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Psychology in Modern India Historical, Methodological, and Future Perspectives: Historical, Methodological, and Future Perspectives

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Abstract

This book offers a critical account of the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological developments in key areas of psychology in India, providing insights into the developments and advances as well as future directions. Filling an important gap in the literature on the history of psychology in India, it brings together contributions by leading scholars to present a clear overview of the state of the art of the field. The thematic parts of the book discuss the historical perspectives: development of psychology in India; research methodologies in the West and India; future directions for research in the field. The book is of special interest to researchers, school administrators, curriculum designers, and policymakers.
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India is a diverse cultural landscape with an innumerable number of languages, traditions, and cultures. For this reason, cultural elements and spiritual beliefs are constantly integrated into Indian psychology and psychotherapy. Previous works have explored the integration of traditional Indian healing methods with Western psychotherapy; however, they fall short in addressing the dynamic interplay between historical perspectives and modern therapeutic practices. In this article, we aim to examine the traditional healing methods and belief systems held by Indians and discuss how historical and modern perspectives are woven into culturally sensitive psychotherapy approaches. We address the ongoing challenges of psychotherapy in India as a primarily Western therapeutic approach and how the transitional stage between modern and traditional approaches challenges the process of psychotherapy. Through an in-depth evaluation of traditional tales, mythologies, and spirituality, we propose methods to integrate these elements into modern psychotherapy effectively. This article contributes to a deeper understanding of cultural nuances that cater to the needs of today’s society and address issues in mental health. We conclude with an emphasis on the importance of integrating traditional healing practices with contemporary psychotherapy to create culturally adapted mental health interventions in India.
Article
This commentary comprises of three sections. The first section summarizes Sinha’s perspective and approach to the development of Indian psychology. The second section provides a bird’s eye view of a few major developments in the field of science in general and in psychology in particular. This section also elaborates on the need for developing Indian psychology (IP) not just for the Indian context but for its global relevance. The third section documents some of the developments that have taken place in India in the past six decades since the publication of Sinha’s paper.
Article
The program of teaching and research in psychology in modern India started in the early twentieth century. As one of its pioneers Professor Sinha (1922–1998) made a multidimensional endeavour to address the societal problems in a cultural context. On the occasion of Sinha's birth centenary, Psychological Studies presents its tribute to him by sharing the reflections of psychologists to the issues raised by Sinha on the integration of modern psychology with Indian thought published in 1965 in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. The reflections of peers have important implications not only for academic studies but also for policy and everyday life. These reflections encompass a range of perspectives and issues. Here, we provide a brief overview of the contributions of Sinha to psychology and introduce the reflections. It is hoped that these ideas would encourage colleagues to consider cultural context in their own research and to join us in the task of creating culturally rooted relevant psychology.
Article
Depersonalization-derealization disorder (DPD) is characterized by persistent or recurrent experiences of detachment from oneself and surroundings, as well as a sense of unreality. Considering the inadequacy of current research on treatment, we performed a systematic review of the available pharmacotherapies, neuromodulations, and psychotherapies for DPD. The systematic review protocol was based on PRISMA 2020 guidelines and pre-registered. The PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases were searched from inception to June 2021. All treatments for DPD and all study types, including controlled and observational studies as well as case reports, were assessed. Of the identified 17,540 studies, 41 studies (four randomized controlled trials, one non-randomized controlled trial, 10 case series, and 26 case reports) involving 300 participants met the eligibility criteria. We identified 30 methods that have been applied independently or in combination to treat DPD since 1955. The quality of these studies was considered. The relationship between individual differences, such as symptoms, comorbidities, history, and duration since onset, and treatment effects was explored. The results suggest that a series of treatments, such as pharmacotherapies, neuromodulation, and psychotherapies, could be considered in combination. However, the quality and quantity of studies were generally low considering the high prevalence of DPD. The review concludes with suggestions for future research and an urgent call for more high-quality research.
