2 Overshadowed Black Psychologists Through the Lens of Functionalism

Learning Objectives

1. Define functionalism, evolutionary theory and organic selection.
2. Review research put forth by Prosser and Clark and its importance.
3. Describe Prosser and Clark’s relationship to functionalism.
4. Explain how social context impacted Prosser and Clark’s scholarly work.

Introduction

Key contributors to functionalism and its successors have been overlooked due to their intersecting marginalized identities. In this chapter, our goal is to feature the works of Black psychologists Inez Prosser and Mamie Clark who have been largely left out of past and present conversation to ensure that their contributions to the field of psychology are remembered.

Functionalism appeared partly as a reaction to structuralism. Different from structuralism, functionalists are focused on explaining the function of behavior from an evolutionary perspective (Levin, 2021). William James is predominately credited for being the founder of functionalism (Levin, 2021).  In addition, evolutionary psychology is closely related to functionalism. From this approach, behavior is a result of elemental systems—specifically the ways these systems are adaptive (Downes, 2021). Both functionalism and evolutionary psychology have been used to justify treating non-white races differently (Green, 2009). Baldwin (1894, as cited in Green, 2009) used the term “organic selection” to describe an evolutionary approach to describing behavior. According to organic selection, behavioral characteristics are learned throughout an individual’s lifetime through imperfect imitation. Certain behavioral characteristics are more effective resulting in individuals being able to pass on this on to future generations. Those members who can learn and use this behavior are biologically advantaged.

Although Clark and Prosser did not directly oppose functionalism in their work, they indirectly disputed its core arguments. Prosser and Clark did not outright state that the functionalist approach was incorrect. Rather, the focus of their research contradicted theories put forth by evolutionary psychology and organic selection (Baldwin, 1894, as cited in Green, 2009).

These theories of functionalism and evolutionary psychology did not exist within a vacuum. In the late 19th century and 20th century researchers were studying race to explain the differences of non-white individuals, people of colour (POC) were also existing within the research space (Harvard Library, n.d.)

In a meta-analysis, Roberts and colleagues (2020) examined the correlation between race and published psychological research. They analyzed 26,000 articles published between 1974 and 2018 in the topics of social psychology, cognitive, and development. Overall they found that 83% of publications were edited by white editors and only 5% were edited by POC editors. Although the time frame of this study limits its application to our claims. We argue these trends occurred before 1974 at an even greater rate. In 1920, 1.5% of African Americans carried a professional title compared to 5% of their white American counterparts (Landry, 1987, as cited in Lal, 2002). In an analysis of the 1939 APA yearbook, Fernberger (1939) found that only 30% of APA members were women. Although the studies previously discussed were conducted 48 years apart, it shows a correlation between race, gender and professional accreditation in psychology and other professions.

Considering the obstacles society and the APA has put in front of POC psychology scholars, they continued to pursue education, research and publication efforts. Inez Prosser and Mamie Clark were deeply involved in psychology and made important contributions to it—yet they are unfamiliar to many. In this chapter, our goal is to feature the works of Black female psychologists Inez Prosser and Mamie Clark, who have been largely left out of past and present conversation.

1. Inez Beverly Prosser

Inez Beverly Prosser was an influential psychologist in the area of understanding the effects of racism in schools. During her time as a psychologist, she was often overshadowed due to the misogyny at the time in psychology (Miller, 2020). She faced professional barriers such as racism and sexism that contributed to the limited representation of her work in psychology (Miller, 2020). Prosser died at the young age of 38 (Benjamin et al., 2005) with there being a literature gap on the significance of her life and the importance of her work to the field of psychology. In this part of the chapter, we aspire to continue to uplift and highlight her contributions to the field of psychology and emphasize her connection to the ‘school-of-thought’ functionalism. As discussed earlier, functionalism looks at behaviour which can be argued that it stems from evolutionary theory.

1.1 Early Life

Prosser was the first female black psychologist in America to earn her Ph.D. (Benjamin Jr., 2008). Her early life was not well known but her schooling is well documented. Prosser grew up in Texas and she was the first daughter of 11 children (Bazar, 2011). Her birth year is unknown but it is believed she was born around 1895 (Benjamin et al., 2005). Prosser’s father was a waiter and her mother was a stay at home parent. In her early life, she attended the Yoakum “coloured” high school where she was the valedictorian (Benjamin et al., 2005). Prosser had a love for learning which led to her teaching career (Benjamin et al., 2005).

