Indigenous Psychology Research Articles

Effectiveness of the BodyMind Approach® for women with depression and medically unexplained symptoms in Taiwan

This article aims to examine the hypothesis that The BodyMind Approach® (TBMA) can effectively decrease depression and the distress experienced from medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) for women in Taiwan. A quasi-experimental design was adopted to examine this hypothesis along with the use of questionnaires and a repertory grid technique (RGT). The former was used to objectively examine changes in depression and MUS distress levels, while the RGT was used to examine any changes in subjects’ psychological construct system in terms of their intra- and interrelationships in their personal context. A case study at the end presents the effectiveness of TBMA. The results showed that TBMA was more effective for reducing the distress of MUS than for reducing depression. However, its effectiveness for managing the rigid perception of social roles also cannot be strongly asserted. Nevertheless, the client in the case study showed significant improvement in lower levels of depression and MUS distress, and in psychological construct integration after treatment. This research is expected to contribute to indigenous psychology by providing an example of the adoption of a Western-developed research method (RGT) and intervention (TBMA) while retaining cultural sensitivity. TBMA is introduced as an alternative treatment for managing depression and MUS distress in Taiwan.

He kākano ahau – identity, Indigeneity and wellbeing for young Māori (Indigenous) men in Aotearoa/New Zealand

This article examines how dominant Eurocentric approaches to mental health are unable to address the diverse needs of young Māori men in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Drawing on current health inequities facing Māori and young Māori men in particular, this commentary explores how colonisation has impacted young Māori men in negative ways. Through shaping current health structures in Aotearoa/New Zealand, dominant Eurocentric approaches foreground individualised conceptualisations of Māori ill-health, and then apply predominantly Western therapies to resolve this. These approaches are ill-equipped to address the intergenerational and structural issues which are at the root of mental health disparities for young Māori men. This article adds to a growing body of Indigenous psychology literature that speaks to the inadequacies within (mental) health systems for addressing the ongoing challenges that Māori experience due to colonisation. It further highlights how the intersections among ethnicity/race, class, age and masculinity for Māori men are shaped by colonial discourses. These inadequacies reflect a broader issue of the constraints placed on Māori self-determination by the colonial systems of power in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The article closes by proposing some alternative approaches to supporting Māori wellbeing that centre the needs and aspirations of Māori.

Why robots can’t haka: skilled performance and embodied knowledge in the Māori haka

To investigate the unique kinds of mentality involved in skilled performance, this paper explores the performance ecology of the Māori haka, a ritual form of song and dance of the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. We respond to a recent proposal to program robots to perform a haka as ‘cultural preservationists’ for ‘intangible cultural heritage’. This ‘Robot Māori Haka’ proposal raises questions about the nature of skill and the transmission of embodied knowledge; about the cognitive and affective experiences cultivated in indigenous practices like haka; and about the role of robots in the archival aspirations of human societies. Reproducing haka, we suggest, requires more than copying physical actions; preserving the ‘intangible’ entails more than programming postures and movements. To make this case, we discuss the history of European responses to the haka, and analyse its diverse performance features in cultural context. Arguing that indigenous movement practices incorporate genuinely embodied knowledge, we claim that skilled performance of haka is deeply mindful, embodying and transmitting dynamic, culturally shared understandings of the natural and social world. The indigenous psychologies incorporated in haka performance are animated by a shared history integrated with its environment. Examining haka performance through the lens of 4E cognitive skill theory for mutual benefit, we discuss the effects of synchrony in collective action, the social and environmental scaffolding of affect and emotion, and the multilayered relations between past and present. Culturally-embedded systems of skilled movement like the Māori haka may, we suggest, constitute specific ways of thinking and feeling.

