The Coming of Age of International Psychology: Advances in Theory, Research, and Practice
Monday, March 26, 2007
Presented By
Presented by the Psychology Section
Speaker: Michael J. Stevens, Illinois State University and the Lucian Blaga University (Sibu, Romania)
International psychology is an outgrowth of globalization. Paradigm shifts are underway that attest to the gradual transformation of U.S. psychology into a less insular discipline. Normative alternatives to reductionistic, universalist views, for example, call for a more situated and relational perspective of human functioning. I begin by defining international psychology and its purview, and describe recent trends in psychology worldwide, particularly in the majority world. I survey key emerging conceptual models, qualitative research methods, and indigenous psychotherapeutic practices along with contemporary macro-level interventions. I conclude by posing a number of unanswered questions that obtain from the globalizing of psychology that reflect issues germane to the future identify of U.S. psychology and that address the developmental course of psychological theory, research, and practice.