3.2.1: Respect for Diversity

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Understand cultural humility as an approach to diversity
• Identify and define dimensions of diversity
• Appreciate the complexity of identity
• Identify important cultural considerations for working within diverse communities

Appreciating Diversity 

The 2017 Multicultural Guidelines emphasize three interrelated concepts crucial for culturally responsive psychology: cultural humility, cultural competence, and reflexivity. These concepts guide psychologists in fostering inclusive, ethical, and effective interactions with diverse populations.

Appreciating diversity in communities includes understanding dimensions of diversity and how to work within diverse community contexts, but also includes a consideration of how to work within systems of inequality. Community psychologists must be mindful of diverse perspectives and experiences when conducting research and designing interventions, as well as working to combat oppression and promote justice and equality. By working within a framework of cultural humility, this chapter attempts to provide a basic understanding of the dimensions of diversity that are most common in psychological research and practice. 

Cultural Competence, Humility, and Reflexivity

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As our world becomes increasingly diverse and interconnected, understanding different cultures becomes crucial. Without a basic understanding of the beliefs and experiences of individuals, professionals can unintentionally contribute to prejudice and discrimination or negatively impact professional relationships and effectiveness of services. To understand cultural experiences, it is important to consider the context of social identity, history, and individual and community experiences with prejudice and discrimination. It is also important to acknowledge that our understanding of cultural differences evolves through an ongoing learning process (Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998).

Cultural humility is a lifelong commitment to self-reflection, openness, and learning from others without assuming expertise in their cultural experiences (Tervalon & Murray-García, 1998). Unlike cultural competence, which can sometimes imply mastery, cultural humility emphasizes mutual respect, power awareness, and an ongoing willingness to adapt practices based on the lived experiences of individuals and communities. It requires psychologists to acknowledge systemic inequalities and advocate for social justice, ensuring that interventions are not imposed but co-created with those they serve. For example, a psychologist working with Indigenous clients would not impose Western therapeutic models but would instead seek to integrate culturally significant healing practices into treatment.

Cultural competence, on the other hand, refers to the ability to interact effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds by acquiring cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills (Sue et al., 1982). It involves recognizing one’s biases, understanding cultural values and traditions, and modifying psychological interventions to fit cultural contexts. However, critics argue that cultural competence may sometimes be reduced to a checklist approach, where professionals assume they have "learned enough" about a culture rather than engaging in continuous growth (Fisher-Borne et al., 2015). A competent psychologist working with Latinx clients, for instance, would recognize the significance of familismo—the emphasis on family interconnectedness—and incorporate family members into therapy when appropriate.

Reflexivity complements both cultural humility and competence by encouraging psychologists to critically examine their own cultural identities, biases, and power dynamics in professional interactions. Reflexivity is an ongoing process that requires self-awareness and active efforts to mitigate personal and systemic biases (Finlay, 2002). It involves questioning how one's background influences perceptions of clients, students, or research participants and taking steps to ensure that these perspectives do not reinforce oppressive structures. Strategies for reflexivity include journaling, seeking supervision, engaging in cultural immersion experiences, and applying ethical decision-making models that consider cultural factors. For example, a White psychologist working with African American clients might reflect on their own privilege and implicit biases, seeking feedback from colleagues of color to ensure their therapeutic approach is culturally sensitive.

Together, cultural humility, competence, and reflexivity create a framework for psychologists to engage ethically and effectively in multicultural settings. Rather than viewing these concepts in isolation, they should be integrated as a dynamic and continuous process. Cultural humility fosters openness and lifelong learning, cultural competence provides practical knowledge and skills, and reflexivity ensures that psychologists remain critical of their assumptions and adapt to the needs of the individuals they serve. By incorporating these principles, psychologists can work toward reducing bias, promoting inclusivity, and fostering meaningful cross-cultural relationships in research, education, and clinical

Dimensions of Diversity

Diversity is addressed in psychology through frameworks that emphasize inclusion, cultural responsiveness, and equity in research, education, and clinical practice. The 2017 Multicultural Guidelines developed by the American Psychological Association (APA, 2017) provide a structured approach to understanding diversity by recognizing the intersectionality of identities, the role of social systems, and the impact of historical and contemporary inequities on mental health and well-being. These guidelines encourage psychologists to move beyond a one-size-fits-all model and consider how factors such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, disability, religion, and immigration status influence individuals’ experiences and psychological outcomes.