Качественные методы в изучении культурной детерминации совладания: проблемы и перспективы

The article is devoted to the main methodological problems of qualitative research in the psychology of culture. Methods of ethnographic (field) observation were borrowed by psychology from social and cultural anthropologists in the first half of the twentieth century, and in modern research practices there is a special ethnographic direction that claims to analyze behavior and lifestyle in various subcultures and communities. According to the disciplinary structure proposed by T.G. Stefanenko, ethnopsychology includes the following areas: psychological anthropology, cross-cultural, cultural, and indigenous psychology. Qualitative methods are more typical for cultural and indigenous psychology, while quantitative and mixed methods are more typical for cross-cultural research. The prospects of a qualitative approach in ethnopsychology are discussed in the example of the study of the cultural determination of coping. The results of thematic analysis of narratives and free-form interviews of respondents from Moscow and Tashkent allow us to conclude that the key cross-cultural difference in coping behavior is the degree of its individualization: representatives of Uzbek culture are focused on receiving support and care from significant Others, and not on independent internal work (unlike Russian respondents). At the same time, they are not satisfied with the traditional prescriptions that come from the family environment, which forces them to “invent” coping practices that go beyond the boundaries of normative social (often religious) ideas. This can be interpreted from the point of view of the process of modernization of Uzbek culture, which is gradually becoming individualistic, and the latter circumstance requires the construction of flexible coping strategies in the situation of social and cultural changes.

On the importance of theory and contagion

As Theory & Psychology has reached its 30th anniversary I reflect on the state of the discipline and the state of theory. I argue that we need good theory (in its broadest sense) more than ever, not only because of its role in psychology’s critical wing but also because of the requirement to continually regenerate theory if it is to be useful and responsive to lives as lived. Theory in a broad sense continues to grapple with questions of ways of being that are grounded in historical and material realities. This is especially true for new indigenous and postcolonial psychologies and their attempt to reconfigure the science of psychology.

"Kail sejengkal janganlah menduga dalam lautan": Mengapa psikologi perlu lebih daripada studi empiris

Mayoritas studi di bidang psikologi menekankan pada paradigma berbasis pada bukti yang mengandalkan observasi objektif (positivisme) maupun integritas dan kompetensi peneliti (konstruktivisme) dalam menginterpretasikan sebuah realita. Paradigma ini seringkali diimplementasikan secara reduksionistik, di mana studi ilmiah di bidang psikologi hanya dapat dilakukan melalui metode empiris yang mengandalkan data primer. Ini adalah realita yang terjadi, terutama di Indonesia, di mana kebanyakan publikasi ilmiah di bidang psikologi mengisyaratkan studi empiris dengan metode kuantitatif dan/atau kualitatif. Dalam catatan ini, saya memperkenalkan berbagai metode alternatif selain studi yang mengandalkan data primer untuk menjustifikasi nilai kebenaran dan kegunaan dari suatu argumen. Berkenaan dengan hal itu, catatan ini juga hendak menginformasikan langkah strategis Jurnal Psikologi Ulayat untuk mewadahi bentuk publikasi dengan telaah sejawat selain studi empiris demi mewujudkan diseminasi yang cepat dan akurat mengenai perkembangan pengetahuan di bidang psikologi ulayat di Indonesia.

The Unheard Cry of a Successful Asian Psychologist

This paper addresses the important issues of making it as an Asian psychologist in an overwhelmingly white academic field. Based on my professional and personal struggle to achieve success as a psychologist in both academia and clinical practice, I want to (a) expose the naked truth of being an Asian psychologist within a white academic field with regard to racial trauma, careerism, and expediency; (b) chart a course of maintaining personal and ethnic authenticity in truth-seeking in spite of all the visible and invisible obstacles in a foreign country; and (c) propose ways to fully recognize indigenous psychology and integrate Asian minorities in mainstream psychology.

Culture and human development: Where did it go? And where is it going?

Culture and human development blossomed as a research enterprise in the last quarter of the 20th century; the energy and innovation of that enterprise are less evident now. Where did it go, and where is it going? In this essay, we examine the shifting fields of cross-cultural psychology, psychological anthropology, cultural psychology, indigenous psychology, and the surge of research on Individualism/Collectivism. Offering both academic and personal perspectives, we reflect on the importance of "culture" as a construct, and the value of focusing on individual development in that context. The way forward now, we suggest, is international and intercultural collaboration of scientists. The challenge for training new researchers from diverse backgrounds, however, is to equip them with the knowledge and insights gained from cross-cultural psychology, psychological anthropology, and their own cultures, rather than simply making the next generation of scholars into new representatives of Western theories of development.