Chapter
The number and variety of Indigenous psychologies has grown immensely in the 75 years since the end of World War II. To date, there has been a dearth of histories of these psychologies, though brief descriptive historical introductions in articles are common. The approach of this chapter is to provide a critical rationale for understanding the challenges that face Indigenous psychologies, as well as the challenge of writing critical histories. Just as there are a multiplicity of Indigenous psychologies and many possible histories, so there are multiple rationales for writing histories of Indigenous psychologies. The chapter provides one intellectual and critical rationale based in decolonization approaches and decolonial theory that will be of use for future historians. The chapter also provides a substantial list of published resources to aid the development of future histories. Keywords Indigenous psychology (IP) Decolonizing psychology Decolonial theory in psychology History resources for IP
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The Oxford Handbook of Human Development and Culture: An Interdisciplinary Perspective provides an in-depth and comprehensive synopsis of theory and research on human development, with every chapter drawing together findings from cultures around the world. This includes a focus on cultural change, migration, and globalization. The handbook covers the life course from the prenatal period and birth to old age and death. Chapters are written by an international group of eminent and cutting-edge experts who represent disciplines such as anthropology, education, human development, family studies, neuroscience, psychology, and sociology. The topics covered are wide-ranging. They include cognitive, emotional, physical, and social development. There is also a focus on a variety of developmental contexts such as family, school, work, media, community and civic realms, and religion. The 43 chapters showcase the burgeoning interdisciplinary approach to scholarship that bridges universal and cultural perspectives on human development. This “cultural-developmental approach” is a multifaceted, flexible, and dynamic way to conceptualize theory and research that is in step with the cultural and global realities of human development in the 21st century.
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Even after sixty-four years of his death, Gandhi evokes special interest in most of the Indians. His presence has seeped deep inside our psyche, and continues to influence our life-for some considerably, for others slightly-none the less it does. A noticeable example of it is the mass unrest and awareness that Anna Hazare, a Gandhian, could instill in the whole of India regarding the Anti-Corruption Bill. Simple and strong, frail yet fighting Himalayan battles, a barrister yet always truthful-Gandhi broke traditional mindset in many ways. Gandhi, in Indian history, symbolizes the potential and the reaches of any ordinary human being. He was an extraordinary ordinary man. In this paper we seek to present glimpses of lessons learnt from Gandhi's life, the story of his transformation from a shy, ordinary person to a Mahatma, of his "techniques" of negotiation with the social world, of leadership that Gandhi exercised and the relevance and possibility of Gandhi in the contemporary world. This paper is based on the biographical analysis of Gandhi's The Story of My Experiments with Truth. The study helps in sketching the contours of an authentic self, and reveals how being and becoming Gandhi in the present society entails negotiating conflicts and paradoxes of freedom and responsibility, individual and collective, of liberation and cultural limitations. It explores why remembering Gandhi is a fruitful exercise-more so in the post-modern global world. Gandhi-a phenomenon, a philosophy and a way of life-was, is and will always be an inspiration for millions across the globe.
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Meehl argued in 1978 that theories in psychology come and go, with little cumulative progress. We believe that this assessment still holds, as also evidenced by increasingly common claims that psychology is facing a “theory crisis” and that psychologists should invest more in theory building. In this article, we argue that the root cause of the theory crisis is that developing good psychological theories is extremely difficult and that understanding the reasons why it is so difficult is crucial for moving forward in the theory crisis. We discuss three key reasons based on philosophy of science for why developing good psychological theories is so hard: the relative lack of robust phenomena that impose constraints on possible theories, problems of validity of psychological constructs, and obstacles to discovering causal relationships between psychological variables. We conclude with recommendations on how to move past the theory crisis.
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The present study has tried to delineate the notion of 'santosh' (contentment) in the everyday discourse taking gender variations and developmental stages into consideration. The study was conducted on subgroups of young adults, older people and saints (N = 100). The data were obtained through an open ended measure pertaining to different experiences related to contentment. The findings indicated that the dynamics of contentment had somewhat different connotation for common people particularly young adults in comparison to the group of saints. Saints emerged as an exclusive category of people who shared a rational worldview while viewing contentment in different facets of life. Younger as well as older adults construed the understanding of contentment in their collective life style dominated largely by emotional bonding. It was also observed that materialistic desires still prevail while pursuing the goals of pleasure, enjoyment, happiness and contentment. It seems that in the years to come the centrality of contentment will play a leading role in safeguarding human existence and social equilibrium.
