Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training,
Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists
American Psychological Association
Approved as APA Policy by the APA Council of Representatives, August, 2002
Definitions
There is considerable controversy and overlap in terms used to connote race,
culture, and ethnicity (Helms & Talleyrand, 1997; Phinney, 1996). In this section we
define the following terms that will be used throughout these Guidelines.
Culture. "Culture" is defined as the belief systems and value orientations that
influence customs, norms, practices, and social institutions, including psychological
processes (language, care taking practices, media, educational systems) and organizations
(media, educational systems; Fiske, Kitayama, Markus, & Nisbett, 1998). Inherent in
this definition is the acknowledgement that all individuals are cultural beings and have a
cultural, ethnic, and racial heritage. Culture has been described as the embodiment of a
worldview through learned and transmitted beliefs, values, and practices, including
religious and spiritual traditions. It also encompasses a way of living informed by the
historical, economic, ecological, and political forces on a group. These definitions
suggest that culture is fluid and dynamic, and that there are both cultural universal
phenomena as well as culturally specific or relative constructs.
Race. The biological basis of race has, at times, been the source of fairly heated
debates in psychology (Fish, 1995; Helms & Talleyrand, 1997; Jensen, 1995; Levin,
1995; Phinney, 1996; Rushton, 1995; Sun, 1995; Yee, Fairchild, Weizmann, & Wyatt,
1993). Helms and Cook (1999) note that "race" has no consensual definition, and that, in
fact, biological racial categories and phenotypic characteristics have more within group
variation than between group variation. In these Guidelines, the definition of race is
considered to be socially constructed, rather than biologically determined. Race, then, is
the category to which others assign individuals on the basis of physical characteristics,
such as skin color or hair type, and the generalizations and stereotypes made as a result.
Thus, "people are treated or studied as though they belong to biologically defined racial
groups on the basis of such characteristics" (Helms & Talleyrand, 1997).
Ethnicity. Similar to the concepts of race and culture, the term "ethnicity" does
not have a commonly agreed upon definition; in these Guidelines we will refer to
ethnicity as the acceptance of the group mores and practices of one's culture of origin and
the concomitant sense of belonging. We also note that, consistent with Brewer (1999),
Sedikides and Brewer (2001), and Hornsey and Hogg (2000), individuals may have
multiple ethnic identities that operate with different salience at different times.
Multiculturalism and Diversity. The terms "multiculturalism" and "diversity"
have been used interchangeably to include aspects of identity stemming from gender,
sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, or age. Multiculturalism, in an
absolute sense, recognizes the broad scope of dimensions of race, ethnicity, language,
sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, class status, education, religious/spiritual
orientation, and other cultural dimensions. All of these are critical aspects of an
individual's ethnic/racial and personal identity, and psychologists are encouraged to be
cognizant of issues related to all of these dimensions of culture. In addition, each cultural
dimension has unique issues and concerns. As noted by the Guidelines for
Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients (APA, 2000), each individual
belongs to/identifies with a number of identities and some of those identities interact with
each other. To effectively help clients, to effectively train students, to be most effective
as agents of change and as scientists, psychologists are encouraged to be familiar with
issues of these multiple identities within and between individuals. However, as we noted
earlier, in these Guidelines, we will use the term multicultural rather narrowly, to connote
interactions between racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. and the implications for education,
training, research, practice, and organizational change.
The concept of diversity has been widely used in employment settings, with the
term given greater visibility through research by the Hudson Institute reported in
Workforce 2000 (Johnson & Packer, 1987) and Workforce 2020 (Judy & D'Amico,
1997). The application of the term began with reference to women and Persons of Color,
underrepresented in the workplace, particularly in decision–making roles. It has since
evolved to be more encompassing in its intent and application by referring to individuals' social identities including age, sexual orientation, physical disability, socioeconomic
status, race/ethnicity, workplace role/position, religious and spiritual orientation, and
work/family concerns (Loden, 1996).
Culture–centered. We use the term "culture–centered" throughout the Guidelines
to encourage psychologists to use a "cultural lens" as a central focus of professional
behavior. In culture–centered practices, psychologists recognize that all individuals
including themselves are influenced by different contexts, including the historical,
ecological, sociopolitical, and disciplinary. "If culture is part of the environment, and all
behavior is shaped by culture, then culture–centered counseling is responsive to all
culturally learned patterns" (Pedersen, 1997, p. 256). For example, a culture–centered
focus suggests to the psychologist the consideration that behavior may be shaped by
culture, the groups to which one belongs, and cultural stereotypes including those about
stigmatized group members (Gaertner & Dovidio, 2000; Major, Quinton, & McCoy, in
press; Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Steele, 1997).
