Afro 102: Psychology of Black/African American self-image 

BOOKS are another valuable resource in any research paper or project. Books (as opposed to articles) generally possess the following characteristics:

• Longer in length
• Good sources of background and historical information
• Often contain footnotes and lengthy bibliographies

Use the following online catalogs to search for books using the suggested subject headings as search terms:

• UIUC Online Catalog Searches for items in the UIUC campus libraries.
• I-ShareSearches for items in more than 80 academic libraries in Illinois, including UIUC.
• WorldCatSearches for items in libraries throughout the world.

INFORMATION ON SEARCH TERMS:

LIBRARY of CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS (LCSH) to use as search terms include:

self-perception
and NOT self-awareness, self-concept, self-image or self-understanding

Optional narrower terms:

body image
centering (Psychology)
ego-ideal
self-hate
self-doubt

NOTE: The above is meant as a general rule for searching in the UIUC online library catalog, I-Share and WorldCAT. It is not a directive that applies to searching various databases on this topic. Some of the terms listed as those NOT to be used with the catalog are perfectly fine for use in some databases.

Other key words:

Words and phrases often tied to Black self-image: body awareness, identity formation, ethnic identity, gender identity, social identity, racial and ethnic differences, interracial, cutural sensitivity, child/adolescent development, social norms, group dynamics, adolescent attitudes, sociocultural factors, cognitive complexity, academic self concept, well being, health, interpersonal relationships, family/parent/sibling relations, age, life changes
ALSO: slavery, harlem renaissance, affirmative action, black masculinity, jim crow, civil rights