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Schools and Movements

Liberation Psychology

Community Psychology

Liberation psychology, or liberation social psychology, is an approach to psychology that aims to actively understand the psychology of oppressed and impoverished communities by conceptually and practically addressing the oppressive sociopolitical structure in which they exist. Its central concepts include awareness, critical realism, de-ideologized reality, a coherently social orientation, the preferential option for the oppressed majorities, and methodological eclecticism. It was first conceived by the Spanish and Salvadoran psychologist Ignacio Martin-Baro and developed extensively in Latin America, drawing on liberation philosophy, Marxist, feminist and decolonial thought, liberation theology, critical theory, and critical and popular pedagogy. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Central Question
How does psychology itself need to be reoriented to serve oppressed and impoverished communities rather than reinforce the social structures that oppress them? 1
Founded Year
1970 1
Marks the decade core ideas emerged in Latin America per the cited source, not a single founding event.
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In Branch

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Liberation Psychology
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Introduction
    Liberation psychology or liberation social psychology is an approach to psychology that aims to actively understand the psychology of oppressed and impoverished communities by conceptually and practically addressing the oppressive sociopolitical structure in which they exist.
  • Emergence section
    Core ideas emerged in Latin America during the 1970s in response to criticisms of traditional psychology
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