Why Traditional Metrics May Not Adequately Represent Ethnic Minority Psychology

Abstract

The first Perspectives on Psychological Science symposium on eminence in psychology focused almost exclusively on “traditional” markers of success (e.g., citation counts, awards, grants). In this essay, I argue that the context of the research and the context of the researchers are crucial components of ethnic minority psychology. First, I describe structural reasons for why ethnic minority researchers might have less impressive traditional markers of success; then, I highlight how the “minority tax” contours the scholarly activities of ethnic minority researchers. Any conceptualization of eminence must take these additional considerations into account.