Aida Hurtado (born May 9, 1950) is a Mexican-American psychologist who has worked to promote the inclusion of

women of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

in the field of

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. Her research has specifically focused on the psychological aspects of

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

, race, and

ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...

, and

intersectionality Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...

. In particular, Hurtado has been a pioneer in the development of

feminist psychology Feminist psychology is a form of psychology centered on social structures and gender. Feminist psychology critiques historical psychological research as done from a male perspective with the view that males are the norm.Crawford, M. & Unger, R. ...

. She has received two awards from the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

: the Distinguished Contributions to Psychology Award in 2015 and the Presidential Citation in 2018.

Early life

Hurtado was born in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. When she was four years old, Hurtado's family moved to

California's Central Valley The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California, United States. It is wide and runs approximately from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast. It cover ...

to work as migrant farm laborers.

Education

Growing up, Hurtado experienced

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

and

marginalization Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the Euro ...

because of her race and

socioeconomic status Socioeconomic status (SES) is a measurement used by economics, economists and sociology, sociologsts. The measurement combines a person's work experience and their or their family's access to economic resources and social position in relation t ...

. Despite these challenges, she was an excellent student and was encouraged by her teachers to pursue higher education. She attended the Pan American University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. Hurtado went on to earn a Master's degree and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan. Her early research focused on issues related to

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

and ethnic identity,

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

s, and

prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...

. She has since become a leading scholar in the areas of intersectionality and the experiences of women of color.

Career

In 1983, Hurtado began teaching at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

, where she has remained until the present day. From 1983 until 1995, she was an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the university, and she was promoted to full professor in 1995. During her tenure, Hurtado has served as the director of the

Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

, the associate dean of the Social Sciences Division, and the associate dean of the Graduate Division. Hurtado has published extensively on the topics of feminism, race, and gender, and her work has been featured in numerous books and journals. Her work has also been cited in hundreds of scholarly articles. She has also been featured in numerous documentaries and interviews.Hurtado, A., & Yee, A. (1992). Educational attainment, success, and the role of race and gender. In J. H. Stanfield & R. M. Dennis (Eds.), People of color in the United States: Contemporary Issues in Education, Work, Communities, Health, and Immigration (pp. 57-76). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. In addition to her work as a scholar, Hurtado has also been a major advocate for increased diversity in the field of psychology and has worked to bridge the gap between psychology and social work. Today, Hurtado continues to be a major figure in the field of psychology and a major advocate for increased diversity in the field. Her work has greatly contributed to the understanding of the psychological aspects of

, race, and ethnicity, and her research and advocacy.

Awards

Hurtado's significant contributions to the field of

have been recognized through various awards. She contributed to the development of

. This theory has been widely used by researchers from many different disciplines to gain a better understanding of the unique experiences of

people of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

. Hurtado has also been recognized for her work on educational attainment and success. She was awarded the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Contributions to Psychology Award in 2015 and the Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association in 2018.

Publications

* Hurtado, A. (1982). The development of feminist psychology. In J. H. Stanfield & R. M. Dennis (Eds.), People of color in the United States: Contemporary Issues in Education, Work, Communities, Health, and Immigration (pp. 57–76). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. * Hurtado, A., & Yee, A. (1992). Educational attainment, success, and the role of race and gender. In J. H. Stanfield & R. M. Dennis (Eds.), People of color in the United States: Contemporary Issues in Education, Work, Communities, Health, and Immigration (pp. 57–76). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. * Hurtado, A. (2015). American Psychological Association Distinguished Contributions to Psychology Award. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/awards/2015/distinguished-contributions-psychology.aspxHurtado, A. (2015). American Psychological Association Distinguished Contributions to Psychology Award. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/awards/2015/distinguished-contributions-psychology.aspx

References

1950 births 21st-century American psychologists American women psychologists American feminist writers Living people {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurtado, Aida