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Dialectical perspectives have had an ambiguous history in European thought in the past two centuries. Having become established in the late eighteenth century by J. G. Fichte and G. W. Hegel as a philosophical system, the dialectical perspective episodically entered into other sciences (psychology, sociology) while being “politically kidnapped” in the Soviet Union in the 1920s–1980s. The result has been uneven development of basic ideas of change and development in the conceptual repertoires of the biological, social, and human sciences. It is time to bring back this venerable tradition of thought to the center of the construction efforts of new perspectives in the social sciences of the twenty-first century. In this article, we outline the core of the dialectical ideas as these are centrally relevant for a new synthesis of developmental psychology and traditionally systemic but non-developmental theoretical domains such as psychoanalysis. We use one of the concepts from psychoanalysis that has proven to be productive in all of human psychology—the notion of ego-defense mechanisms—and re-conceptualize them as self-construction mechanisms. We thus make a basic psychoanalytic concept developmental—self-construction is a process where the Ego uses its agentive power in different dynamic and dialectical transformation of the various societal influences. It creates a synthetic set of personal-cultural tools for anticipatory actions towards future challenges when these occur. The human agency functions in pre-defending the Ego in relation to undesired influences and dialectical self-construction mechanism occupy a central place in this eternal fight for feeling oneself as a meaningfully whole person in the middle of constantly new life-course experiences.
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The present study was conducted to explore whether there is any difference in intelligence-achievement relationship between low and high Obsessional thought groups among late adolescent students. The aims of the study were to determine (i) whether there is any sex difference in obsessional thoughts (ii) whether there is any sex difference in achievement scores and (iii) whether there exist any difference in intelligence-achievement relationship between low and high Obsessional thought groups. The sample consisted of 103 Bengali girls and 92 Bengali boys selected randomly from Class XI (16-18 years). Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices and Leyton Obsessional Inventory by Cooper and an information schedule were administered. The achievement level of the students was measured from the Madhyamik mark-sheet. The analyses revealed significant differences between high and low Obsessional thought groups indicating substantial loss in intelligence- achievement relationship attributable to obsessional thought. The results have been discussed in terms of future research directions and therapeutic implications. Keywords: Obsession thoughts, Intelligence, Achievement, Late Adolescents
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This chapter offers a theoretical and empirical perspective on socialization and parenting in the Indian cultural context. It critically examines the role of gender role expectations, micro ecology of family, and maternal employment in child development. The mediating effects of availability of resources, inconsistency in experiences of care, and availability of other nurturing caregivers and participation of fathers are also examined. It is observed that the parent–adolescent relationship is becoming more democratic, with parents participating actively in adolescents’ lives. Overall, research on socialization reflects positive trends such as the steady growth of culturally sensitive perspectives and attempts to engage with social change influences. However, the focus on middle-class contexts has precluded understanding of cultural diversity. It is concluded that further studies on the interplay of tradition and modernity, shifting power balance in parent–child relationship, and parenting across life span are warranted.
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In African countries, psychology as it is taught, researched, and practised contributes to epistemic injustice and epistemological violence while depriving Africans of epistemic agency. This is largely because psychology has remained and continues to remain Eurocentric. However, the continual Eurocentric hegemony is not entirely imposed but internalised. This has made this Eurocentric hegemony self-perpetuating with African involvement. In this paper, the sources of this hegemony are explored with a view to identifying how Africans themselves contribute to the persistence of these academic “ills”. Furthermore, processes are examined through which African psychologists can disentangle themselves from this vicious cycle in order to make accurate and innovative contributions to the global understanding of human nature. Nsamenang’s pioneering role in confronting the wrongs is discussed, paving the way for the next generation of African psychologists to make contributions that are similar to, or surpass, Nsamenang’s lifetime contributions. I conclude by making some recommendations as to the way forward in the post-Nsamenang era.
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In a boundary-crossing and globalizing world, the personal and social positions in self and identity become increasingly dense, heterogeneous and even conflicting. In this handbook scholars of different disciplines, nations and cultures (East and West) bring together their views and applications of dialogical self theory in such a way that deeper commonalities are brought to the surface. As a 'bridging theory', dialogical self theory reveals unexpected links between a broad variety of phenomena, such as self and identity problems in education and psychotherapy, multicultural identities, child-rearing practices, adult development, consumer behaviour, the use of the internet and the value of silence. Researchers and practitioners present different methods of investigation, both qualitative and quantitative, and also highlight applications of dialogical self theory.
Conference Paper
This study adopted a psycholexical approach to uncover the personality trait structure of Hindi speaking Indians. The endorsement for personality descriptive adjectives was obtained from young adults (n=240) using a Likert-type 5-point rating scale. The principal component analysis using varimax rotation revealed a six-factor structure comprised of (I) rajasic (passion and mobility), (II) sattvic (goodness and harmony), (III) tamasic (dullness and inertia), (IV) competence, (V) neuroticism, and (VI) extraversion. The six-factor structure of personality in Hindi language has broader psycholexical space than what is proposed in the “Big Five” personality theory.
