Table 1.

Recommendations for Addressing Psychology’s History of Research Misconduct and Harm Toward Black Communities

Initiative	Action
At The Level of Individuals and Academic Departments
Educate budding psychologists about the historical maltreatment of Black and other minoritized racial and ethnic communities in the context of psychology research malpractice	• Update syllabi, readings, and course materials to foster a more thorough reflection on psychology’s maltreatment of Black and other communities of color beyond the classic examples (i.e., Milgram and Tuskegee experiments)  • Use effective teaching strategies (Burnes and Singh, 2010): (1) Use of course readings to increase knowledge, (2) Including self-examination and self-reflection exercises in courses, and (3) Bridging this knowledge and awareness-based learning with experiential learning activities  • Facilitate critical examination of ongoing research and the ways in which specific framing, studies, or programs of research may be interpreted or used for harm by oppressive systems (see for example, Buchanan et al., 2021)
Diversify course readings and materials to introduce a more holistic and equitable narrative	• Elicit faculty commitment to dedicate consistent attention and effort towards engaging in equitable teaching practices that center diversity, equity, and inclusion  • Develop and provide resources for faculty to diversify existing syllabi with more articles authored by Black scientists and scientists of color, articles specifically within the field of Black Psychology, and articles that specifically examine experiences of race and related psychological phenomena (see for example: https://heystacks.org/doc/425/bipoc-authored-psychology-papers)  • Engage faculty in yearly updates to their syllabi and create a departmental syllabi review committee to assess the appropriateness and diversity of included readings, materials, etc.  • To foster engagement in syllabus diversification, evaluate faculty on their use of diversified syllabi and incorporate these ratings into course evaluations that students can access prior to course selection to inform whether a course is right for them
At The Level of Journals & Funding Agencies
Create structures to promote equitable research practices among journals and funding agencies	• Make clear the journal’s or funding agency’s standards for publication and grant funding (i.e., “minimum standards of equity”), such as prioritizing studies that center: experiences of race, meaningfully diverse samples, or samples with a majority of people from minoritized racial backgrounds, and those proposed by Black scientists and other scientists of color  • Explicitly instruct reviewers to consider the racial/ethnic makeup of the sample, particularly if the content of an article or grant involves the study of race and related psychological phenomena  • Encourage reviewers to consider the backgrounds of the writers of the article or grant in relation to the content  • Establish “equity committees” among journals and funding agencies to ensure that publication of studies examining diverse populations and authored by diverse scientists are being accepted at more equitable rates  • Incorporate more diverse members on journal and funding agency boards and selection committees to ensure a more equitable selection process and distribution of resources, which will promote more equitable (and interesting) science  • Create pools of funding to be allocated specifically for studies that will center experiences of race and related psychological phenomena and/or the creation and validation of community-based interventions to address the lingering impacts of systemic oppression
Acknowledge past harms and prevent continued misinformation	• Acknowledge past harms and actively prevent their recurrence by recalling past articles when the harm or potential for harm is particularly pronounced  • Retroactively append articles with a disclaimer signaling recognition of the potential harm and guidance to ensure that data and claims be interpreted in the proper context