individuals are white and do benefit from white privilege, their deafness supercedes their whiteness. In the eyes of the “normal” white community, the white-deaf are thought of as less-than, or less capable. If the deaf person belongs to a minority group other than Caucasian, the oppression magnifies, creating a cesspool of horizontal and lateral oppression. That oppression against the deaf is systematically inherent is evident in the treatment the psychological community has provided. Psychological assessments which were normed on members of the Deaf community are sorely lacking. Not only are the assessments not normed on members of the community, but the assessments are provided in graphemic or phonic languages rather than visual. All these factors combined mean that the deaf are denigrated by the psychological community, which is striking since the psychological community was designed to help. Instead, it becomes a tool for hearing society to condone and continue the oppression of the Deaf. Audism is a self-perpetuating crime.
Afri-centered psychologists who want to measure actualization tendencies in the black community use what I have dubbed “The Cross Scale.” The Cross Scale attempts to categorize the black self-actualization journey into five categories: pre-encounter, encounter, immersion-emersion, internalization, and internalization-continuous (Parham & Helms, 1985).
Black persons in the pre-encounter stage tend to have euro-centric views (Parham & Helms, 1985). They favor white culture and white perspectives. They may even believe that because they are black, they are inferior to whites. Blacks in the pre-encounter stage tend to have poor mental health and may be filled with rage, despair, and other negative emotions (Parham & Helms, 1985). Pre-encounter blacks tend to view self-actualizing blacks with scorn. Deaf people also appear to have a pre-encounter stage. Pre-encounter deaf believe that hearing people are always right and are superior to them because they can hear. Pre-encounter deaf also feel inadequate and this carries over into their social and professional lives. Pre-encounter deaf are probably more likely to have low-status jobs or collect welfare.
The next stage is called encounter. Blacks in the encounter stage have experienced an event which causes them to realize their black identity (Parham & Helms, 1985). This stage is overwhelmingly positive and causes those who have entered it to assess their relation to the self-actualized community. I have heard many stories from deaf people who have had their own encounter experience. For myself, my “encounter’ was when I began studying deaf culture in high school. Before then, I did not realize that there existed such a thing. Many people I’ve talked to have reported similar events. For some, Paddy’s book was the encounter they needed to progress from the pre-encounter stage.
The third stage is immersion-emersion. Blacks in the third stage are beginning to explore their black identity (Parham & Helms, 1985). They join black identity movements and become part of the black community. One aspect of the immersion-emersion stage is the complete and total rejection of the oppressive culture and a release of any anger towards it that may have been bottled. Blacks in the third stage may express extremely negative emotions and comments towards white people and white culture. Deaf individuals in the third stage may also become involved with the Deaf community. They may become members of their local Deaf government, participate in think tanks and gatherings, and become very assertive on Internet communities. They also show anger towards their hearing oppressors. Hearing people will be described in negative terms and the English language attacked and mocked.
The fourth and fifth stages are an evolution of the self-actualization process. Rather than becoming actualized from external sources (eg socializing), black individuals find affirmation from internal sources (Parham & Helms, 1985). The fire burns without needing wood, so to speak. Once self-actualized, black individuals in the fourth and fifth stage reduce the amount of interaction they have with the active communities; however, they still feel the need to “give back” to the black community and to help others find their identities. Deaf people in the fourth and fifth stages of actualization will behave in same.
At first look, the implications of the Cross Scale are profound. It seems easy to analyze a person’s behavior and place him or her in the appropriate stage. That; however, is a positivist approach to human behavior. Behavior cannot always be quantified (Parham & Helms, 1985). How do I measure whether or not a person has been self-actualized? Parham & Helms (1985) used an assessment in which people measured their levels of actualization from 1 to 5. The reliability of such a self-assessment exam can already be called into question. Are people the best judge of their behavior? Can behavior be judged objectively without being colored by the researcher’s own perceptions? What happens when a person shared traits with several different stages? In which stage do we place them? Regardless of what stage a person may be in, if positivist measurements must be applied, Parham & Helms (1985) noticed that as a person became self-actualized, how he or she perceived himself or herself as a person improved.
Gergen, K. (1985). The social constructionist movement in modern psychology. American Psychologist. 40(3). 266-275. Retrieved September 15, 2006 from psycARTICLES database.
Parham & Helms (1985) Relation of racial identity attitudes to self-actualization and affective states of black students. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 32(3) 431-440. Retrieved September 15, 2006 from psycARTICLES database.
There is much Deaf psychology can learn from established Afri-centered and Gay-Lesbian-Bi-Transgender (“GLBT”) psychologies. While that to which they pertain are different, the themes of oppression, colonialism, psychological self-mutilation, and redemption through actualization are very similar. While material for a true Deaf psychology, at least on the theoretical level, are currently lacking, I find that Afri-centered and GLBT research are quite pertinent. It is easy to draw parallels and adapt their theories to a Deaf perspective. Eventually, I hope that this new Deaf psychology will become self-sufficient and generate new material without having to resort to adaptation. I’m curious as to whether or not there is a name for a Deaf psychology? Surdism? Deaf-centered psychology? I don’t feel like I’m in a position to coin names.
