Incorporating Black Images and References to Increase African American Student Performance in Introductory Psychology: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Psychology educators report time constraints and a lack of relevance to course material as barriers to the incorporation of diversity content into their courses. This pilot study demonstrates an approach to teaching introductory psychology that infuses images of and references to Black people in a way that requires no additional time and is relevant to course content. “Black Imagery” sections contained slide-embedded images of people appearing to be or of African descent, as well as textbook-relevant examples that referenced African Americans for 33% of the chapters covered. “White Imagery” sections, with images and references to people of European descent, provided a comparison. An independent-samples t test found a statistically significant difference in final course grades for African American students enrolled in Black (M = 78.65; SD = 19.85) versus White Imagery (M = 69.65, SD = 14.75) sections, t(58) = 2.01, p = .049, d = 0.77. Incorporating diversity into psychology courses can be time-efficient and instructionally relevant, and this benefits African American students, and potentially students of other heritage, as well.