Article
Academic psychology which made a new beginning in India in the early part of 20th century was modelled on the Western scientific tradition. The teaching of pschology was very much on the British pattern since the colonial rule, whereas the research was mostly an extension of the Western work in India. Psychology went through massive expansion after the Independence of India, and with that there were dissenting voices about its imitative nature. A movement toward indigenisation of psychology teaching and research gained momentum over the decades. Psychology in India is now seeking a new identity which is rooted in its rich heritage and also trans–national in its orientation.
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Attachment theory is predicated on the assumption of dyadic relationships between a child and one or a few significant others. Despite its recognition of alloparenting in some cultural environments, current attachment research is heavily biased toward the mother as the major attachment figure in the life of the developing child. This chapter presents evidence that diverse childcare arrangements exist in cultures that differ from Western norms and shows how these are equally normative in their respective cultural contexts. In these settings, alloparenting is neither chaotic nor unstable; it is the norm, not the exception. In all environments, infant care is far more than just an isolated, biopsychological phenomenon: it is an activity deeply imbued with cultural meanings, values, and practices. To account for these multiple levels, the construct of attachment must shift its emphasis away from an individual child toward the network of relationships surrounding a child. Overwhelming evidence on diverse childcare arrangements in non-Western cultures calls the putatively universal model of attachment (derived from the Bowlby-Ainsworth paradigm and still widely applied today) into question. In support of future research, this chapter proposes an inclusive reconceptualization of attachment, informed by research from non-Western cultural settings.
Article
The present retrospective analysis of review study focused on status of clinical psychology in India as compared to European countries. The roles of clinical psychology in present scenario in the field of teaching, training, research, administration and holistic approach of psychological interventions are challenging and very rewarding but the biggest problems facing this sector are its inability to attract the talented personnel. A number of studies show that about 25% of trained professionals are going abroad due to better remunerations, service condition and future prospect. This has to be stop by providing better services conditions, standard salary package and status at par with the medical counterpart. However without proper Government policy, regulating and framing the law, code of conduct and creating a national licensing board similar to the American Psychological Association and British Council for Psychologist status of clinical psychologist cannot be improved.
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In this volume, prominent American and European scholars explore the historical shaping of psychological discourse. Speaking from several disciplinary standpoints, attention is directed to the ideological, intellectual, political, economic and literary forces that enter into the cultural construction of mental life. In its explorations, the volume not only challenges the reality of the taken for granted world of everyday life, but raises fundamental questions concerning the potential of psychological science to establish historically independent knowledge of mental process. Contributions to the volume treat a variety of subjects, including the emotions, cognition, the concept of child development, psychotherapy, gender differences and knowledge. Additional chapters represent first-hand accounts of historical change in psychological movements.
Book
The workshop presents classic and original author's methods that can be effectively used in project and research work, in consulting practice, in the development of academic disciplines that consider the issues of harmonization of interaction in the educational environment. Meets the requirements of the Federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation. For practical classroom and extracurricular activities of undergraduate students studying in the areas of "Psychology" and "Psychological and pedagogical education", as well as for teachers of psychology, pedagogy and psychological and pedagogical disciplines, graduate students and researchers of the relationship of subjects of the educational space. The workshop is addressed to undergraduate students of higher educational institutions who are preparing for professional activities related to the solution of socio-psychological problems of education, upbringing, communication in educational institutions, as well as child-parent and marital relations. Для практических аудиторных и внеаудиторных занятий студентов бакалавриата, обучающихся по направлениям «Психология» и «Психолого-педагогическое образование», а также для преподавателей психологии, педагогики и психолого-педагогических дисциплин, аспирантов и исследователей взаимоотношений субъектов образовательного пространства. Практикум адресован студентам бакалавриата высших учебных заведений, которые готовятся к профессиональной деятельности, связанной с решением социально-психологических проблем обучения, воспитания, общения в образовательных учреждениях, а также детско-родительских и супружеских отношений.