She attended a teaching school at Prairie View Normal College (Guthrie, 2003). Following her training, she taught in “coloured” schools in Yoakum for a brief time. Then ended up teaching in Austin, Texas (Guthrie, 2003, p. 174). She taught history at many schools at the elementary, high school, and college levels.

Prosser married Allen Rufus Prosser when she moved back to Austin. Unfortunately, Prosser died at the young age of 38 in an automobile accident in 1934 (Benjamin et al., 2005). Before her passing, she had an extensive teaching and academic career leading her to complete her Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Cincinnati (Benjamin, 2008).

1.2 Teaching Career

            Prosser taught while also engaging in her own academic pursuits. First, she worked at a “coloured” elementary school in Austin for two years. Afterwards, she moved on to an assistant principal position at a different elementary school in Manor, Texas (Benjamin et al., 2005). Finally, she worked at a high school for two years; during her time there she taught English and coached young girls in spelling competitions (Benjamin et al., 2005). At the time at this school, she was paid much less than her white colleagues (Benjamin et al., 2005). Her contributions to teaching at this school were overshadowed due to the injustice of racism and sexism that were clearly shown.

Prosser moved on to college teaching after she completed her master’s degree (Benjamin et al., 2005). She taught education and psychology at Tillotson College for a short amount of time but she made great contributions to her teaching and the college. After a short time, she transferred to Tougaloo College. This college was founded by the American Missionary Association (AMA) (Benjamin et al., 2005). The AMA started in 1839 as an organization to abolish slavery. After the Civil War, the organization turned into creating educational opportunities for the liberated slaves (Benjamin et al., 2005). Prosser’s experiences as an educator piqued her interest in research that helps improve learning in elementary and high schools, which led to her doctorate in research on African American students in segregated and mixed schools. (Benjamin et al., 2005).

1.3 Academic Career

Although short due to her premature passing, Prosser engaged in academic excellence throughout high school and into her professional career. She attended Prairie View College and finished her teaching certificate by graduating at the head of her class in 1912 (Benjamin et al., 2005). While teaching at Anderson high school, she was simultaneously completing her bachelor’s degree at Samuel Huston College, she graduated with an arts degree and a minor in English and psychology  (Benjamin et al., 2005). In her final years at Anderson high school, she completed her master’s degree at the University of Colorado and graduated with her master’s degree in art in 1927 (Benjamin et al., 2005). Following all of this, she obtained a fellowship from the General Education Board (GEB) to help pursue her doctoral study in educational psychology (Benjamin et al., 2005).  She then attended the University of Cincinnati to complete her doctoral fellowship in her research on segregated and mixed schools (Benjamin et al., 2005).

1.4 Academic Writings

While Prosser was in Mississippi she wanted to advance in her teaching career and she did this in “coloured” schools. Her teaching training included workshops and summer programs for teachers at Jackson College (Benjamin et al., 2005). She wrote many articles in the Mississippi Educational Journal for teachers working in “coloured” schools (Benjamin et al., 2005). Her main focus in these articles was on writing letters, English literature, vocabulary, and grammar. After her years of teaching, she moved on to her GEB fellowship for her doctorate research in segregated schools.

1.5 Segregated Schools Research

Before Prosser started her research on segregated schools she was interested in helping better children’s educational experiences. This doctorate was a companion study to Crowley’s (1931, as cited in Benjamin et al., 2005) research on the differences between the academic accomplishment of students in segregated and mixed schools. Crowley found that there were no significant differences between the academic achievements of segregated and mixed schools. Crowley helped Prosser get into Cincinnati University to help with her doctorate research (Benjamin et al., 2005).

