Notes on decolonizing psychology: from one Special Issue to another

Abstract

In this article, we describe a special thematic section on the topic of “Decolonizing Psychological Science” that we have edited for the Journal of Social and Political Psychology. Three approaches to decolonization were evident in contributions to the ongoing project. In the indigenous resistance approach, researchers draw upon local knowledge to modify “standard” practice and produce psychologies that are more responsive to local realities. In the accompaniment approach, “global expert” researchers from hegemonic centers travel to marginalized communities to work alongside local inhabitants in struggles for social justice. In the denaturalization approach, researchers draw upon local knowledge and experience of marginalized communities as an epistemic resource to resist the coloniality of knowledge and being in hegemonic psychology. The task of decolonization requires more than the production of local psychologies attuned to the conditions of particular communities. In addition, it requires decolonial versions of global psychology that are conducive to the wellness of all humanity beyond a dominant Eurocentric subset.