Overview
In order to provide a valid description of the impact of racism on people of African descent, one must examine the influences and processes that lie in three distinct but interacting domains. The first domain comprises the stimulus events (input) that tend to support and perpetuate racism. The second centers on the mental processes, universal and personal, that the victim goes through in response to racism. Finally, the third domain are the states of mind and the patterns of behavior (output) formed in reaction to racism.Most of the current research is concerned with the third domain. Scholars have generated analyses of deteriorated family structures, negative attitudes, violent behavior, and poor academic achievement, among others. Some excellent studies have also been completed on stimulus events and the racist environments. Very little research has been done on the second domain, the mental processes. It is the purpose of Manichean Psychology to fill this void.
Essentially, Manichean Psychology's focus is the mental processes that occur in a racist environment. Although stimulus (input) and response (output) events are discussed, the material in each chapter concentrates on the mental events and activities that involved in processing the former and producing the latter.
About the Author:
Camara Jules P. Harrell is professor of psychology, Howard University. He has published articles in Black Psychology, Psychology Bulletin, Biological Psychology, and the International Journal of Psychophysiology.