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Psychology for the Third World?
Author(s) -
Sloan Tod S.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1990.tb01931.x
Subject(s) - ignorance , poverty , third world , neglect , dehumanization , globalization , ideology , developing country , development economics , political science , just world hypothesis , psychology , sociology , social science , social psychology , economic growth , politics , law , economics , psychiatry
Most citizens in the industrialized nations know the Third World only through secondhand and distorting images conveyed by the mass media. While these images and related processes of globalization are increasing awareness of poverty, civil strife, and human rights abuses in the Third World, few people in the First World seem to care about changing these painful realities. Ignorance, neglect, and a form of defensive dehumanization allow the “developed world” to proceed as if there were no serious problems in the “developing world.” Yet even the most basic statistics on conditions in the poorest nations point to massive and systematic suffering. Western behavioral scientists, who clearly have much to contribute, have yet to manifest the sustained concern necessary to develop fruitful interventions. This is due in part to ideological constraints on psychology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, numerous researchers working in the Third World have been pioneering models and methods that may challenge others to rethink disciplinary assumptions, and begin to confront Third World problems effectively. This article surveys the development of these activities and issues a call for increased involvement.