Psychology,Science, and Culture: Cross-Cultural Analysis of National Psychologies

Although psychology is assumed to be a value-free, universal, and objective branch of science, in actual practice it is deeply enmeshed with Euro-American cultural values that champion rational, liberal, and individualistic ideals. In North America, the free exchange of ideas is valued, and ideas are purportedly evaluated through public and competitive avenues. This belief affects how conferences are organized, research collaborations are developed, research is funded, and publications are accepted. In East Asia, human relationships that can be characterized as being “virtue-based” rather than “rights-based” occupy the centre stage. Individuals are considered to be linked in a web of inter-relatedness and ideas are exchanged through established social networks. Establishing trust and cordial working relationships are prerequisites for the active exchange of ideas. Psychological science is a cultural enterprise that must examine its implicit assumptions and integrate with other world views in developing a truly universal psychological science.     

Psychology and the National Medal of Science

When Congress created the National Medal of Science in 1959 to be awarded by the president of the United States, psychology was not among the eligible sciences. A concerted lobbying effort in the late 1970s changed that situation, adding social and behavioral sciences to the listing of eligible disciplines. This article describes how the award program was created with more restricted eligibility and the behind-the-scenes actions that led to eligibility being broadened, noting particularly the efforts of one very prominent psychologist who was angry about the exclusion of his science.     

从亲属词分类看民族语言对民族心理的影响

亲属关系基于血缘关系和婚姻关系形成, 是个体首属的社会关系, 被视为人类学研究的“王冠”。在每种语言中, 都有表征亲属关系的词, 即亲属词。亲属词蕴含着丰富的遗传、婚姻、社会和文化的信息, 是文化人类学、语言学和民族心理学研究的重要内容。2001年以来, 通过一系列对汉族大学生、汉族儿童及青少年、纳西族、摩梭人、傣族、基诺族、彝族和白族的亲属词分类研究, 发现了不同民族亲属词的概念结构, 揭示了影响亲属词分类的因素, 显示了民族语言对民族心理的影响; 揭示了语言影响亲属词分类的机制, 为语言影响认知的理论提供了重要证据; 揭示了不同民族的亲属关系的特点, 为民族心理学的理论构建提供了重要资料。     

A National Survey of Trauma Training in Psychology Internships

Directors from psychology internship programs across the United States were asked to participate in a survey regarding their sites’ provision of services to traumatized populations and didactic and supervisory training offered to interns. All totaled, 259 training directors completed the survey. Using a point system, an impact score of training saturation was determined based on the content and frequency of training offered in didactic, supervision, or combined formats. Of these, all reported at least one trauma training opportunity in either didactic or supervision format. More than half indicated that they offered at least 1 to 3 hours of didactics on trauma per week (62.2%) and slightly less offered supervision-specific training opportunities (54.5%). However, only 30.8% identified training opportunities in trauma/posttraumatic stress disorder that reached a high level of saturation in training, meaning they offered training activities above the median impact score. The most commonly reported barrier to offering trauma training was related to being busy meeting other specialty or program requirements. Findings provide a preliminary overview of current training practices that can be useful to students seeking trauma internship placements and administrators and faculty who are looking to revise their curriculum.     

我国西南少数民族心理研究的基本状况

西南少数民族心理研究是我国民族心理学的重要部分。20世纪80年代以来, 西南少数民族研究主要集中在儿童认知、智力发展、人格、价值观和品格等方面, 并取得了一些具有代表性的成果。目前, 西南少数民族心理研究主要有几个特点：(1)研究取样主要是青少年和学生; (2)研究取向主要是民族心理的发展; (3)民族心理研究大多与教育研究相联系; (4)民族心理研究的研究方法的科学性有待增强; (5)民族心理研究的核心是民族文化, 民族心理研究应该深入民族生活中去考察民族习俗; (6)民族心理研究多将民族和民族文化作为实验中一个变量, 对民族心理本质问题的重视程度不够。     

Psychology,Religion, and Spirituality

This study focused on the relation between the manner in which pray-ers perceive God (God concept) and their tendencies to choose various prayer types. A sample of 114 Jewish Israeli religious men responded to multidimensional measures of God concept (Benevolent, Evaluation, Omniness, Guiding, and Deisticness) and of prayer type (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication, Reception). Canonical correlation analysis uncovered a significant canonical model. Two canonical functions, explaining a total of 36.5% of the variance, were selected for interpretation. Function 1 indicated a perception of God as a benevolent and guiding God together with supplicative prayer. Function 2 indicated a perception of God as a meaningful and close God with active thanksgiving prayer. These results provide support for the notion that the manner in which an individual perceives God and the manner in which that individual chooses to pray to God are indeed related.     

Psychology at the National University of Singapore: The First 15 Years

L'histoire de la psychologie à l'Université Nationale de Singapour (NUS) est assez courte. Le premier cycle de psychologie remonte à 1986. Néanmoins, le secteur psychologie du Département de Travail Social et de Psychologie s'est considérablement développé pour ce qui est de l'enseignement, de la recherche et des services. Les auteurs décrivent le développement de la psychologie à la NUS depuis son introduction. Nous décrivons le cursus, l'équipe enseignante et ses activités, et l'infrastructure de recherche. L'analyse des documents officiels prouve que ce département est un succès institutionnel. En outre, ce projet a contribué au développement de la psychologie théorique et appliquée.
The history of psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is rather short. The undergraduate degree with psychology as a subject first became available in 1986. Nevertheless, the psychology program of the Department of Social Work and Psychology has grown considerably in terms of teaching, research, and service. The authors describe how psychology has been developing at NUS since its inception. The present review pertains to the existing academic programs, the teaching staff and their activities, and the infrastructure for psychological inquiry. Analyses of the official data disclosed that the Department of Social Work and Psychology at NUS can be regarded as a successful experiment in institution-building. Moreover, the psychology program has contributed to both basic and applied psychology.     

颜色词与颜色认知的关系——基于民族心理学的研究视角

颜色词与颜色认知的关系是语言影响认知的重要领域.不同民族之间存在着语言和文化的差异.对于颜色词与颜色认知的关系,一直就存在着普遍进化理论和语言相对论的争论.既往研究通过哲学思辨、命名和计算、颜色分类、颜色记忆和颜色搜索等多种范式对颜色词与颜色认知的关系进行了卓有成效的探讨,使该领域的研究呈现出蓬勃发展的局面.     

Essentialism, Constructionism, and Feminist Psychology

This article attempts to clarify two alternative understandings of gender—the essentialist and the constructionist—and to discuss the implications of each for feminist psychology. Essentialist construals of gender, represented by recent "cultural feminist" positions, are critiqued for the theoretical, empirical, and political concerns they raise. A constructionist position is offered as ameliorative, and lingering questions raised by this analysis are discussed.     

Psychology,population, and reproductive behavior

This special section on international perspectives in psychology focuses on population issues and reproductive behavior across national and cultural boundaries, emphasizing the responsibility of psychologists and colleagues in related disciplines to generate and communicate culturally mindful findings likely to shape public health policy and improve human well-being. After considering the historical and policy context, it highlights internationally collaborative research projects in the Czech Republic, Egypt, Mexico, and the United States that address reproductive behavior, women's roles and status, responsible parenthood, and abortion legislation in terms of cultural context, gender equity, the needs of adolescents, and public health policy. The articles illustrate the importance of the cultural context within which psychological research is conducted and how psychology can be informed by international perspectives.