Prosser’s unpublished doctorate (1933) was focused on the non-academic experiences of Black children in segregated and mixed schools. Prosser’s justification for this study was that there were strong opinions about mixed and segregated schools. She proposed no one knew if there was a difference between segregated and unsegregated schools or if one was more significant in an individual’s childhood development. Participants were fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from both mixed and segregated schools in Cincinnati, Ohio. She measured the “attitudes and interests, emotional stability, and the personality adjustment of the two groups” (Prosser, 1933). She examined if segregated schools or mixed schools are better for children to endure in emotional and academic growth. She noted four aspects to consider before starting the research–segregation, migration, racial and social attitudes, and specific aspects of personality that can be present or absent in the two groups of mixed or segregated schools. The study consisted of surveys, tests looking at attitude, personality, psychological interviews, Lehman’s quizzes, and questionnaires looking at racial attitudes, social background and interest inventories.

Prosser’s (1933) study revealed that segregated schools are fairer for coloured students than for coloured students in mixed schools but the differences are relatively small. Moreover, the results do not claim one school is superior to the other; it points to the direction that mixed schools might overlook opportunities.  The results were not significant regarding emotionality between segregated and mixed schools.  Prosser argued that some children might be better in mixed schools if they are introverted, more academically willing, do not suffer mentally from being excluded in activities at school, like extra-curricular activities and have a likable personality. However, she concluded that most students would not fit this criteria. The students that would benefit from segregated schools are those that have low self-confidence and those who need regular affection. During the time of Prosser’s research there was an assumption that segregated schools were better for students but when it came to mandatory segregation it was based on a prejudicial framework of racial inferiority (Benjamin et al., 2005).

1.6 Reactions to Prosser’s Dissertation

While Prosser was working on her dissertation, there was controversy regarding segregated schools. One aspect that was in the agreement was that segregated schools prevented children from understanding race. The experience of mixed schools would promote understanding of race and would lead to harm between races. (Benjamin et al., 2005). The stigmatization that comes from segregated schools clearly creates the notion of inferiority and is never equal in the “separate but equal” ideology (Benjamin et al., 2005). Prosser (1933) acknowledged mandatory and voluntary segregation and claimed it’s beneficial only when voluntary. Prosser said it is only beneficial when segregation is voluntary because it gives that individual the right to choose what fits with their educational needs.

One review came from St. Clair Price (1934, as cited in Benjamin et al., 2005) who supported segregated schools. Price wrote that her results were upsetting. He believed the differences on tests were small and Prosser’s assumptions were wrong about schooling experiences whereas he believed it was more about their upbringing from the parents.

Another criticism and review came from Howard Hale Long (1935, as cited in Benjamin et al., 2005). His criticisms derived from the interpretations of Prosser’s doctorate created a consensus among people who advocate for segregation. Through his article, he argued that children in segregated schools experienced psychological obstacles. He specifically noted that segregation in schools caused children to internalize societal limitations.

1.7 Prosser and Functionalism

Prosser’s work makes an opposition to the functionalist school of thought. Her work about segregated schools was in disagreement with the functionalist perspective that character and personality is innate. An argument can be made that functionalism is derived from evolutionary theory also known as Darwinism by natural selection and inherited characteristics (Green, 2009). Her work makes more of an interpretation that self-esteem and personality issues stem from the schooling experience. Prosser would not agree with the analysis of evolutionary theory as she believed from her research that low confidence issues and the problems students have in their education are produced by their experiences in those schools.

Balwin (1894, as cited in Green, 2009) uses the term “organic selection” to emphasize that behavioural characteristics are due from parent to offspring through imitation in specific variability. This further goes against Prosser’s doctorate; she wants to acknowledge that the difficulties with the schooling system come from students’ experiences in segregated or mixed schools, not innate imitation.

2. Mamie Phipps Clark

Before we introduce the work of Clark, it is essential that I am clear which Clark I am referring to. Clark’s husband Kenneth Clark is much more well known than Mamie Phipps Clark due to systemic sexism. I have chosen to refer to Mamie Phipps Clark as “Clark” and her husband Kenneth Clark as “K. Clark”. This choice is deliberate. Clark was not just an assistant to her husband but an innovator in the field of psychology in her own right. I intend for this to acknowledge and reconcile the ways in which Clark has been silenced in the field of psychology.

2.1 From Arkansas to Scholar

Throughout her life, Mamie Phipps Clark was a pioneer in her own right. Her early life experiences influenced the opportunities and obstacles she faced in her adult and later life. Although Clark had more socioeconomic privilege than some of her peers, she still faced structural and social barriers relating to the intersecting identities of race and gender.