 

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Culture

Culture is an important dimension of diversity for psychologists to examine. In general, culture has been challenging to define, with modern definitions viewing culture as a dynamic concept that changes both individuals and societies together over time. Further, culture in today’s society refers to more than just cultural and ethnic groups but also includes racial groups, religious groups, sexual minority groups, socioeconomic groups, nation-states, and corporations. While numerous definitions for culture are available, there are key defining components, such as shared meanings and shared experiences by individuals in a group that are passed down over time with each generation. That is, cultures have shared beliefs, values, practices, definitions, and other elements that are expressed through family socialization, formal schooling, shared language, social roles, and norms for feeling, thinking, and acting (Cohen, 2009).

 

“Culture is something that unites people.” by Exchanges Photos is licensed under CC0 1.0

Using the Ecological Model, culture can be examined at multiple levels to understand its impact. This means that culture can influence the norms and practices of individuals, families, organizations, local communities, and the broader society. For example, cultural influences can have an impact on how members function and interact with one another. Further, culture should be understood within a broader context of power relationships, and how power is used and distributed (Clauss-Elhers, 2019).

Race

While physical differences often are used to define race, in general, there is no consensus for this term. Typically, race has been defined using observable physical or biological criteria, such as skin color, hair color or texture, facial features, etc. However, these biological assumptions of race have been determined to be inaccurate and harmful by biologists, anthropologists, psychologists, and other scientists. Research has proven no biological foundations to race and that human racial groups are more alike than different; in fact, most genetic variation exists within racial groups rather than between groups. Therefore, racial differences in areas such as academics or intelligence are not based on biological differences but are instead related to economic, historical, and social factors (Betancourt & Lopez, 1993).

Instead, race has been socially constructed and has different social and psychological meanings in many societies (Betancourt & Lopez, 1993). In the US, people of color experience more racial prejudice and discrimination than white people. The meanings and definitions of race have also changed over time and are often driven by policies and laws (e.g., one drop rule or laws).

Case Study

Is Race a Selected Identity?

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Rachel Dolezal, also known as Nkechi Amare Diallo, was born to white parents with no known African ancestry. As a young adult, she became involved in civil rights, became a college instructor of Africana Studies, and began self-identifying as a black woman. She even became president of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She resigned from her position with the NAACP and was dismissed from her role as an instructor after information surfaced casting doubt upon her racial heritage. She later acknowledged that she was born to white parents but continued to insist that she strongly identifies as a black woman. Read more here.

Ethnicity

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Ethnicity refers to one’s social identity based on the culture of origin, ancestry, or affiliation with a cultural group (Pinderhughes, 1989). Ethnicity is not the same as nationality, which is a person’s status of belonging to a specific nation by birth or citizenship (e.g., an individual can be of Japanese ethnicity but British nationality because they were born in the United Kingdom). Ethnicity is defined by aspects of subjective culture such as customs, language, and social ties (Resnicow, Braithwaite, Ahluwalia, & Baranowski, 1999).

While ethnic groups are combined into broad categories for research or demographic purposes in the US, there are many ethnicities among the ones you may be familiar with. Latina/o/x or Hispanic may refer to persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Spanish, Dominican, or many other ancestries. Asian Americans have roots from over 20 countries in Asia and India, with the six largest Asian ethnic subgroups in the US being the Chinese, Asian Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Koreans, and Japanese (read more here).

Gender

Gender refers to the socially constructed perceptions of what it means to be male or female in our society and how those genders may be reflected and interpreted by society. Gender is different from sex, which is a biological descriptor involving chromosomes and internal/external reproductive organs. As a socially constructed concept, gender has magnified the perceived differences between females and males leading to limitations in attitudes, roles, and how social institutions are organized. For example, how do gender norms influence types of jobs viewed as appropriate or not appropriate for women or men? How are household or parenting responsibilities divided between men and women?

Gender is not just a demographic category but also influences gender norms, the distribution of power and resources, access to opportunities, and other important processes (Bond, 1999). For those who live outside of these traditional expectations for gender, the experience can be challenging. In general, the binary categories for sex, gender, gender identity, and so forth have received the most attention from both society and the research community, with only more attention to other gender identities (e.g., gender-neutral, transgender, nonbinary, and GenderQueer) in recent years (Kosciw, Palmer, & Kull, 2015).

But the attention to other gender identities is increasing, both academically and publicly. One example is the case of Nicole Maines challenging her elementary school’s restroom policy, which resulted in a victory when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that she had been excluded from the restroom because of her transgender identity. While community psychologists are making efforts to conduct more research on the various gender identities on the gender spectrum, more research needs to continue in this area.

