Decolonizing social psychology

In this program of research, I argue that decolonizing psychology begins with situating implicit contemporary narratives within a broader historical frame. The systematic integration of colonial beliefs in social psychological literature privileges the majority group into conducting and expanding the research based on limited knowledge in the field. The proliferation of research in this manner can be likened to the construction of a building. If the foundation is shaky, each floor built atop it will be built on biased information, further calcifying these colonial beliefs. This in itself is colonization, a systematic integration of beliefs and concepts that quickly become reified. In this research, I aim to: (1) provide initial empirical support for implicit narratives and cultural beliefs that ground the current psychological literature on Muslims and their spread, (2) link these narratives to colonizing beliefs and stereotypes, and (3) offer suggestions for how to begin to “decolonize” research on the study of Muslim populations.