Australian psychology and Australia's indigenous people: Existing and emerging narratives

Abstract

This brief overview of psychological research with Indigenous people of Australia attempts to apprehend the broad, underlying narratives of previous research in terms of its sociopolitical aims. It then considers the debate about whether the moral precept of social responsibility is compatible with scientific values that underpin psychological research, and argues that a socially responsible psychology is one that engages in self-reflection on its biases and prejudices, methodologies, and systems of ethics. Each of these self-reflective goals is analysed in turn, with a view to establishing dialogue between non-Indigenous researchers and practitioners and Indigenous people about the role a socially responsible psychology might have in contemporary Indigenous society.