Age

Community Psychology’s emphasis on context has also included aging, or the developmental changes and transitions that come with being a child, adolescent, or adult. Power dynamics, relationships, physical and psychological health concerns, community participation, life satisfaction, and so forth can all vary for these different age groups (Cheng & Heller, 2009). Although the field has started to include aging issues in research, Cheng and Heller (2009) searched for publications on older adults in major Community Psychology journals and found that this segment of the population has been neglected. Although the skills, values, and training of community psychologists would likely make a difference in the lives of older adults, the attitudes within our profession and society are current barriers.

Social Class

Like the other components of diversity, social class is socially constructed and can affect our choices and opportunities. This dimension can include a person’s income or material wealth, educational status, and/or occupational status. It can include assumptions about where a person belongs in society and indicate differences in power, privilege, economic opportunities and resources, and social capital. Social class and culture can also shape a person’s worldview or understanding of the world; influencing how they feel, act, and fit in; and impacting the types of schools they attend, access to health care, or jobs they work at throughout life. The differences in norms, values, and practices between lower and upper social classes can also have impacts on well-being and health outcomes (Cohen, 2009). Social class and its intersection with other components of one’s identity are important for community psychologists to understand. Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? is a seven-part documentary that focuses on the connection between social class, racism, and health.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation refers to a person’s emotional, romantic, erotic, and spiritual attractions toward another in relation to their own sex or gender. The definition focuses on feelings rather than behaviors since individuals who identify with a minority sexual orientation experience significant stigma and oppression in our society (Flanders, Robinson, Legge, & Tarasoff, 2016). Sexual orientation exists on a continuum or multiple continuums and crosses all dimensions of diversity (e.g., race, ethnicity, social class, ability, religion, etc.). Sexual orientation is different from gender identity or gender expression. Over time, gay, lesbian, asexual, and bisexual identities have extended to other sexual orientations such as pansexual, polysexual, and fluid, and increasingly more research is being conducted on these populations within the field of Community Psychology (Kosciw et al., 2015). As a historically marginalized and oppressed group with inadequate representation in the literature, sexual minority groups face a variety of problems and issues that necessitate further research. The empowering and participatory approaches and methods used in Community Psychology can be beneficial for research with sexual minority groups.

Ability/Disability

Disabilities refer to visible or hidden and temporary or permanent conditions that provide barriers or challenges, and impact individuals of every age and social group. Traditional views of disability follow a medical model, primarily explaining diagnoses and treatment models from a pathological perspective (Goodley & Lawthom, 2010). In this traditional approach, individuals diagnosed with a disability are often discussed as objects of study instead of complex individuals impacted by their environment. Community Psychology, however, follows a social model of ability in which diagnoses are viewed from a social and environmental perspective and consider multiple ecological levels. The experiences of individuals are strongly valued, and community-based participatory research is a valuable way to explore experiences while empowering members of a community with varying levels of ability/disability. Learn more by watching the Employment Choice for People with Severe Physical Disabilities video.

Culture must be considered when viewing ability from a social perspective (Goodley & Lawthom, 2000), and may impact whether or not certain behaviors are considered sufficient for inclusion in a diagnosis. For example, cultural differences in the assessment of “typical” development have impacted the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders in different countries. Further, diagnoses or symptoms can be culturally-specific, and culture may influence how symptoms are communicated. The experience of culture can significantly impact lived experience for individuals diagnosed with a disability.

It is important to consider how intersectionality impacts the experience of disability. For example, students of color and other underserved groups have a higher rate of diagnosis of learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disabilities, and intellectual disabilities (Artiles, Kozleski, Trent, Osher, & Ortiz, 2010), which may be due to economic, historical, and social factors. Diagnosis must be considered as disabled youth are at a disadvantage in a number of indicators of educational performance, leading to more substantial disparities later in life.

How one identifies individuals with a particular label indicating their race, gender or sexuality is rather complicated, and unless investigators are careful in their definitions of these terms, many problems can be encountered, as has been reviewed above. Identifying who has a disability or health condition can also be a challenge and can have real, tangible consequences for an affected group. As an example, if prevalence research suggests that a particular disability or health condition is relatively rare, it is possible that few federal and state resources will be devoted to those individuals. But if the methodology for selecting individuals is flawed, then the prevalence rates will be inaccurate and potentially biased. This is what occurred with the health condition known as chronic fatigue syndrome, now also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, as indicated in Case Study 8.2.

