Multicultural Psychology combines research with actual real narratives to examine multicultural issues and capture the richness of diverse cultures. The text covers compelling topics such as differences in world views, communication, racial and cultural identity, development, racism, and immigration, as well as gender, sexuality, age, and ability. It presents a broad foundation for understanding the issues psychologists address when studying culture and the practical applications of theory in today's society. The personal stories and discussions of current events make the text relatable to students' lives.
Yes, I'm adding this textbook to my Goodreads because I've spent too much time reading it for it not to count towards my Reading Challenge goal 🙃 Also because it's definitely not your average textbook - almost every page includes excerpts from a diversity of students reflecting on their personal experiences related to Multicultural Psychology. In my opinion, listening to real people tell their own stories is the most effective way to learn! There are also several authors, which enriches the text, but I think some portions could have used more editing.
Topics covered: cultural differences in worldviews and communication; immigrants, refugees, and the acculturation process; stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and racism; culture and health; culture and the diagnosis & treatment of mental disorders
Read this cover to cover for my Culture and Psychology class and considering the amount of time I spent reading and highlighting this textbook I’m going to mark it as read on here haha
I read this for a class, in which I had to write a reflection paper each week regarding what I had read. Below is an excerpt from one of those reflections. It addresses some of my misgivings about this textbook, which could have been a little better if the authors had done even a tiny bit more research.
This week, I was surprised to see a reference to my favorite Star Trek movie, the one with the whales, in my Multicultural Psychology textbook (Mio et al., 2020, p. 73). To be a nitpicky nerd, the patient is an adorable elderly woman, but the textbook says “his” twice in reference to the patient, implying that the patient is a man. I found this tiny bit of woman erasure to be ironic coming from this source. Dr. “Bones” McCoy is a role model of mine, with this scene being one of many reasons why. Before giving the patient the pill that fixed her kidney (not appendix, as the textbook states; the lack of fact-checking for something this menial is worrisome because it implies the authors’ research is not entirely trustworthy), he said, “What is this, the Dark Ages?!” I think of that quote often when reading about healthcare in America, whether it be some historical horror (e.g., the Tuskegee Syphilis Study mentioned in last week’s discussion) or the present costs of hospital visits. Another part of the textbook that gave me some trouble was the paragraph regarding Caitlyn Jenner on page 103. Though I disagree with some of Caitlyn’s ideas and don’t have very fond feelings for her, I don’t think it’s appropriate to deadname or misgender her. I understand that language and the rules surrounding it change quickly, so the authors might not have had any bad intentions. Perhaps if this book was released today, the paragraph’s opening sentence might say something like, “Ever since Caitlyn Jenner, who was once known as the athlete Bruce Jenner, announced to the world that she was transgender, the topic of transgender individuals has been of interest in the broader society.” The paragraph goes on to say there isn’t “an equivalent female to male model.” I feel like this an uninformed opinion; Chaz Bono famously came out as a trans man in the early 2000s (GLAAD, 2009; Oprah, 2011). I wonder if sexism could be at play here. A person assigned male at birth is considered a “role model” for being publicly trans, while a person assigned female at birth is forgotten for doing the same thing, despite receiving media coverage.
i mean i'm sure it's good for what it is but i think it felt very surface level. idk man who am i to criticize a textbook but it felt like it was so broad in its subject i didn't get any real depth out of it that i wouldn't have gotten from my other psychology classes. a multicultural psychology book that barely scratches the surface of different cultures is ridiculous! sorry! whatever i read it though so im putting it here
I'm not sure why this is the text that so many multiculti psyc classes choose. It's extremely flawed even though it is quite basic... and so expensive! I say go with Scott Plous and Derald Wing Sue.