Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Psychology - Essay Example Discrimination among the African American can not be ignored. This is because among them there are people of different ethnic groups and stereotyping is common. In western psychology problems are addressed at individual level. They focus on addressing such issues at individual level rather than in a collective form. In African American culture this is not suitable as one should include others in addressing these problems. Individualistic nature is also found among the African Americans. These individualistic traits are value for individual confidentiality, competition and uniqueness. According to (Belgrave and Allison, 2009), for someone to offer better services to the African Americans you must convince them collectively but not as individuals. There is more power in convincing a group rather than an individual. Western psychology emphasizes more on prediction and control. For them time is an article of trade to be bought and sold (Akbar. 1991a). Time for them is vital to predict and control what they are doing. Emphasis on prediction and control has brought misunderstanding of cultures that do not exercise prediction and control. This in contrast among Africans where time is not very important and it only exists to fulfill the needs of the people. African Americans have been labeled as people with no orientation for time and future. In western psychology this is viewed as a negative trait. Arriving late for an African American is acceptable and there is no problem with that (Belgrave and Allison, 2009). The western psychology is valid to say that African Americans do not have a proper orientation towards prediction and control. Although they may take this negatively, proper prediction and control is necessary for personal and communal wellbeing. Too much emphasis on the same will look disc riminatory to the African Americans. The western people assume