Case Study

How Flawed Research Can Lead to More Stigma

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When the Centers for Disease Control tried to estimate the prevalence of those with this illness, they concluded that only about 20,000 people had this condition in the US, and most with this illness tended to be white, middle-class women, which is what led to the stigmatizing label “Yuppie Flu disease.” However, the way the investigators conducted this research was flawed; they asked healthcare personnel to identify individuals with this illness, but as many healthcare professionals did not believe that this was a real or legitimate, they tended to refer few individuals to the study. In addition, as many individuals with a chronic health condition do not have access to the healthcare system, many individuals with this illness were not able to be brought into the prevalence study. However, when a group of community psychologists used better research methods that involved deriving their sample from randomly contacting people in the community, without depending on referrals from physicians, they estimated that about a million individuals had ME/CFS. In addition, those identified tended to be from lower socioeconomic status groups and communities of color (just the opposite of what led to the characterization of Yuppie Flu) (Jason et al., 1999). The findings from this study were widely disseminated and led to reductions in some of the bias and stigmatization that has been directed to those with this illness.

Religion & Spirituality

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There are many definitions of religion, most of which typically include shared systems of beliefs and values, symbols, feelings, actions, experiences, and a source of community unity (Cohen, 2009). Religion emphasizes beliefs and practices, relationships with the divine, and faith, all of which differentiate it from common definitions of culture. Further, religion is an important predictor for well-being, satisfaction, and other life outcomes (Tarakeshwar, Stanton, & Pargament, 2003). While religion has been neglected in most psychological research, it has been included in Multicultural and Community Psychology’s conceptualization of diversity since the beginning of the field.

Religion and spirituality were formerly considered a joint concept but have been differentiated in the past century. Definitions of spirituality typically focus on relationships with a higher power and a quest for meaning. The differentiation between religion and spirituality has become more relevant recently as many individuals consider themselves more spiritual than they are religious. Multicultural and Community Psychology has long considered religion as a dimension of diversity, but the importance of spirituality in our understanding of community has been a more recent development.

The importance of religion and spirituality to physical and emotional well-being and a strong sense of community merits the inclusion of both, in research and practice (Tarakeshwar et al., 2003). Psychologists understand the importance of working in natural settings, which frequently include religious and spiritual settings. Collaboration with religious organizations and embedding interventions into these settings may have positive impacts on individuals in the community and may also help religious organizations reach goals.

Impact of Identities

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While the various dimensions of diversity discussed above are a start to understanding human diversity, they do not fully describe an individual, community, or population. Instead, we must consider that these dimensions do not exist independently of each other and that the interaction of these dimensions is referred to as intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989). Intersectionality focuses on how the dimensions can overlap and give rise to different experiences as well as multiple privileges or inequities; for example, racial/ethnic and sexual minority men will experience more health disparities than white and/or heterosexual men. Psychologists recognize the significance of intersectionality, but published research in this area is still lacking compared to other disciplines. “The urgency of intersectionality” video can help you learn more about intersectionality.

Privilege, or the unearned advantages that individuals have based on membership in a dominant group (e.g., race, gender, social class, sexual orientation, ability), contribute to the systems of oppression for non-privileged individuals and groups. While privilege can come in multiple forms and individuals can have multiple privileges; white privilege, or the advantages that white people have in society, are important for psychologists to examine more extensively to understand how white people participate in systems of oppression for racial minority groups in the US (Todd, McConnell, & Suffin, 2014). For example, white experiences and perspectives tend to be pervasive in curriculum, policy, pedagogy, and practices (Suyemoto & Fox Tree, 2006) at the exclusion of work and research by people of color.

Janet Helms’ (1995) important work on the white racial identity model describes how white people move from a racist identity to a non-racist identity as they become more aware, move beyond an effective understanding of racial minorities to an experiential one, and understand their role in a racist society. Other community psychologists have explored how to create organizational contexts that are more inclusive and address white privilege (Bond, 1999) or have examined how white privilege influences commitment and interest toward social justice (Todd et al., 2014). While community psychologists are contributing to this research, more studies are needed to understand the relationship between identity, privilege, and social justice and action in community contexts.

