Cross-cultural psychology: A handmaiden to mainstream Western psychology

This paper argues that mainstream Western psychology, in adopting a natural science model, has abandoned its past philosophical legacies. Metaphysical concepts, such as will, purpose, consciousness, awareness, mind, etc., which give meaning to our lives have been jettisoned. Attention has been focused on overt, observable, measurable behaviours, which are investigated by sophisticated experimental methods aided by the use of complex statistical and mathematical models. Research appears to be guided more by its methodology than by its conceptual frameworks. Science has been replaced by scientism. The ecological validity of the findings of such studies has also been vigorously questioned. Cross-cultural research, which is concerned with investigating variant and invariant behaviours across cultures, has also fallen victim to the 'scientific' methods used in mainstream psychology, which become particularly evident in the use of psychometric testing and experimentation across cultures. It is argued that cross-cultural psychology needs to be indigenized if one is to arrive at a deeper understanding of culture and the manner in which it affects individuals, their lives and their behaviours.     

Positive organizational psychology,behavior, and scholarship: A review of the emerging literature and evidence base

The positive psychology movement seems to have stimulated new research and applications well beyond the discipline of traditional psychology. Among the various areas of inquiry, research and scholarship about positive organizations have received considerable attention from both researchers and practitioners. The current review examined the scholarly literature published between 2001 and 2009 on positive organizational psychology to provide a detailed picture of the current state of the field. This review sought to discover the overall growth rate, trends, and prevalent topics in the literature. It also aspired to provide an understanding of the empirical evidence for each topic through in-depth reviews. The findings suggest that there is a growing body of scholarly literature and an emerging empirical evidence base on topics related to positive organizations. Strengths, limitations, and implications of building a practical knowledge base for making significant improvements in the quality of working life and organizational effectiveness are discussed.     

Behavioral contributions to teaching of psychology: an annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography that summarizes behavioral contributions to the journal Teaching of Psychology from 1974 to 2006 is provided. A total of 116 articles of potential utility to college-level instructors of behavior analysis and related areas were identified, annotated, and organized into nine categories for ease of accessibility.     

Evolutionary psychology and consumer behavior: A constructive critique

We examine the theoretical basis for the evolutionary narrative common to the target papers by Saad (this issue) and by Griskevicius and Kenrick (this issue) and identify areas of controversy that have sparked debate about evolutionary psychology [EP] among biologists and behavioral ecologists. The two main areas of disagreement are over (1) the role of genetic adaptations resulting from natural selection in ancient times compared to other forces leading to current behavior; and (2) the likelihood that evolution resulted in a set of highly specialized mental modules or information-processing circuits thought to be instrumental in determining present-day behavior. We review the EP research discussed by the authors of the target papers as a means of evaluating the evidence in support of the theory and of suggesting future directions of research.     

The psychology and physiology of temperament: pragmatism in context

This paper traces William James's famous "temperament thesis" according to which the philosophical stance that individuals take depends on their "temperaments." It seeks to understand James's conception of temperament by locating James within a set of contemporary investigations that linked the sources of mental, and even higher, intellectual processes to the physiological and organic constitution of the individual. The paper argues that James understood temperament along the reflex-arc model and discusses the implications of that physiological account of temperament for James's overall conception of philosophy.