The Psychology of Black Women: Studying Women’s Lives in Context

Abstract

This article provides a critical analysis of a distinctive psychology of Black women, discusses the relevant epistemologies and conceptual framework that can inform such a perspective, and suggests a set of guiding principles for advancing theory and research on Black women within a historically and contextually relevant framework. A discussion of who is best suited to study the lives of Black women is also provided. The article concludes with a charge for a psychology of Black women that will examine previously ignored issues, formulate and test of new (and old) hypotheses, and develop alternative theoretical paradigms that are sensitive to the realities and contextualized lives of this population.