Arab Psychology in Global Context

1. Arab Psychology in Global Context Uwe P. Gielen Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Psychology St. Francis College, New York City Ramadan A. Ahmed Kuwait University

2. A Brief History of International Psychology: Beginnings First International Congress of Physiological Psychology Paris, France � 1889 Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) 190 doctoral students from 10 countries Predominately European and North American

3. Main Question How can Arab psychology strengthen its presence in the emerging global psychology movement while being of service to society?

4. Response The brief history of international psychological development The state of global psychology The state of Arab psychology Establishing an Institute of Arab Psychology

5. A Brief History of International Psychology: Post-WWII American Psychology becomes a �scientific superpower� Monocultural in nature Little awareness of developments elsewhere, even in Europe English � THE language of communication

6. A Brief History of International Psychology: Recent Developments Europe 300,000 estimated European Psychologists (Tikkanen, 2005) European Federation of Psychologists� Associations (EFPA) 31 countries represented Professional licensing requirements

7. A Brief History of International Psychology: Recent Developments South America Large number of psychologists (140,000 licensed psychologists in Brazil alone) Fairly limited impact in the international arena (rather weak scientific and academic base)

8. A Brief History of International Psychology: Recent Developments East Asia Relatively fewer psychologists Japan � 20,000+ China 10,000+ More rigorous scientific inquiry than in South America? Chinese Government: Psychology one of 18 scientific disciplines for the 21st century

9. Trends in Global Psychology Generally speaking, the richer the country, the more significant psychology�s role Other factors Education level Modernization In emerging countries, psychologists more often found in urban areas

10. Trends in Global Psychology Political and Cultural Factors Left and right-wing totalitarian regimes have often restricted psychologists Liberal Democratic Governments generally encourage adoption of psychology Exceptions: Nazi Germany, Apartheid South Africa, (former) German Democratic Republic, Communist Cuba

11. Trends in Global Psychology Psychology has still been able to prosper in a wide variety of settings The Philippines Communist Cuba Formerly communist Russia Theocratic state of Iran Liberal and largely-secular Netherlands �racially� heterogeneous Brazil

12. The Tasks of Global Psychology The worldwide integration of psychological developments in a culturally sensitive way The creation of a psychology that can contribute to a universal consciousness and sense of responsibility

13. The Tasks of Global Psychology Meeting global challenges: Cognitive-Emotional � the need for empathy and sociocultural role-taking Moral � the use of principled ethical reasoning in an environment of conflicting perspectives and values Practical � the scope of global challenges (i.e. overpopulation, global warming, differences in wealth and resources)

14. Arab Psychology Where does Arab Psychology fit into the global picture? Is Arab Psychology visible on the international stage? Has psychology assumed an important role in the modernization of Arab nations? How much is psychology contributing to the welfare of Arab societies and their members?

15. Arab Psychology - Publications Review of 2,500 publications (Ahmed & Gielen, 1998, 2008) Bibliography of 5,000 publications (Ahmed, 2007) Steady growth and expansion of psychology in the Arab world Broad range of Arab studies being conducted in developmental, social, educational, cross-cultural, and abnormal-clinical psychology Minimal studies in animal, physiological, and experimental psychology

16. Arab Psychology - Publications Review of # of published studies in PsycINFO in 114 developing countries over a 5-year period (S�nchez-Sosa & Riveros, 2007) Large variation in research productivity between Arab countries Some countries like Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt have global visibility comparable to many South American and Asian countries Not fully representative - any studies published in languages other than English not counted

17. Arab Psychology - Publications Research Activity by Psychologists in 19 Countries of the Middle East and North Africa Country Number of Studies Listed in PsycINFO ________________________________________________________________________ Jordan 138 Iraq 98 Egypt 92 UAE 78 Kuwait 77 Lebanon 73 Saudi Arabia 63 Morocco 40 Oman 25 Sudan 19 Bahrain 17 Syria 15 Algeria 13 Somalia 13 Tunisia 12 Qatar 10 Yemen 10 Libya 3 Djibouti 2 ________________________________________________________________________ Total 798 ________________________________________________________________________ Note: The information in this table is taken from S�nchez-Sosa and Riveros (2007, Table 4.5B).

18. Arab Psychology - Publications Research Activity by Psychologists in 21 Developing Countries and the Arab World Country/Region Number of Studies Listed in PsycINFO ________________________________________________________________________ China 1917 India 835 Brazil 812 19 Arab countries combined 798 South Africa 738 Mexico 733 South Korea 550 Thailand 222 Nigeria 214 Argentina 210 Chile 160 Uganda 156 Kenya 155 Jordan 138 Malaysia 136 Philippines 118 Tanzania 118 Ghana 114 Indonesia 112 Pakistan 109 Colombia 107 Bangladesh 103 ________________________________________________________________________ Note: This table includes only those countries for which PsycINFO listed at least 100 studies for a 5-year period. All data reported are derived from S�nchez-Sosa and Riveros (2007, Tables 4.1-4.6C).