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This chapter begins with identification of paradigmatic shifts in the discourse of cognitive psychology. A ‘person-in-context’ approach is advanced which assumes that culture is a constituent of mind and asserts that knowledge is constructed by the knower. These constructions begin as personal or idiosyncratic. As learners are social beings these constructions are socially shared. In the process, the diversity and incongruence between constructions and the pluralistic nature of knowledge are recognized. People function as a community and move towards a shared understanding. This is a significant ontogenetic process in the life of any learner. Therefore, this ontogeny needs to be reflected in the approaches to pedagogy. The chapter critically analyses current research in the field of cognition and pedagogy and highlights the future directions of research. Also, the implications of this research for the future of education are indicated.
Article
The mind has been the subject of fascination since ancient times, and every cultural tradition has folk theories related to meaning-making, attributions, and explanations about being human. In this sense, the subject of Psychology is as old as humanity, although its rise as a global, scientific discipline is relatively recent, emerging from 20th-century Europe and America. Theoretical ideas and methods generated during the growth of the discipline were aligned with beliefs about human nature and scientific methods specific to Euro-American cultures. Although “preached” and practiced universally as a science, this culturally circumscribed and ideologically bound history of the discipline needs further examination. Rather than “thinking globally” and “acting locally,” the agenda of Psychology has been the reverse; “think locally and act globally,” as critics of mainstream Psychology have pointed out. The predominance of individual, intra-mental, laboratory-tested, quantifiable dimensions of human conduct are based subliminally on Western ideology. The alternative methods of approaching real-life experiences, literature, art, inter-mental phenomena, and other qualitative dimensions of human interactions remain relatively under-explored. The dominant mainstream Psychology is seen as an objective, measurable, and universal science that has had far-reaching consequences for ordinary people around the world. This somewhat sinister side of conventional Psychology is the subject of this article, where we argue that despite significant exceptions and scholarly dissent, the popularity and prevalence of experimental Psychology has marginalized “others” at the expense of its own progress. We use illustrations primarily from teaching, research and practice in Psychology in Indian Universities.
Article
Ashis Nandy’s works have been read predominantly in the context of his observations on South Asian culture, politics and history. The present essay focuses on whether Nandy’s understanding of the self as an inseparable part of the collective culture and incorporating the past and future in the present may enrich thinking within mainstream psychology. Nandy consistently draws a distinction between the self as a product of modern enlightenment and the self that harbours within it the ambiguities and contradictions, often seen in traditional societies. Nandy believes that the former subtly breeds a kind of violence in the name of scientific hegemony, while the latter is more tolerant of human folly and idiosyncrasies. The present article discusses three categories of responses to modernity: from psychoanalytical perspective, from Indian psychology trying to retrieve ancient texts and from postmodernism, and contextualizes Nandy within these approaches. Three aspects of Nandy’s conceptualization of self have been discussed here: the storied self, the atemporal self and the mythical self. Finally, the utilization of such discourse for a possible pluralism to be introduced in mainstream psychology of self in India has been considered.
Article
In this article, I review main directions in innovative ideas that have been presented on the pages of Culture & Psychology over its 25 year history. The field of cultural psychology has become established and gains increasing prominence over the years covered—yet its future depends on careful development of the specific theoretical ideas catalyzed by the use of the hyper-term culture in the different arenas of concrete human psychology. Potential future ideas for cultural psychology include a move from acculturation to proculturation, modulation of psychological distance by signs, building models of dialogical relationships in socially asymmetric role relations, and of the affective textures of everyday living. These are all processes of higher-order complexity that require new ways of conceptualizing methodology in psychology—one that prioritizes theoretically based methods construction over those of consensually established “tool boxes.” Cultural psychology has the advantage over other areas of psychology to consider both the real and not (yet) real human conditions within the same scheme, thus allowing for conceptualization of highest forms of human creativity in ordinary human lives.
Article
Data from a large study (PISA, 2015) involving more than 132,000 children and 22,000 of their teachers, in 16 nations, were used to investigate how teachers convey self-efficacy to students when they teach and whether this is culturally grounded. Using a multilevel data analysis framework, we aimed to: (1) test a path linking teacher and student self-efficacy; (2) examine teaching practices as mediators of the links between teachers and student self-efficacy; (3) evaluate the moderating roles of cultural values on those links. Results indicated that teacher and student self-efficacy were linked indirectly through the use of teaching practices, more strongly through inquiry-based practices. We found cross-cultural differences on the associations between student-perceived teaching practices and student self-efficacy that were moderated by two country-level cultural values: individualism and uncertainty avoidance. This study highlights that, although academic self-efficacy is considered universal, we found cultural differences in its sources and manifestations.