Western psychologists should be more open-minded

American and European psychologists have grown accustomed to the 'hid-eous Westrocentrism' they imply by using the terms 'First World,' 'Second World' and 'Third World' to differentiate other parts of the planet, says Bernhard Wilpert, PhD, of the Berlin University of Technology. Similarly, the tradition of placing Europe center-stage on world maps also conveys Westerners? self-important views. It?s with this same mind-set that many Western psychologists look at the field, said Wilpert, president of the International Association of Applied Psychology in his keynote address to the International Congress. Western society regards the beginning of modern psychology as 1879 with Wilhelm Wundt?s creation of his psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany. 'But does that mean that there was no systematic psychological research and theorizing before?' he asked.

'What about the more than 2,000-year-old Greek tradition of serious search to understand the human psyche? What about the millennia-old systematic psychological reflections on human nature and human psychological functioning, which we discover in psychological doctrines derived from American Indian, Buddhist, Confucian and Laotian reasoning?'

Wilpert reminded psychologists that they must be open-minded in their search for answers in psychological study. 'A wealth of yet unreclaimed psychological insights and wisdom has been accumulated by these traditions, which psychology cannot afford to overlook,' he said.

Wilpert acknowledged that, in the last 20 years, more psychologists have been tapping into the wealth of knowledge left behind by ancient indigenous psychological traditions. He noted he is particularly encouraged that psychologists from non-Western regions are being trained in the West and are serving as bridges in translating their theories to Western psychologists.

But, he concluded, further success requires psychologists to continue to look for 'bridges among mainstream and indigenous psychological approaches with curiosity and innovative spirit.'

?Sara Martin