Psychologists’ Understanding of Racism and its Relationship with the Structuring of Subjectivities

Racism is comprehended as an ideology that hierarchizes different social groups based on racial markers. Current discussions approach the complexity of racism and its manifestations, highlighting how this social problem has been historically and socially affecting the racial relations between Black and white people in Brazil. This study aims to discuss the results of research with psychologists in Santa Maria (RS), Brazil, that sought to investigate how professionals comprehend racism and its probable impacts on the subjectivation of white and Black people. Thus, three research instruments were applied: an online questionnaire survey, semi-structured interviews, and field notes. All the research data was subjected to hermeneutic-dialectic analysis. The outcome of this study shows that the psychologists who participated in this research have engaged in discussing and reflecting on the topic, adding different conceptions of racism individually and structurally, recognizing race as an important concept to understand social inequalities and the harming psychosocial effects it causes on the Black Brazilian population.

Keywords:
Psychology; Racism; Subjectivation