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Homework Assignment-Psychology

Students Name

Institution Affiliation

Professor Name

Course Name and Number

Assignment Due Date

Question 1

Multicultural competence involves gaining adequate skills, knowledge, and personal

attributes necessary to work, socialize or even live in a diverse world. Understanding cultural

differences play a significant role in developing cultural competence. It helps someone

understand, interact and appreciate people who are identified with belief systems or cultures

different from yours (DiAngelo, 2018). To effectively develop personal cultural competency, I

can do the following three things; first, I can better understand the culture wheel. The knowledge

about the culture wheel will help me understand cultural diversity in terms of ethnicity, race,

gender, personality, sex, and religion, and hence help me gain insights into how my actions,

beliefs, and values impact other people. I believe that building knowledge on the culture wheel

would help address the issues of racism within the United States (Stoddart, 2019).

Secondly, I understand my own culture and developed a curiosity about other cultures.

Many times we operate within multiple cultural experiences without our knowledge. I think

understanding your own beliefs helps shape the experiences with others and perhaps support

their ideologies, knowing that they are different from ours. Curiosity to learn about other cultures

helps someone engage in multiple experiences and build cultural awareness. This would help

build cultural competency and helps address racism within the United States (DiAngelo, 2018).

Lastly, develop a positive attitude about other cultures. Embracing equal treatment regardless of

cultural differences is the key to positively addressing cultural differences, hence gaining cultural

competency (Stoddart, 2019).

Question 2

From the course, I learned about the interdisciplinary analysis of race and how it has

contributed to white identity and intersects with white privilege. For example, in Dr. DiAngelo's

video, 'Deconstructing White Privilege,' I was exposed to the various justification of racism by

white people, especially in the workshops. As a racism fighter and educator, Dr. DiAngelo's

video argued racial stress should be intolerable and called for defensive moves to end racism

(DiAngelo, 2018). I learned that white identity within the United States is ambiguous as its

pervasive quality is invisible and omnipresent, making it a very epitome of the cultural and social

mainstream. From the course readings, it is undeniable that the relationship between the

inequality structures and whiteness contributes to thorough interrogation of its reproduction,

representation, and perhaps formation (Stoddart, 2019).

From the course readings, I also learned about how racial privilege works. The video

about Snail and Caterpillar educated me on how privilege works and how to deal with it.

Although requesting people to check their privileges sounds awkward in a social setting, it is one

way to deal with own racial privileges. Lack of understanding of our racial privileges based on

cultural identities makes us struggle to accept and accept those with different cultural identities.

Since the above issues touch on our daily lives, I will remember them after three years (Harris &

Williams, 2012).

Question 3

From this course, I gained a lot of knowledge about cultural diversity and racism and how

it manifests within societies (Harris & Williams, 2012). The knowledge will help me embrace

cultural diversity and equality within the workplace. Emphasizing diversity and inclusion in the
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workplace helps an organization strengthen its adaptability, reduce legal risks, and gain a

competitive advantage. The skills and knowledge gained from the course will help me avoid

discrimination against race, creating an environment of togetherness and inclusivity (DiAngelo,

2018). It will also help me protect the welfare of the workers hence improving their efficiency.

The knowledge gained from the course will also help me effectively address the internal

grievances and disputes within the workplace. Most grievances in the work environment occur

due to misunderstandings about beliefs and cultural ideologies. Understanding cultural diversity

and racism will place me in a better position to resolve such disputes. Lastly, it will create a

culture of teamwork hence increasing individual productivity (Monga et al., 2022).

Question 4

Part a

The video talks about how the history of racial inequality within the U.S prison system

led to the increase in incarceration in America. The documentary by Ava Duvernay drew a clear

picture of the racism and slavery still existing in America. From the documentary, what is

wanted to know most was its theme. I suspected that it revolved around the concept of race,

justice, and mass incarceration within the American justice system. Again, I wanted to know

why the United States contributes to over 25% of the world’s prisoners (Al Kareem, 2021).

Part b

From the video and the question in part A above, I learned that it is true that America

contributes to over 25% of the world's prisoners despite its population representing only 5%

worldwide. The main reason behind the American incarnation rate is due to the U.S sentencing

laws overlooking the cultural factors which influence imprisonment. I learned that racial and
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ethnic disparities had dominated the American prisons, with Black American convicts

contributing to nearly five times white convicts and Latinos 1.3 times that of non-Latinos (Nellis,

2016).

