title: One hundred years of discrimination research in the Journal of Applied Psychology: A sobering synopsis.
abstract: Employment discrimination-a legal, social, moral, and practical problem-has been a persistent focus of narrow scholarship in theJournal of Applied Psychologysince its inception. Indeed, this article identifies the environmental characteristics, conceptual underpinnings, dominant methodologies, research questions and findings across 508 articles published on discrimination in the journal over the last 100 years. Emergent themes document signs of stability and change in 3 eras: an era wherein discrimination research was itself discriminatory (1917-1969), the heyday of discrimination research (1970-1989), and an era of unsteady progress (1990-2014). This synthesis suggests that, although increasingly sophisticated methodological approaches have been applied to this topic, the targets of focus and theories driving research have largely been static. Additionally, research published on discrimination in theJournal of Applied Psychologyhas often trailed too far behind the times. Specific recommendations for advancing the psychological study of employment discrimination in applied contexts are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University.
authors.forename: Adrienne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colella
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rice University.
authors.forename: Mikki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hebl
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, George Mason University.
authors.forename: Eden
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D004651:Employment / Q000266:history / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D011287:Prejudice; D011585:Psychology, Applied / Q000266:history / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012106:Research / Q000266:history / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*