Affect-symbolic imagery is both a psychological and an epistemological construct that defines general knowledge acquisition in African/African American culture. Symbolic imagery is the use ofphenomena such as words, gestures, tones, rhythms, and objects to convey meaning. In contrast, the general epistemological perspective from a European/European American cultural orientation is an object-measure cognition. In this theoretical article, a historical analysis will be given to explain why affect-symbolic imagery may be more prevalent in African culture. In sum, the main purpose for revisiting affect-symbolic imagery will be to provide an educational framework in which Black psychologists can better implement culturally relevant learning paradigmsforAfrican/African American people.
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