Part c

One credible source I got the information from is an article published in 2016 by Nellis. I

believe it is credible because it focuses on the racial and ethnic disparities within the United

States prisons. Secondly, the article compared the data between prisons across most countries to

prove that U.S prisons contributed to 25% of the world's prison population.

Question 5

The idea of society's average on 'normal' reflects any expected, usual behavior that

confirms the pre-existing society standard. Culture significantly impacts the idea of 'normal' or

average. First, culture helps shape how people work or behave and draws the difference between

ourselves and others. What one culture considers suitable could be wrong with other cultures and

vice versa, which means what one society considers normal or average could be wrong or even

worst in other societies based on the cultural differences (Stoddart, 2019). Secondly, society's

idea of normal or average provides constraints to multiculturism. It lays a burden on the cultural

diversity among members of the society. The idea of normal or average sets up some norms or

standards for a particular society that its members must follow. In this case, the society members

find it challenging to embrace diversity and practice other cultures as they collide with their

cultural norms and standards (Harris & Williams, 2012).

Question 6
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Adolphe Quetelet invented the concept of the normal distribution of the human

population. Positively, Quetelet’s work and invention impacted modern societies because they

provided the basis to measure, determine the nature of human relationships, and identify the

regularities and the patterns in a social situation. His work or invention also contributed to the

emergency of the social sciences, whose principles are still applicable in modern societies.

Statistics and social mathematics concepts have potent impacts on modern-day economics,

sociology, administration, and psychology (Jahoda, 2015). Negatively, Quetelet’s work created a

lot of societal controversies when he attempted to subject the statistical analysis to humans'

intellectual and moral qualities. The two human aspects are qualitative and deserve philosophical

discussions rather than statical analysis. Quetelet’s attempt to statistically measure human

intelligence and morals contributed to immorality in modern society (Jahoda, 2015).

Question 7

The biggest obstacle that survived while learning the course material was the time and

financial constraints. My parents and guardians were struggling to finance my studies, pushing

me to look for a part-time job to sustain myself. Managing the class time while devoting my

efforts to serving the interests of my boss was very challenging, and the situation almost

subjected me to depression.

Question 8

To improve in learning the course material, first, I negotiated with my boss to grant me

the autonomy to manage my time. However, I had to meet the job requirements, but the good

news is that I was flexible enough to schedule the activities. Secondly, I adopted the strategy of
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reading the learning material till late at night, and this move created more time for me to cover

the learning material within the speculated period.

Question 9

The learning material about Quetelet’s work and invention broadly tackled the social

sciences field, which is part and parcel of my daily life. The analysis of human intellectual and

moral qualities helps to tell someone's IQ and determine if some social behaviors adhere to the

moral standards. The material tackled the determination of the social patterns and human

relationships, which is part of my daily life (Jahoda, 2015). However, my past experiences with

the material differed because it tackled the social sciences through mathematical and statistical

analysis. In contrast, my previous experience in social sciences was based on philosophical

discussions and debates.

References

Al Kareem, S. S. (2021). Political Cinema in Bangladesh: A Dialogue with Third Cinema.

Bangladesh Film Archive. https://youtu.be/krfcq5pF8u8

DiAngelo, R. (2018). White fragility: Why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism.

Beacon Press. https://youtu.be/DwIx3KQer54

Harris, D., & Williams, J. (2012). The association of classroom interactions, year group, and

social class. British Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 373-397.

https://youtu.be/hRiWgx4sHGg

Jahoda, G. (2015). Quetelet and the emergence of the behavioral sciences. Springerplus, 4(1), 1-

10.

Monga, N., Davis, K. M., Cardona-Del Valle, A., Sieck, L., DeBenedectis, C. M., & Spalluto, L.

B. (2022). Strategies to improve racial and ethnic diversity in breast imaging training and

beyond. Journal of Breast Imaging, 4(2), 202-208.

Nellis, A. (2016). The color of justice: Racial and ethnic disparity in state prisons.

Stoddart, E. (2019). The construction of whiteness: an interdisciplinary analysis of race

formation and the meaning of white identity: edited by Stephen Middleton, David R.

Roediger, and Donald M. Shaffer, Jackson, University of Mississippi Press, 2016, 267+ x

pp., £ 29.95 (PBK), ISBN: 9781496818294. https://youtu.be/bmHct5IHxrA