An African-centred psychologist can say, ‘I study cognitive development from an African perspective,’ of course. But the moment you utter those words, despite your conscious intention, you have already betrayed your unconscious wish and real desire. Your real desire is to persuade the audience of the rightness of your study. Your unconscious wish is for your view to be accepted. As such, you have undermined the potential influence of your study. And you will be rejected.

The argument that when a female researcher feels compelled to state (to give another example), ‘My master's study looked at stress among first-generation middle-class women and men from an African feminist perspective,’ she has already undermined the potential influence of her study, arises from the knowledge that the most likely question that follows her declaration is not, ‘What did you find?’ but rather, ‘What is an African feminist perspective?’ This is not necessarily an unwelcome question if you are developing an African feminist perspective. But it may be distressing when you wish to talk about stress, and that is the main question in which your audience is interested.