2.1a Familial Privilege and Racial Barriers

In 1917 Clark was born to an affluent, upper class Black family in Hot Springs, Arkansas. (Lal, 2002) Her family structure provided her with many opportunities other Black individuals did not have access to (Lal, 2002). Her father was a physician and her mother managed the household (Lal, 2002). Lal (2002) argues Clark would be considered a member of the “Black elite” with her father earning enough to support both his wife and child comfortably (Lal, 2002). These financial privileges contributed greatly to her childhood experiences.

This is to say that being an affluent person of colour (POC) in the age of Jim Crow did not absolve her of experiencing racial injustice. The Jim Crow era is a period of time in the so-called United States after the emancipation proclamation (Urofsky, 2021). Black americans were subject to segregation, discrimination and, lynching among other violence (Urofsky, 2021). Clark describes her experience of living with her guard up and being aware of how and how not to act (Lal, 2002).

2.1b Racism and Sexism in Academia

Throughout her education and academic career she excelled regardless of the barriers she faced due to both her gender and race. At 16 she started in the math department at Howard University where she later met her future husband K. Clark (Lal, 2002). In the famed story, K. Clark convinced Clark to transfer to the psychology program to which they both completed a bachelor’s degree (Lal, 2002). Both Clark and K. Clark would go on to complete doctorate degrees at Columbia University in 1943 and 1940 respectively (Lal, 2002). While at Columbia, Clark completed her master’s thesis on the awareness and preferences of Black children as it relates to race (Lal, 2002). This initial research would later influence her own and K. Clark’s research.

After receiving her doctorate, Clark spent a short period of time at the American Public Health Association as a researcher (Lal, 2002). Clark noted that the experience of being the only Black researcher of her peers was isolating (Lal, 2002). This experience is unique to POC professionals of the time. White peers did not have to consider the implications of their race because they were in a position of dominance. Throughout her career Clark was briefly a psychology researcher for the Office of War Information and spent 18 months at Riverdale Home for Children (formerly Colored Children’s Orphanage) (Lal, 2002). Most of Clark’s achievements and accomplishments have been overshadowed by the presence of her husband.

2.1c Undervalued and Erased

Clark was a pioneer in researching racial preferences in children—this is not well known. As a result of patriarchal structures, the accomplishments and involvement of Clark were greatly shrunk compared to that of her husband K. Clark (Lal, 2002). Although the two did work together on many research endeavors, notoriety was primarily awarded to K. Clark. This can be traced back to gender roles. The traditional role of a woman is to be subservient to her husband—Clark would be no exception to this. Regardless of the intention, the success of a wife is the success of a husband. This erasure continues to occur with the disregard of Clark’s research in and out of the psychology field.

The goal of this work is to highlight a few of the contributions Clark made to the field of psychology. This exploration into Clark’s early life is by no means exhaustive.

2.2 The Doll Test

In the famous “doll test study” Clark and K. Clark explored racial bias and preference of young children through the use of light skinned and dark skinned dolls. Clark and K. Clark (1947, as cited in Howard & Kennedy, n.d.) hypothesized that Black children would have a preference for the lighter skin doll. Participants were Black children between the ages of three and seven. This population was chosen specifically because it is around the age of becoming consciously aware of their race (Clark & Clark, 1947, as cited in Howard & Kennedy, n.d.). Participants were asked to choose between a light skinned and darker skinned doll, which they would prefer to play with, the one that looked “white” and, the one that looked “coloured”. They were then asked which doll was “good” or “bad” and which one looked like them. They found that participants preferred to play with the lighter skinned doll. Further, the light skin doll was associated with being “good” whereas the “coloured” dolls was associated with being “bad”. Of particular interest, Black children identified with the dark skinned doll even after they labeled it as “bad.”

This research is crucial because it was one of the first published articles of internalized racial preference of whiteness in Black children. They argued that this was due to the result of racial segregation. This theory was widely accepted by the academic community at the time.

This study was influential in the Brown v. Board of Education that resulted in overturning of  “separate but equal” doctrine in the United States. Brown v. Board of Education was brought to the Supreme Court as a result of consolidating five relevant cases from the U.S. Court of Appeals (Henderson & Lenneal, 2004). Among other studies, Racial identification and preference in Negro children (1947) was used to argue their case. In 1954 Supreme Court Justices overturned Brown v. Board of Education. Although this decision did not result in a simple and quick interaction of all schools, it began the process (Henderson & Lenneal, 2004).

