Imagine how different psychology would be if it began with the assumption that the self is not the center of the behavioral universe.
Psychology is a relatively new discipline, with foundations formed narrowly and near-exclusively by white, European males. But in this increasingly diverse nation and world, those foundations filled with implicit bias are too narrow to best help our people and society, says author Arthur Blume, a fellow of the American Psychological Association. According to Blume, a narrowly based perspective prevents “out-of-the-box” thinking, research, and treatment that could well power greater healing and avoidance of disorders.
In this text, Blume explains the Native American perspective on psychology, detailing why that needs to be incorporated as a new model for this field. A Native American psychologist, he contrasts the original culture of psychology’s creators—as it includes individualism, autonomy, independence, and hierarchal relationships—with that of Native Americans in the context of communalism, interdependence, earth-centeredness, and egalitarianism. As Blume explains, psychological happiness is redefined by the reality of our interdependence rather than materialism and individualism, and how we do things becomes as important as what we accomplish.
