Plenary Session: Challenges in Global Psychological Science

Wednesday, October 23, 2024   

7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT (23:00 – 00:30 UTC) 

Psychological science can provide insights into global issues such as mental well-being, inequality, education and access to resources. Understanding these issues from a global perspective can inform policies and interventions that are more effective and culturally appropriate. Developing a research program with a global lens requires addressing certain challenges. In this session, the speakers provide an overview of their research in race and diversity, decolonizing, education, and developing collaborative methods to highlight the current challenges to advancing a global psychological science.  

Psychology Must Grapple With Whiteness

Jessica Remedios, Tufts University, USA

Psychology must grapple with Whiteness—the social context of power and privilege unique to white participants—to achieve racial justice goals; however, psychologists are incentivized to conceal its influence. 

Coloniality and Precarity Within Knowledge Production as Obstructions to a Truly Global Science

Geetha Reddy, The Open University, UK

Reddy’s talk will invite attendees to reflect on how we can build a global science from a very particular Euro-North American standpoint. Knowledge production within hegemonic psychology is unequal, coloniality in action and built upon engendering precarity in the field. Developing a truly global science requires a focus on decolonial epistemic justice. 

Education of Psychologists Amid Diversity and for Sustainability: Challenges for a Global Psychology 

Allan B. I. Bernardo, De La Salle University, The Philippines 

As a reaction to WEIRD psychology, countries in the Global South have developed psychology education programs to reflect local knowledge systems and national development priorities. Bernardo will reflect on the issues related to defining competencies in psychology education on a global scale in a manner that acknowledges inequalities, respects diversity, and faces issues of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. 

Developing Inclusive, Fair and Representative Methods for a Global Psychological Science

Ronald Fischer, Instituto D’Or de Pesquisa e Ensino, Brazil, and Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Fischer will provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities for inclusive, representative, relevant, and fair methods, with specific reflections on a) the cultural origins, applications, and fairness of psychological measures (beyond just statistical considerations), b) the impact of artificial intelligence and large language models, and c) increasing use of online data.