PSYCHOLOGY: AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
1. Critically discuss the context of psychology in developing societies
Modern psychology is a western product
It was brought to developing countries as part of the general transfer of knowledge and technology
Psychologists (in attempt to emulate the sciences) construed their discipline as an objective, value free science
Saw culture as an impediment through their demonstration of processes like motivation, perception & emotion
Traditional psychology seeks to uncover the underlying universal structures of human functioning
Assumes that psychological processes are fixed in individuals (same principle applies to developing societies)
Research is initiated by psychologists in developed societies
Attempt to replicate studies conducted in developed societies - using imported theoretical frameworks
Cultural colonisation
Transfer of knowledge, ideas, values & practices from developed to developing societies is a form of cultural
colonisation
It ensures that the developed world continues to produce + market psychological knowledge & technology (psych tests)
These are marketed to the developing societies who remain the consumers of western ideas and technology
Result = contemporary research and theorising in developing nations is irrelevant to the needs of the local population
Examples of these needs are things such as eliminating poverty and illiteracy
The argument: psychological science is based on western cultural assumptions about the subject & nature of knowledge
Traditional western psychology is based on an independent view of the self AND assumes that knowledge is value free
The self in traditional psychology
Traditional western ways of knowing make distinctions between the knowing subject and the object of his or her
knowledge
The knower is a solitary and disinterested subject
He or she is stripped of all particularities such as gender, culture, position and existence in space and time
The self in traditional psychology is regarded as a bounded and autonomous entity
It is defined in terms of its internal attributes such as thoughts and emotions (independent of social and contextual
factors)
This view of selfhood is also known as self-contained individualism
Self-contained individualism
This view of the self contrasts with conceptions of the self in indigenous societies and non-western cultures in general
The self in these societies tends to be context-based
It is defined in terms of ones relationships with others (such as the family, community and status/ position in the group)
This view of selfhood is also called the collectivist or independent self
The place of values in western psychology
Traditional western approaches to science seek objective knowledge
Knowledge isn’t meant to be affected by the knower’s values/ meanings (knower stands separately from what is known)
Objective knowledge can be arrived at by anyone who has engaged in the necessary thought processes or procedures
This way of knowing is also described as "separate" and is not timeless and not universal
It is a product of the scientific revolution that emerged from the 16th and 17th centuries (why*)
*during this period the western world experienced a gradual shift from a religious orientation to a scientific position
This shift can be described as one from a community orientation to a materialistic position
Cultural psychology (CP)
CRITICISM: Cultural psychologists criticise the notion of value free knowledge
1|Chapter 2
1. Critically discuss the context of psychology in developing societies
Modern psychology is a western product
It was brought to developing countries as part of the general transfer of knowledge and technology
Psychologists (in attempt to emulate the sciences) construed their discipline as an objective, value free science
Saw culture as an impediment through their demonstration of processes like motivation, perception & emotion
Traditional psychology seeks to uncover the underlying universal structures of human functioning
Assumes that psychological processes are fixed in individuals (same principle applies to developing societies)
Research is initiated by psychologists in developed societies
Attempt to replicate studies conducted in developed societies - using imported theoretical frameworks
Cultural colonisation
Transfer of knowledge, ideas, values & practices from developed to developing societies is a form of cultural
colonisation
It ensures that the developed world continues to produce + market psychological knowledge & technology (psych tests)
These are marketed to the developing societies who remain the consumers of western ideas and technology
Result = contemporary research and theorising in developing nations is irrelevant to the needs of the local population
Examples of these needs are things such as eliminating poverty and illiteracy
The argument: psychological science is based on western cultural assumptions about the subject & nature of knowledge
Traditional western psychology is based on an independent view of the self AND assumes that knowledge is value free
The self in traditional psychology
Traditional western ways of knowing make distinctions between the knowing subject and the object of his or her
knowledge
The knower is a solitary and disinterested subject
He or she is stripped of all particularities such as gender, culture, position and existence in space and time
The self in traditional psychology is regarded as a bounded and autonomous entity
It is defined in terms of its internal attributes such as thoughts and emotions (independent of social and contextual
factors)
This view of selfhood is also known as self-contained individualism
Self-contained individualism
This view of the self contrasts with conceptions of the self in indigenous societies and non-western cultures in general
The self in these societies tends to be context-based
It is defined in terms of ones relationships with others (such as the family, community and status/ position in the group)
This view of selfhood is also called the collectivist or independent self
The place of values in western psychology
Traditional western approaches to science seek objective knowledge
Knowledge isn’t meant to be affected by the knower’s values/ meanings (knower stands separately from what is known)
Objective knowledge can be arrived at by anyone who has engaged in the necessary thought processes or procedures
This way of knowing is also described as "separate" and is not timeless and not universal
It is a product of the scientific revolution that emerged from the 16th and 17th centuries (why*)
*during this period the western world experienced a gradual shift from a religious orientation to a scientific position
This shift can be described as one from a community orientation to a materialistic position
Cultural psychology (CP)
CRITICISM: Cultural psychologists criticise the notion of value free knowledge
1|Chapter 2