Parham & Helms (1985) point out that current psychological exams do not apply to black people, therefore creating quantifiable measurements for psychological assessments of black individuals is rather hard. Most psychological assessments, at least in the past, were normed on white, male, college-aged individuals. Even when there were movements to incorporate females into psychological assessment norming samples, the females tend to be white. Gergen (1985) explains that people are a product of social processes. That means personal identities and behavior reflect the culture and social systems in which they were developed. Male and female behavior may differ because of gender (which can be seen as a product of society as well as biology), overall behavior is shaped by cultural norms. A psychological assessment exam normed on only white people will create a set of measurements which apply only to white people. When other ethnic groups are assessed using the measures normed on white-people, the other ethnic groups will not score well on the psychological exams. In the past, this has led to a rather unfavorable view of black individuals in white society (Parham & Helms, 1985). The psychological assessments do not help black people, rather, they reinforce the system which was originally designed to oppress non-white groups. In order to accurately assess black identity awareness, it is important to develop assessments normed on black people.
While a number of deaf individuals are white and do benefit from white privilege, their deafness supercedes their whiteness. In the eyes of the “normal” white community, the white-deaf are thought of as less-than, or less capable. If the deaf person belongs to a minority group other than Caucasian, the oppression magnifies, creating a cesspool of horizontal and lateral oppression. That oppression against the deaf is systematically inherent is evident in the treatment the psychological community has provided. Psychological assessments which were normed on members of the Deaf community are sorely lacking. Not only are the assessments not normed on members of the community, but the assessments are provided in graphemic or phonic languages rather than visual. All these factors combined mean that the deaf are denigrated by the psychological community, which is striking since the psychological community was designed to help. Instead, it becomes a tool for hearing society to condone and continue the oppression of the Deaf. Audism is a self-perpetuating crime.
Afri-centered psychologists who want to measure actualization tendencies in the black community use what I have dubbed “The Cross Scale.” The Cross Scale attempts to categorize the black self-actualization journey into five categories: pre-encounter, encounter, immersion-emersion, internalization, and internalization-continuous (Parham & Helms, 1985).
Black persons in the pre-encounter stage tend to have euro-centric views (Parham & Helms, 1985). They favor white culture and white perspectives. They may even believe that because they are black, they are inferior to whites. Blacks in the pre-encounter stage tend to have poor mental health and may be filled with rage, despair, and other negative emotions (Parham & Helms, 1985). Pre-encounter blacks tend to view self-actualizing blacks with scorn. Deaf people also appear to have a pre-encounter stage. Pre-encounter deaf believe that hearing people are always right and are superior to them because they can hear. Pre-encounter deaf also feel inadequate and this carries over into their social and professional lives. Pre-encounter deaf are probably more likely to have low-status jobs or collect welfare.
The next stage is called encounter. Blacks in the encounter stage have experienced an event which causes them to realize their black identity (Parham & Helms, 1985). This stage is overwhelmingly positive and causes those who have entered it to assess their relation to the self-actualized community. I have heard many stories from deaf people who have had their own encounter experience. For myself, my “encounter’ was when I began studying deaf culture in high school. Before then, I did not realize that there existed such a thing. Many people I’ve talked to have reported similar events. For some, Paddy’s book was the encounter they needed to progress from the pre-encounter stage.
The third stage is immersion-emersion. Blacks in the third stage are beginning to explore their black identity (Parham & Helms, 1985). They join black identity movements and become part of the black community. One aspect of the immersion-emersion stage is the complete and total rejection of the oppressive culture and a release of any anger towards it that may have been bottled. Blacks in the third stage may express extremely negative emotions and comments towards white people and white culture. Deaf individuals in the third stage may also become involved with the Deaf community. They may become members of their local Deaf government, participate in think tanks and gatherings, and become very assertive on Internet communities. They also show anger towards their hearing oppressors. Hearing people will be described in negative terms and the English language attacked and mocked.
The fourth and fifth stages are an evolution of the self-actualization process. Rather than becoming actualized from external sources (eg socializing), black individuals find affirmation from internal sources (Parham & Helms, 1985). The fire burns without needing wood, so to speak. Once self-actualized, black individuals in the fourth and fifth stage reduce the amount of interaction they have with the active communities; however, they still feel the need to “give back” to the black community and to help others find their identities. Deaf people in the fourth and fifth stages of actualization will behave in same.
At first look, the implications of the Cross Scale are profound. It seems easy to analyze a person’s behavior and place him or her in the appropriate stage. That; however, is a positivist approach to human behavior. Behavior cannot always be quantified (Parham & Helms, 1985). How do I measure whether or not a person has been self-actualized? Parham & Helms (1985) used an assessment in which people measured their levels of actualization from 1 to 5. The reliability of such a self-assessment exam can already be called into question. Are people the best judge of their behavior? Can behavior be judged objectively without being colored by the researcher’s own perceptions? What happens when a person shared traits with several different stages? In which stage do we place them? Regardless of what stage a person may be in, if positivist measurements must be applied, Parham & Helms (1985) noticed that as a person became self-actualized, how he or she perceived himself or herself as a person improved.
Gergen, K. (1985). The social constructionist movement in modern psychology. American Psychologist. 40(3). 266-275. Retrieved September 15, 2006 from psycARTICLES database.
Parham & Helms (1985) Relation of racial identity attitudes to self-actualization and affective states of black students. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 32(3) 431-440. Retrieved September 15, 2006 from psycARTICLES database.
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