19. Arab Psychology � International Conferences December 2003 - First Middle East and North Africa Regional Conference of Psychology, Dubai, United Arab Emerites Participants from 35 countries including 17 neighboring states April/May 2007 - Second Middle East and North Africa Regional Conference in in Amman, Jordan Participants from 28 countries including 15 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region (Knowles & Sabourin, 2008)

20. Arab Psychology � International Conferences Kuwait University: Three International Conferences in the Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies (Third Conference: December 2006)

21. Arab Psychology � Limitations Most Arab studies conducted by a single researcher, imitative of Western studies, and tool-oriented rather than problem-centered (Soueif, 1998) Arab psychologists have not sufficiently indigenized their theories and research programs

22. Arab Psychology � Limitations Arab psychologists have not developed original theoretical frameworks Arab psychologists are not sufficiently visible in the global arena

23. An Institute of Arab Psychology � A Modest Proposal A center for interdisciplinary cooperation in the context of joint research projects A model for establishing a �research culture� based on collaboration between researchers from both Arab and non-Arab nations

24. An Institute of Arab Psychology � A Modest Proposal A venue for organizing conferences, workshops, and courses in psychology The institute should focus on scientific work and training of direct and indirect use to the surrounding society

25. An Institute of Arab Psychology � A Modest Proposal The Institute should include a library that contains books, articles, chapters, unpublished dissertations, master�s theses, published and unpublished research reports, psychological tests, and other materials that are relevant to Arab psychologists

26. An Institute of Arab Psychology � A Modest Proposal The Institute could publish a periodic Survey of Arab Psychology The Institute should be fully integrated into a university setting while, at the same time, conducting its work on a relatively independent basis. Kuwait University is one such place where this may be possible

27. Conclusions Psychology is prospering in many non-Western countries The International Union of Psychological Science includes 71 national psychology associations on all inhabited continents Psychology in many Arab countries, while steadily developing, has fallen behind in relation to some other economically, politically, and culturally emerging regions of the world, especially in East Asia and parts of Latin America.

28. Conclusions The establishment of a financially well endowed, creatively led, and university-connected yet partially independent Institute for Arab Psychology would constitute a significant step toward making Arab psychology a more significant force in Global Psychology

29. References Ahmed, R. A. (2004). Psychology in Egypt. In M. J. Stevens & D. Wedding (Eds.), Handbook of international psychology (pp. 387-403). New York: Brunner-Routledge. Ahmed, R. A., & Gielen, U. P. (Eds.).(1998). Psychology in the Arab countries. Menoufia, Egypt: Menoufia University Press. Ahmed, R. A., & Gielen, U. P. (Eds.).(2008). Psychology in the Arab countries. Cairo, Egypt: Supreme Culture Council. (in Arabic) Gielen, U. P. (in press). Arab psychology and the emerging global psychology movement. In A. Aksu-Koc & S. Bekman (Eds.), Perspectives on human development, family and culture. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

30. References Knowles, M., & Sabourin, M. (2008). Psychology and modern life challenges: The 2nd Middle East and North Africa regional conference of psychology, Amman, Jordan, 2007. International Journal of Psychology, 43 (2), 130-139. S�nchez-Sosa, J. J., & Riveros, A. (2007). Theory, research, and practice in Psychology in the developing (majority) world. In M. J. Stevens & U. P. Gielen (Eds.), Toward a global psychology: Theory, research, intervention, and pedagogy (pp. 101-146). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

31. Acknowledgements During 2002 and 2006 The first author was given the opportunity to visit the Psychology Department at Kuwait University as part of two invitations extended respectively by the College of Graduate Studies and the College of Social Sciences, in order to review the departmental graduate and undergraduate programs. I am deeply grateful to the deans, administrators, and members of the Psychology Department for their warm hospitality and their openness with which they discussed the programs and the overall situation of the department during my two visits. I am also indebted to Juris G. Draguns and Harold Takooshian for discussing with me their observations during our joint visit to Kuwait University in 2006. This paper constitutes an attempt to extend and broaden my report to the College of Graduate Studies (Gielen, 2002) and the joint report by Professor Draguns (Pennsylvania State University) and I to the College of Social Sciences (Draguns & Gielen, 2006), by adding a few suggestions about how psychologists might contribute even further to the academic excellence of Kuwait University in the wider context of Arab psychology.