Even though Clark and K. Clark’s “doll study” has been widely publicized, there are also issues with their research methods. Clark and K. Clark chose to ask the question racial preference before asking which doll they identified with (Bergner, 2009). In a pretest study, Clark and K. Clark observed that when asking self-identification questions before racial preference questions the participants would show preference for the doll that looked like them (Bergner, 2009). In simple terms, Black participants in the pretest would prefer the Black doll if they identified with it first (Bergner, 2009). They believed that these results were errors and therefore switched the order of the questions (Bergner, 2009). Bergner (2009), argues that their methodology in the main study biased the results towards white preference. Berger (2009) also argues out that the methodology did not control for confounding variables such as sex, class, age, shade of skin colour in the doll or participants, interracial contact and, interviewer’s race.

Clark and K. Clark expanded on their research in “the doll test” by researching racial identification and preference through the use of line drawings.

2.3 The Colouring Test

Clark and K. Clark (1950) used line drawings to study the preference and racial identification in young Black children. This goal of this study was to expand the results of Racial identification and preference in Negro children (1947). Participants were 160 Black children aged five to six; the study did not state how they were recruited. Participants were presented with crayons and a sheet of paper that included line drawings of an apple, leaf, orange, mouse, boy and girl. They were next asked to colour the non-human subjects on the paper to assess whether they knew the difference between each object. If the participants could complete they moved onto the next task of the experiment. Participants were asked “color this little boy (or girl) the color that you are” (Clark, K., & Clark, M., 1950, p. 342). Using the crayons, the participant then coloured the boy or girl the colour they perceived themselves to be. Next, participants were instructed “Now this is a little girl, (or boy). Color her (or him) the color you like little boys (or girls) to be” (Clark, K., & Clark, M., 1950, p. 342). Similarly to Racial identification and preference in Negro children (1947) Clark and K. Clark found that a significant number of Black children identified a preference for a lighter skin tone in their drawings.

From a functionalist perspective having preference for a skin tone other than one’s own would be maladaptive. They would argue that individuals who learn adaptive behaviors are biologically advantaged. Further, I suggest Clark and K. Clark’s findings indicate that segregation could be contributing to maintaining maladaptive behaviors.

2.4 Northside Center for Child Development: The Summer Remedial Program

In 1946 the Northside Center for Child Development was opened in Harlem by Clark with the support of K. Clark (Lal, 2002). This center supported POC children and their families through psychiatric, vocational and academic programming (Lal, 2002). During this time there was very little psychiatric support for urban POC families—Clark wanted to fill this service gap (Lal, 2002).

A particular program of interest was the Summer Remedial Program (Clark & Karp, 1960). This program started because Clark noticed Black children were underperforming in school compared to their white peers. The goal of this program was to increase the skills of POC children in a short period of time. The summer remedial program ran for five consecutive summers serving a total of 145 children. This program consisted of individuals, groups or children meeting for up to one hour daily for four weeks. The students were 56% Black, 35% Spanish speaking Puerto Rican and 10% white. The participants were further divided into 87% boys and 13% girls. Clark and Karp found that over the four week period most children gained nearly one year of progress in reading. Out of the total sample, eight children did not significantly improve—Clark and Karp hypothesized that this was due to a 10% lower attendance rate. The Northside Center for Child Development continues to support the POC community of Harlem today.

2.4a Kenneth Clark’s Distant Role

Although Clark was the primary director of the Northside Center, K. Clark received much of the notoriety. K. Clark was disengaged from the daily management of the center (Lal, 2002). As stated in the “From Arkansas to Scholar” this is largely associated with widespread patriarchal values. This can be further examined through the lens of Crenshaw’s intersectionality theory (1989). Intersectionality refers to a holistic approach analyzing the privileging and marginalizing factors of each identity (Crenshaw, 1989). From this approach, Clark’s Blackness and womanhood are critical variables. Regarding gender, as a woman Clark is subservient to her husband—it would be unfathomable for her to be at the same professional level or higher than that of her husband. Regarding race, the history and current climate of Blackness in the United States indicates that Blackness is an undesirable trait. In the 1950s the civil rights movement was lobbying against overt structural racism towards Black Americans (Daniel, 2009). These factors inherently placed Clark and K. Clark at a disadvantage compared to their white peers.

