Multicultural History

The history of multicultural psychology began with the origins of psychology itself first established in 1879 by Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig, Germany. Wundt and his colleagues used introspection to measure mental experiences such as, perception, sensation, imagery, attention, and reaction times (What is Multicultural Psychology, n.d., p. 22). Cultural bias was evident in early psychological research as the focus was on white, middle-class European American males. This research led to exploring differences in racial groups and the intense examination of individual differences as well as searching for traits that lead to greater survival of the species.

Early names for research in this area became known as "ethnical psychology" and "racial psychology" (What is Multicultural Psychology, n.d., p. 22). According to Haddon (1910) ethnical psychology is the study of the minds of other races with comparisons ot only on psychophysiological measures but on intelligence and personality as well. The results of these early studies drew the conclusion that minorities were mentally deficient. (What is Multicultural Psychology, n.d., p. 22).

The first standardized intelligence test, created by Alfred Binet and Theophile Simon, was developed in France in 1904. Lewis Terman is credited with the most famous revision of the test in 1916. Terman's research led him to conclude that Blacks were not capable of abstract thinking and that Mexican and American-Indian children were genetically inferior. Further research by Guthrie (1998) revealed the bias of Terman's test as being in favor of the White middle-class culture (What is Multicultural Psychology, n.d., p. 22).

In the 1930s the first Black students began to enter graduate programs. Before then there were virtually no minority psychologists. Following years of civil unrest and the Civil Rights Movement Black Psychologists found the need to form their own organization, the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) founded at the APA National Convention in1968. Soon other minority groups followed their example and formed organizations of their own (What is Multicultural Psychology, n.d., p. 27).

During the 1969 American Psychological Association's national convention, The Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) was. Through lobbying efforts by AWP the Division 35, the Society for the Psychology of Women was founded in 1973 (The Association For Women In Psychology, n.d.).

The Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) was founded in 1972 with Derald Wing Sue, PhD serving as the first president (Asian American Psychological Association, n.d.).

In response to the need for more devotion to issues in multiculturalism, the APA established the Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs in 1979, which along with the Board for the Advancement of Public Interest in Psychology deals with multicultural issues (What is Multicultural Psychology, n.d.,