Diversity in Practice

Using a framework of cultural humility, community psychologists consider context. This provides the ability to view various dimensions of diversity while considering the impacts of prejudice and discrimination. It is also important to consider how cultural practices differ in all settings in which the individual operates. Considering context expands the perspective of culture to include historical context, intersectionality of identities, and the experience of prejudice and discrimination.umming Up

 

Critical Thought Questions

1. How would you explain the differences between cultural humility and cultural competence? Why is cultural humility more beneficial for understanding diversity?
2. How do race and ethnicity differ? How is race socially constructed?
3. What gender norms are present in today’s society? Would you say these gender norms are beneficial or not? Why?
4. Why is it important to focus more research on the spectrum of sexual identities?
5. Although disability involves a physical/biological reality, it is also a social construction. How is disability a social construction?
6. What is intersectionality and how does it impact a person’s experiences?
7. Why should the culture of a community be considered before designing community programs?

 

References

American Psychological Association. (2017). Multicultural guidelines: An ecological approach to context, identity, and intersectionality. APA. 

Artiles, A. J., Kozleski, E. B., Trent, S. C., Osher, D., & Ortiz, A. (2010). Justifying and explaining disproportionality, 1968-2008: A critique of underlying views of culture. Exceptional Children, 76(3), 279-299. doi: 10.1177/001440291007600303

Betancourt, H., & Lopez, S. R. (1993). The study of culture, ethnicity, and race in American psychology. American Psychologist, 48(6), 629-637.

Bond, M. A. (1999). Gender, race, and class in organizational contexts. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27(3), 327-355.

Cheng, S. T., & Heller, K. (2009). Global aging: Challenges for community psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 44, 161-173.

Clauss-Ehlers, C. S., Hunter, S. J., Morse, G. S., & Tummala-Narra, P. (Usha). (2024). Applying multiculturalism: An ecological approach to the APA guidelines. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000348-000

Cohen, A. B. (2009). Many forms of culture. American Psychologist, 64(3), 194-204.

Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140, 139-168.

Flanders, C. E., Robinson, M., Legge, M. M., & Tarasoff, L. A. (2016). Negative identity experiences of bisexual and other non-monosexual people: A qualitative report. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 20(2), 152-172.

Goodley, D., & Lawthom, R. (2010). Epistemological journeys in participatory action research: Alliances between community psychology and disability studies. Disability & Society, 20(2), 135-151. doi: 10.1080/09687590500059077

Helms, J. E. (1995). An update of Helms’ White and people of color racial identity models. In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki, & C. M Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (pp. 181-198). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Jason, L. A., Glantsman, O., O’Brien, J. F., & Ramian, K. N. (2019). Introduction to the field of Community Psychology. In L. A. Jason, O. Glantsman, J. F. O’Brien, & K. N. Ramian (Eds.), Introduction to Community Psychology: Becoming an agent of change. Retrieved from https://press.rebus.community/introductiontocommunitypsychology/chapter/intro -to-community-psychology/

Jason, L. A., Richman, J. A., Rademaker, A. W., Jordan, K. M., Plioplys, A. V., Taylor, R. R.,… Plioplys, S. (1999). A community-based study of chronic fatigue syndrome. Archives of internal medicine, 159(18), 2129-2137.

Kidd, S. A., & Kral, M. J. (2005). Practicing participatory action research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(2), 187-195. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.187

Kosciw, J. G., Palmer, N. A., & Kull, R. M. (2015). Reflecting resiliency: Openness about sexual orientation and/or gender identity and its relationship to well-being and educational outcomes for LGBT students. American Journal of Community Psychology, 55, 167-178.

O’Donnell, C. R., & Tharp, R. G. (2012). Integrating cultural community psychology: Activity settings and the shared meanings of intersubjectivity. American Journal of Community Psychology, 49, 22-30.

Pinderhughes, E. (1989). Understanding race, ethnicity and power: The key to efficacy in clinical practice. New York: Basic Books.

Resnicow, K., Braithwaite, R., Ahluwalia, J., & Baranowski, T. (1999). Cultural sensitivity in public health: Defined and demystified. Ethnicity & Disease, 9, 10-21.

Suyemoto, K. L., & Fox Tree, C. A. (2006). Building bridges across differences to meet social action goals: Being and creating allies among people of color. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37, 237-246.

Tarakeshwar, N., Stanton, J., & Pargament, K. I. (2003). Relgion: An overlooked dimension in cross-cultural psychology. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34, 377-394. doi: 10.1177/0022022103034004001

Tervalon, M., & Murray-Garcia, J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117-125.

Todd, N. R., McConnell, E. A., & Suffrin, R. L. (2014). The role of attitudes toward white privilege and religious beliefs in predicting social justice interest and commitment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 53, 109-121.

Trickett, E. J. (2011). From “Water boiling in a Peruvian town” to “Letting them die”: Culture, community intervention, and the metabolic balance between patience and zeal. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47, 58-68.