Serving Individuals and Society
The Study of Privilege
An article by Earl R. Carlson
Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology
California State University, Long Beach
Abstract
Despite compelling evidence that the greatest sources of social and economic inequities derive from the families children are born into, there has been relatively little focus in psychology on understanding how the social class and cultural characteristics of families come to create such profound differences in the characteristics and quality of life of their children. This article explores reasons why these issues have not be studied, and proposes a new paradigm--centered on a concept of privilege--that shows promise of providing a framework for integrating existing and future knowledge about the causal processes that follow from differing degrees of advantage and disadvantage. While the study of privilege is necessarily interdisciplinary, psychology has much to contribute, and should take a lead in this neglected area of research.
Correspondence about this article, including requests for copies of the full article, should be addressed to: Earl R. Carlson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90840 or ecarlson@csulb.edu.
Cross Cultural Psychology Resource Program
The Cross Cultural Psychology Resource Program provides clinical and evaluation services for Seattle's multicultural community. It is staffed on a small scale by graduate and undergraduate students from UW Psychology, who also are able to provide assistance with research questions, assistance with literature reviews, and general liaison services between the university and community social service agencies. The program is supervised by faculty psychologists, Dr. Kim Barrett, Dr. Bill George, Dr. Tedd Judd, and Carrie Perrin from the psychology advising office.
Psychology Majors Fieldwork Program
Psychology majors have the opportunity to earn departmental elective credit for their fieldwork in areas related to psychology. The Psychology Department offers Psych 497, a weekly seminar open to students who are also engaged in volunteer work in the community. Students have the chance to gain valuable training and work experience in the fields of counseling, social services, criminal justice, education and human resources. In conjunction with the field experience, the Psych 497 seminar helps students to further define their educational and career goals by encouraging the exploration of larger academic questions which relate to the work they are doing at the internship site.
Sponsored Faculty Projects
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Low Income, Family Disruption, and the Development of Effortful Control
| Project Duration: | 07/01/2009 - 06/30/2010 |
| Sponsor: | National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) |
| Dept. Investigator(s): | Liliana Lengua |
Addressing Depression and ART Adherence in HIV+ Latinos on the US-Mexico Border
| Project Duration: | 07/01/2009 - 06/30/2010 |
| Sponsor: | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) |
| Dept. Investigator(s): | Jane Simoni |
Outreach, Applied Experiences and Service Learning to Enhance Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training
| Project Duration: | 06/01/2008 - 05/31/2009 |
| Sponsor: | American Psychological Association (APA) |
| Dept. Investigator(s): | William George |