Preface
Introduction to Psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate courses in the United States. Based on information from bookstore orders and student purchasing surveys, between 1.2 million and 1.6 million students take introductory psychology courses each year (Gurung et al., 2016). Around 13,000 instructors teach this course each year (Market Data Research, 2014).
For many students, this course is their first and only contact with the field of psychology. However, the curriculum of a typical introductory psychology course emphasizes theories, methods, and ways of knowing that were developed within a historical context rooted in colonialism and by a group of scholars holding a privileged set of social identities, perspectives, and experiences. In recent years, in part due to a series of monumental social events (e.g., a global pandemic, responses to increased awareness of police violence against BIPOC communities, hate crimes against many minoritized groups, and laws threatening the human rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals), instructors and departments are beginning to rethink and revise their introductory curricula to be more inclusive of diverse cultures and perspectives. Furthermore, the American Psychological Association’s (APA) recent “Apology to People of Color for APA’s Role in Promoting, Perpetuating, and Failing to Challenge Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Human Hierarchy in U.S.” illustrates the harm that has resulted from status quo teaching and research practices in psychology.
We are informed by decolonizing, accessible, anti-racist, equitable, and sustainable (DAARES) principles: (1) anti-oppressive relationships are promoted in the classroom where a class culture of connection, compassion, collaboration, and cultural humility is valued and student and instructor wellbeing are balanced; (2) universal accessibility is embedded across class design, methods, and curricula to empower all students; (3) ethics and social justice are infused throughout the curriculum; (4) critical consciousness is infused throughout the curriculum; and (5) multiple worldviews and diverse perspectives and scholars are centered throughout the curriculum.
We are inspired by how the lessons commonly taught in Introduction to Psychology can change—sometimes radically—when we consider diverse demographic experiences. Traditionally, introductory psychology courses cover theories that are assumed to be fundamental—that is, they apply to most people under ordinary circumstances. Yet, research that includes diverse populations repeatedly shows that few of these theories truly apply to most people.
Importantly, popular introductory psychology textbooks can be expensive for students. To help students save on expenses, we are publishing our Hidden Voices in Psychology as an open educational resource (OER). Our text, Hidden Voices in Psychology, was written as a companion supplement to the NOBA OER textbook. However, it can be used as a supplement for any commercial introductory psychology textbook. As a supplemental text, our text does not seek to define fundamental concepts that will already be covered in a standard psychology textbook; instead, it aims to document the hidden voices and narratives that are usually not included.