Psychology in Cultures and Contexts

This book is based on lectures delivered in the memory of a legendary Indian Psychologist, Late Professor Durganand Sinha, by several distinguished Indian and International scholars who discuss how Psychology needs to diverge from what has come to be called a WEIRD [(W)estern, (E)ducated, (I)ndustrialized, (R)ich, (D)emocratic)] Psychology that claims to propound universal laws of human behaviour. The chapters included in the book focus on understanding micro and macro-level social and psychological issues within cultural contexts. The book looks at the indigenous roots of cultures and how they inform our understanding of psychological processes and structures; how cultures and their contexts modify psychological processes and associated behaviour, and problems that arise in making cross-cultural comparisons. It also looks at how such understanding that comes out from such approaches can be used to enhance societal development and wellbeing. The book discusses the paradigmatic shifts that are taking place in Psychology and will be of interest to scholars of Psychology, both in developing as well as developed societies

R.C. Tripathi is a former Professor and Chair of Psychology at the University of Allahabad, India. He has also served as the Director of the GB Pant Social Science Institute of Allahabad, India. He received his PhD degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA and has been a Visiting Professor at several Universities in India and abroad. He has been a National Lecturer of the UGC in India. Janak Pandey is a former Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Bihar, India, and a former Professor and Chair of Psychology at the University of Allahabad. He has also served as the Director of GB Pant Social Science Institute at Allahabad. He received his doctoral degree in Psychology from Kansas State University, USA, and then taught at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He has been a President of the International Association for Cross-cultural Psychology.