SOCIAL AND COLLECTIVE PSYCHOLOGY IN BREAKING WITH THE COLONIALITY OF KNOWLEDGE: A STUDY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LIBERATION PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract

 This article proposes a critical reflection on the coloniality of knowledge in the construction of Psychology as a science and profession within the Brazilian context, highlighting the influence of Eurocentric models on psychological education and practice, as well as their impacts on knowledge production and scientific understanding. Initially, the introduction provides a historical overview of the development of Psychology in Brazil, emphasizing its epistemological heritage and the need to build knowledge grounded in the specificities of the Latin American context. Regarding the methodology, this study adopts a literature review based on the analysis of scientific articles and publications produced in Latin America, considering previously established inclusion and exclusion criteria. The discussion is organized into three main sections: (1) the introduction of the concept of the coloniality of knowledge in Latin America; (2) the role of Psychology and Collective Health in overcoming technical-scientific reductionism within the field of Latin American Social Psychology; and (3) an analysis of the colonial phenomenon through Martín-Baró’s Liberation Psychology. The findings indicate a strong persistence of the coloniality of psychological knowledge, reinforcing scientific practices and knowledge production rooted in historical and sociocultural contexts characteristic of Latin America.