Introduction to Psychology
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Psychology of race and ethnicity

Studies how racial and ethnic categories, identities and group relations shape thought, behavior and well-being. A major review treats race as largely socially constructed rather than biological.

Also called: racial and ethnic psychology, psychology of race and race relations

Interdisciplinary fieldSocial and culture

Type of entry
Interdisciplinary fieldAn area that draws on psychology together with other disciplines. Types are editorial labels, not an official classification.
Cluster
Social life and culturePeople in groups, cultures, communities and politics.
Sources opened
4 of 42 read as a full page, 2 as selected text or an abstract, 0 not verified.
Independent review
Admitted after correctionsClaude Code reviewer agent, separate from the writer, 2026-10-21. 8 claims checked against 4 sources opened by the reviewer.

What it studies

Psychology of race and ethnicity studies how racial and ethnic categories, identities and group relations shape thought, behavior and well-being. A major review of the social psychology of race begins with the question of what race is and treats it as dynamic, malleable and socially constructed, not as a fixed biological division. The same review covers intergroup relations and the effects of racial diversity.

History and people

The sources opened give no single founding date or founder for the area. Institution building by psychologists of color in the United States is documented: the Association of Black Psychologists gives September 2, 1968 as the birth of the organization, formed during an American Psychological Association meeting, and the Asian American Psychological Association says it was founded in December 1972.

People and documented roles

  • Jennifer A. Richeson. Co-author of a 2016 Annual Review of Psychology article on the social psychology of race
    • Co-authored a review that models race as dynamic, malleable and socially constructed. [1]
  • Samuel R. Sommers. Co-author of a 2016 Annual Review of Psychology article on the social psychology of race
    • Co-authored a review that models race as dynamic, malleable and socially constructed. [1]
  • Derald Sue. First president of the Asian American Psychological Association, per the association
    • Served as first president of the Asian American Psychological Association, which says it was founded in December 1972. [3]
  • Stanley Sue. Member of the first core group of the Asian American Psychological Association, per the association
    • Was part of the first core group of the Asian American Psychological Association. [3]

The Association of Black Psychologists page names Robert Williams as co-founder and past president, but the page does not give a date for that role, so he is not listed. The sources opened do not document earlier scholars of race in psychology, Latinx organizations or scholars outside the United States.

Dated milestones

  • September 2, 1968Society or organization formed. Exact date.The Association of Black Psychologists page gives this as the birth of the organization in a press release about the recent American Psychological Association meeting in San Francisco, so it is the date the association assigns, not necessarily the day of the meeting. [2]
  • December 1972Society or organization formed. Month and year.Asian American Psychological Association says it was founded by Asian American psychologists and other mental health professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area. [3]

Methods

The review draws on research from different fields and organizes findings around classic theories of intergroup relations, including social identity theory, social categorization and social dominance theory. It also reviews research on how racial diversity affects individuals during interpersonal encounters and in groups. The sources opened do not give a full account of research designs or measures.

Training and applications

The Asian American Psychological Association says it has published journals and newsletters on the education and training of Asian American psychologists and names improving mental health services for Asian Americans among its concerns. A journal of the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race states that it seeks to advance the psychological science of culture, ethnicity and race. In the United States, psychology titles and licenses are set by regulators, not by this guide.

Boundaries and limits

The review says research identifies race as largely a social, rather than biological, category, and it stresses that its meaning shifts across time, place, perceiver and target. It also gives separate sections to race versus ethnicity and to moving beyond either-or racial categorization, so these definitions are treated as topics of discussion. The sources opened are centered on the United States and include society self-descriptions, so they do not show how the area developed elsewhere.

Evidence behind the claims

  • A 2016 Annual Review of Psychology article by Jennifer A. Richeson and Samuel R. Sommers begins with the question of what race is and puts forward a model of race as dynamic, malleable and socially constructed, shifting across time, place, perceiver and target.

    What it studiesDocumented in the sourceSource: [1]Where: Abstract, page 439; page 441 states that research identifies race as largely a social, rather than biological, category

  • The same review uses classic theoretical perspectives on intergroup relations (social identity theory, social categorization and social dominance theory) and then reviews research on the effects of racial diversity on individuals and groups.

    MethodsDocumented in the sourceSource: [1]Where: Abstract and table of contents, pages 439 and 440

  • The Association of Black Psychologists states that it was founded as a national organization on September 2, 1968, formed during an American Psychological Association meeting in San Francisco.

    History and peopleThe organization's own descriptionSource: [2]Where: History text near the top of the page (cites a September 1968 press release)

  • The Association of Black Psychologists page says more than 200 Black psychologists gathered to build a national structure addressing racism and poverty and submitted a petition to the American Psychological Association citing three concerns.

    History and peopleThe organization's own descriptionSource: [2]Where: Early events paragraph in the history text

  • The Asian American Psychological Association says it was founded in December 1972 by Asian American psychologists and other mental health professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area, with Derald Sue as first president and Stanley Sue part of the first core group.

    History and peopleThe organization's own descriptionSource: [3]Where: History paragraph

  • The Asian American Psychological Association says it has published journals and newsletters focused on the education and training of Asian American psychologists, and it names improving mental health services for Asian Americans among its concerns.

    Training and applicationsThe organization's own descriptionSource: [3]Where: Scope paragraph

  • The Division 45 page states that its journal, Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, seeks to advance the psychological science of culture, ethnicity and race.

    Training and applicationsThe organization's own descriptionSource: [4]Where: Main body text describing the journal

  • The Richeson and Sommers review has separate sections titled Race Versus Ethnicity and Moving Beyond Either/Or Racial Categorization under its section on conceptualizing race.

    Boundaries and limitsDocumented in the sourceSource: [1]Where: Table of contents, page 440

In the Psy101 course

This is course relevance only. It is not evidence for the historical or practice claims on this page.See the full course map.

Sources and inspection

4 of 4 sources were opened and read at the level shown. A source marked as not verified supports no claim on this page by itself.

  1. [1]
    Toward a Social Psychology of Race and Race Relations for the Twenty-First CenturyAnnual Review of Psychology (copy hosted by Yale University), 2016. Review article. Supports the definition of the area.Selected text readRead pages 439 to 441 as page images: title page, abstract, table of contents, introduction and the opening of the section on conceptualizing race; the body beyond page 441 was not read.
  2. [2]
    About ABPsiAssociation of Black Psychologists, undated. Professional association. Supports the history.Full page readRead the page's history, purpose and resources text; it cites a September 1968 press release that was not opened separately.
  3. [3]
    About AAPAAsian American Psychological Association, undated. Professional association. Supports the history.Full page readRead the page text on history, activities and scope; it has no formal mission statement.
  4. [4]
    JournalSociety for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race (APA Division 45), undated. Professional association. Supports the definition of the area.Selected text readRead the main body, which describes the society's journal; the Brief History and Chronology links were not opened.

Independent source review: Claude Code reviewer agent, separate from the writer, 2026-10-21. Verdict: Admitted after corrections. Of 8 claims checked, 7 were supported as written, 1 were reworded and 0 were removed.