Multicultural Psychology

One of the many challenges in studying multicultural psychology is that the topics of study can be somewhat controversial nature, which often makes it difficult to design the study with measures that are both practical and ethical at the same time. For instance, most research asks some basic demographic information of its participants, more specific identification measure, such as racial or ethnic identification, may be more difficult to approach. Nevertheless, there is both support for and against researchers asking participants to provide this information. One of the many reasons to supports the use demographic information in research is that demographic information may be an integral part of the data collecting process, depending on the

This is important because it may indicate other information that is inherent to the subjects social group that could potentially influence the results of a study, including one’s attitudes, values, behaviors, and personal perceptions (Hall, 2010). However, while race and ethnicity do fall within the classification of demographic information, the study of such characteristics are usually far more complex than other types of personal information. Nevertheless, there is also good reason to oppose questioning participants about demographic information, including race and ethnicity as

Asking about a person’s race is clearly uncomfortable in some cases more than some, particularly when the person asking is a member of a different racial group. However, much of the discomfort in discussing race and/or ethnicity openly with others is socially embedded in the complex nature and nuances of American history, including that of the discourse in racial politics and social status of ethnic minorities. As O’Hara & Shue (2014) further explain, the inequalities and discrimination in culture are both pervasive, submissive, and systematic in many ways, and thus makes people feel uncertain if they should avoid the topic or discuss it directly. From an alternative perspective, however, it may beneficial to discuss racial or ethnic demographics openly because it may help to eliminate some of the negative stereotypes and discourse of racial matters in modern society. Also, speaking about race and ethnicity openly helps society to heal by providing support for anyone who may have experienced discrimination through the simple acknowledgment of racism in American culture as well (O’Hara & Shue,