by Kate Carosella, University of Minnesota
There exists a stark mismatch between the diversity of the United States population and that of the psychology workforce (American Psychological Association, 2017; Jones et al., 2021; United States Census Bureau, 2022). This discrepancy has persisted despite repeated, widespread attempts to increase representation (McHolland et al., 1990; Rogers & Molina, 2006). Unfortunately, these efforts have not yet brought widespread change, in part because they frequently fail to address the systemic barriers to entry that disproportionately exclude individuals who are black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), those with disabilities, those who are LGBTQIA+, and those from low-income backgrounds. Though there is greater diversity at the level of undergraduate psychology majors, there is a dramatic drop off in the number of individuals from historically underrepresented backgrounds in the transition from undergraduate to graduate programs, indicating that these barriers may exist during the course of undergraduate studies (Luebbe & Ogbaselase, 2018). In this article, I critically review and discuss some of these barriers.
Establishing a career in psychology frequently requires a graduate degree. The success of an applicant to such a program is dependent on the experiences and skills gained during undergraduate and post-baccalaureate periods, with the success of obtaining a post-baccalaureate position being largely dependent on undergraduate experiences as well (Prinstein, 2022; Volkan, 2022). The period of undergraduate study is truly a sensitive period for determining if one will be able to successfully pursue a career in psychology (i.e., it is possible to achieve these goals without having the requisite experience during undergrad but it is significantly more difficult). Some core criteria that are required to reach a career in psychology by way of graduate school are research and clinical experiences, and mentor relationships (Prinstein, 2022).
The demands of finding and obtaining a research assistantship or clinical placement, both of which are almost universally unpaid positions, represent a primary barrier for students of underrepresented backgrounds. It is the students who do not need to complete a work study, find an external job, or require accommodations for a disability who have the time and flexibility to volunteer in a research assistantship or clinical position. Gaining skills in participant recruitment, data collection, data analysis, and scientific writing requires multiple semesters of commitment to a research assistantship and are near requirements for future employment in research and graduate studies (Russell et al., 2007). Further, obtaining clinical experience requires a significant time commitment because of the training needed to uphold standards of care and is highly valued, if not required, for admittance to many graduate programs. In order to remove the significant barriers to obtaining research and clinical experience, funding must be allocated for these presently unpaid positions. These efforts can be made at the level of the school and department (e.g., creating new internal funding mechanisms) and the individual faculty members (e.g., seeking internal and external funding mechanisms for trainees).
Students from underrepresented backgrounds may be significantly less likely to receive positive attention from faculty, dramatically limiting the number and quality of mentor relationships between these students and faculty members (Milkman et al., 2015). Additionally, volunteering in a faculty’s research lab is a frequently cited way by which students can form meaningful relationships with faculty members, creating a paradox; students who cannot afford to work for free cannot form mentorship relationships and thus cannot obtain funding because they do not have a mentor. Without meaningful mentor relationships, students are left without emotional, informational, and instrumental support as they navigate the process of identifying and procuring research and/or clinical positions, obtaining required accommodations, and seeking requisite letters of recommendation (Jacobi, 1991). Addressing these barriers is not as simplistic as creating space in the department’s budget and requires significantly more effort and introspection on the part of the faculty and administration. Efforts to reduce interpersonal bias in faculty, increase cultural humility, decrease the burden of obtaining experiences and accommodations, and decrease or eliminate the need for letters of recommendation for internal funding mechanisms are all significant steps towards the goal of removing systemic barriers for undergraduate students who are historically underrepresented in professional psychology.
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References
American Psychological Association. (2017). CWS data tool: Demographics of the U.S. psychology workforce. Demographics of U.S. Psychology Workforce. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/workforce/data-tools/demographics
Jones, N., Marks, R., Ramirez, R., Rios-Vargas, M. (2021). 2020 Census Illuminates Racial and Ethnic Composition of the Country. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/improved-race-ethnicity-measures-reveal-united-states-population-much-more-multiracial.html
United States Census Bureau. (2022). Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/racial-and-ethnic-diversity-in-the-united-states-2010-and-2020-census.html
McHolland, J., Lubin, M., & Forbes, W. (1990). Problems in minority recruitment and strategies for retention. In G. Stricker, E. Davis-Russell, E. Bourg, E. Duran, W. R. Hammond, J. McHolland, K. Polite, & B. E. Vaughn (Eds.), Toward ethnic diversification in psychology education and training (pp. 137–152). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10071-011
Rogers, M. R., & Molina, L. E. (2006). Exemplary efforts in psychology to recruit and retain graduate students of color. American Psychologist, 61(2), 143.
Luebbe, A. M., & Ogbaselase, F. A. (2018). Constriction of the educational pipeline for students of color at the point of entry to doctoral work in psychology: Commentary on Callahan and colleagues (2018). Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 12(4), 291–294. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000211
Volkan, K. (2022). Guide to Applying to Graduate School in Psychology. California State University Channel Islands Psychology Program. https://psych.csuci.edu/students/graduateschoolguide/
Prinstein, M. (2022) Mitch’s Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology. Mitch.Web.UNC.edu. https://mitch.web.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4922/2017/02/MitchGradSchoolAdvice.pdf
Russell, S. H., Hancock, M. P., & McCullough, J. (2007). Benefits of undergraduate research experiences. Science, 316(5824), 548-549.
Milkman, K. L., Akinola, M., & Chugh, D. (2015). What happens before? A field experiment exploring how pay and representation differentially shape bias on the pathway into organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(6), 1678.
Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61(4), 505-532.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS).