On the Road to Half a Century of Cross-Cultural Psychology: Foundations, Current Status, and Forecasts

Abstract

The modern movement of cross-cultural psychology began in the mid-1960s. Shortly after those earlier activities, two conferences were building blocks in helping to develop and institutionalize the field. The first was a NATO-sponsored conference held in Istanbul in 1971. Organized by Lee J. Cronbach and Pieter J. D. Drenth, it resulted in a book that they edited, <em>Mental tests and cultural adaptation</em> (Mouton Press, 1972). The second was the inaugural IACCP conference held in Hong Kong in 1972. It was organized by John Dawson and resulted in the first IACCP proceedings volume, <em>Readings in cross-cultural psychology </em>(Dawson and Lonner, published by the University of Hong Kong Press in 1974) In addition, a number of other activities spanning the mid-1960s to the early 1970s were important in setting the stage for the rapid ascent of contemporary culture-oriented psychology. For example, the <em>Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology</em> was inaugurated in 1970. Unit 1 of IACCP’s <em>Online Readings in Psychology and Culture</em> contains further information about the first half century of IACCP (IACCP.org).