2.5 Clark and Functionalism

Clark rejects the concept of functionalism that POC are inherently maladapted due to genetic and learned factors. According to functionalism, these factors then experience occupational and educational obstacles that “more adapted” individuals do not. Functionalism would argue that as a society we should allow these types of individuals to eventually be eradicated (Green, 2009). In frank terms, Black people through natural selection should cease to exist. Instead, Clark believed that POC were not maladapted, but instead needed additional support. This is clear in the topics Clark researched and opportunities she offered for the Black community. First, Racial identification and preference in Negro children (1947) rejects fundamentalist ideology that was used to support segregation and devaluing POC. Second, Emotional Factors in Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children (1950) contrasts with the functionalist argument that children prefer a lighter skin tone because the environment encouraged whiteness as a result of the impacts of racism. Lastly, The Northside Centre for Child Development rejected aspects of functionalism in their programming and research to support POC children and their families.

Conclusion

In this chapter, our goal was to highlight the marginalized psychologists of Inez Beverly Prosser and Mamie Clark that were overshadowed during their time as psychologists. Despite the fact that Prosser and Clark did not directly disagree with functionalism, their scholarly work revealed that their research countered the beliefs of functionalism.

There is a huge gap in literature disregarding the work of the phenomenal female black psychologists which leads to what needs to continue in the future. The next steps are to continue promoting the overlooked psychologists and highlight the importance of their research. Prosser argued that segregated schools at the time that were the basis of good education were unsound and conveyed that mandatory segregation was based on racist and prejudiced ideologies. Clark argued that children experience racial preference of lighter skin tones. This research was used to challenge segregation in schools. Moreover, to reconsolidate the work of the overshadowed psychologists and how they have contributed to the scientific roots of psychologists–being the rejection of functionalism and the importance of their research on the topic of racism.

Discussion Questions

1. How does Prosser’s work disagree with the school of thought of functionalism with regards to evolutionary theory? What school of thought would Prosser’s work agree to based on her research?

Answer: Prosser’s work disagrees with the school of thought of functionalism because through her research on segregated schools she believed that issues with self-esteem and personality are stemmed through the experience in schools. This opposes functionalism as it is derived from the evolutionary theory that explains characteristics are inherited. The school of thought of behaviorism would agree with Prosser’s work because it explains behaviour is caused by observable environmental factors.

2. Imagine Clark was conducting the “doll test” today. What changes to her sample and method would you make and how would these potentially change the results?

Answer (one variation): One change I would make to the doll test would be in selecting a population. Clark and K. Clark did not control for the variable of social economic status. I would suggest a population that includes selecting low, middle and, upper class children. I am not sure if this would change the results of their study. I actually think this may produce similar results and the study would have more power.

3. Now that you’ve read about Prosser and Clark’s experiences working in psychology, do you think the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2021 apology addresses their experiences appropriately? How can the APA put this apology into action?

Answer (one variation): I think the APA’s 2021 apology addresses some of the experiences of Black psychologists like Prosser and Clark however I think it also falls short. The APA apology spends a lot of time discussing historical racism and white supremacy in psychology but not the present racism and white supremacy in psychology. Considering that both Prosser and Clark were pioneers against racism in their era, I think they would want there to be more change than what has occurred in this era. The first thing that APA needs to do to put this apology into action is to simply listen. They need to spend time listening to individuals they have harmed and consider what they believe in reconciliation.

Definitions

“Coloured” –  “Coloured” is an racial term historically used to describe African American individuals in the United States. This term is now outdated and considered a slur.

Evolutionary Theory/Darwinism – inherited characteristics developed through natural selection

Functionalism – a term used both in philosophy, sociology, and psychology. From a psychological perspective, functionalism approaches behavior through the lens of adaptation. A functionalist would ask: “what is the function of behavior?”

Organic selection – this term was coined by Baldwin (1894) to describe a form of natural selection where behavioral characteristics are learnt and reinforced through imitation.

Racial segregation – an isolation or division between people due to their race

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