Multicultural Psychology Discussion Paper

Need help with my Psychology question – I’m studying for my class.

part one

You have begun to explore the impact of social class, ethnicity, and gender on identity and the functions of roles in social organization. In addition, you will consider family life, work, violence, sexuality, and the possibilities for social change. In this discussion, you will explore sexual harassment concerns in the workplace for both men and women. Multicultural Psychology Discussion Paper

Review the case story of twenty-five-year-old Lois Jenson, who endured sexual harassment in the iron mines of Minnesota and later filed and won the first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit, Jenson v. Eveleth Mines.

In your exploration of these concepts, respond to the following:

PART TWO

In the book The Mismeasure of Man, Stephen J. Gould (1996) discusses the culture behind biological determinism (i.e., the belief that the disparity in status among various groups arises from innate biological differences). He criticizes the practice of measuring intelligence as a single quantity, something that had become a common practice in the United States.

In the United States, intelligence testing became a device of power and its use led to the Immigration Act of 1924, which primarily restricted the entry of people from Southern and Eastern Europe due to their tendency to score low on the test. Unbelievably, immigrants were frequently tested in English when they arrived in the United States. Even worse, many were rejected based on the perspective that they had a dull and unintelligent appearance.

How does any of this relate to multicultural psychology?

In the modern society, people are tested all the time and certain cultural groups tend to perform worse than others on standardized tests. The end result of a poor score is not deportation; however, a poor score could limit access to higher education and other resources. In elementary school, poor test scores might even lead to negative labels and tracking, which could change the life of a child. Multicultural Psychology Discussion Paper

There is no denying that there are cultural differences with regard to education and testing. However, there are some parallels between what happened to the immigrants and what often happens to different cultural groups as they appear for aptitude or achievement tests. Many are so unfamiliar and confused when they go for testing that they are beset with anxiety. In such situations, the people are totally unfamiliar with the format of the test and the language.

In your response, address the following:

Multicultural Psychology Discussion Paper