The Social Responsibility of Psychology

Abstract

before his death, Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed a meeting of the American Psychological Association about the social and moral responsibility of psychologists.1 Dr. King urged his audience to use their training and skills to help solve the racial, political, educational, and economic problems facing the black community. He expressed hope that the profession of psychology would begin to address these problems and direct attention towards reforming the power interests in America who demonstrate little concern for the poor and disadvantaged. The need for psychologists to accept their social responsibility is even more urgent today. Speaking before a national meeting of the American Psychiatric Association on May 8, 1974, Detroit Mayor Coleman Young charged that the psychiatric profession is being misused by a racist society to justify the exploitation of blacks and the poor. Mayor Young suggested that instead of changing people's minds to conform to an unhealthy society, psychiatrists should work to change society. Let's deal with the social disorders, let's deal with the cause, and maybe we can lessen the effects.2 Psychologists must become aware of the unhealthy social conditions affecting the physical and psychological well-being of minority and poor Americans.