THE CONCEPT OF SELF, PERSON AND PERSONALITY: A VIEW OF INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGY

The present article “The Concept of Self, Person and Personality : A View of Indigenous Psychology” aims to explain the nature of self, person and personality in relation to Indian Psychological Perspective. In this explanation, Indian Sath Darshan, Buddhist, Jainism views are included. Researcher analyze, categorize and synthesize the views of Indigenous Psychology and try to find out a new vision of self person and personality. Definitely the Indian meaning of self and person will give a new dimension of thinking as well as to realization of the aims of Education as well as life. KEY WORDS : Indigenous Psychology, Self, Jiva, Swabhava.

National Travel Assistance Entitlements Are Inaccessible to Whānau Māori

New Zealand’s National Travel Assistance scheme is intended to provide financial support for people who need to either travel frequently or over long distances for specialist health care treatment. Taking an Indigenous Psychology orientation to “away-from-home” hospital admissions, we broaden the focus beyond an individual’s physical experience of hospitalization to the wider social and political context. Based on our research, we recommend a whānau-centered approach to travel assistance that will offer better coordination and remove factors negatively impacting whānau Māori (Indigenous families in New Zealand) health outcomes and contribute to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 of reducing inequality. Our research is congruent with the community psychology value of “accountability” and the World Health Organisation value of “better health for everyone, everywhere.”

When psychologists take a stand: Barriers to trauma response services and advocacy for American Indian communities

ABSTRACT American Indians and other Indigenous groups face numerous traumas resulting from civil rights infractions. Often, these infractions began in historical contexts and continue into modern experiences. The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and subsequent activist response at Standing Rock are a prime example of how movements asserting human rights are met with resistance from dominant majority groups. Generally, this resistance turns violent as police and security responses from the dominant culture escalate despite the peaceful nature of demonstrations. This impacts mental health among oppressed populations. As #NoDAPL progressed, Indigenous psychologists felt moved to “Stand with Standing Rock” by supporting Water Protectors in need of trauma services. This was met with institutional and systemic barriers to treatment and lack of support from key professional organizations. This article addresses barriers faced by mental health professionals providing services on the frontlines and lists potential resolutions including the development of a crisis response team, infrastructure for communication with individuals onsite, culturally congruent healing, community-building, and prayer. The article serves as a case study for trauma provision among American Indian communities in crisis and is a reminder of the resilience and empowerment that occurs when Indigenous peoples from all over the world come together for a shared cause. This case study format can be a guiding example for service providers choosing to take a stand with marginalized communities asserting social change.

The virtue values: Kindness, loyalty, and piety in the Melayu cultural context


 
 
 The belief in good values that live in the community have an influence on the individual’s behavior. Virtue is one of them. Virtues found to have links with the individual’s character and personality. By using the approach of constructive realism indigenous psychology, this study aims to explore the virtues in the context of Melayu culture. Data collection techniques in this study were open ended questions and multiple responses. Data were analyzed with qualitative and quantitative methods using NVivo. It was found that kindness and loyalty are the core virtues that are considered important in everyday life. In the relationship context, the behaviors target of these values is higher in the community than personal. Virtues was found to be differ according to the demands of the situation. These virtues shifted in problem solving situations, where kindness and empathy are expected to appear less than serenity and resourceful. It is clear that the virtues which embraced by the individual does not always manifest if the situation is not supportive for the emergence of these virtues.
 
 

Some clarifications on critical and Indigenous psychologies

This comment responds to Held’s (2020) analyses of Indigenous and critical psychologies, not by providing line-for-line refutations of arguments, but by laying out some of the larger issues in those areas of research and practice. The argument clarifies assumptions and misunderstandings by looking at the relationship between critical and Indigenous psychologies, power and violence, objectivity, and the regulative role of prepositions. It is hoped that a clearer and broader understanding of those psychologies can emerge.

Objecting, subjecting, and epistemic diversity

Held (2020) portrays critical and Indigenous psychologists as subscribing to an epistemological “anti-objectivism” that inhibits their ability to combat oppression. She believes that their anti-objectivism yields a troublesome relativism in which truth is overly context-dependent; what counts as true knowledge for one Indigenous group may not count for another. This commentary explores whether critical and Indigenous psychologists are strict “anti-objectivists,” as Held contends. It also challenges the need for epistemological consistency, while encouraging a shift from “objectivism” and “subjectivism” as essentialized states to “objecting” and “subjecting” as complementary ways to explore and study the world.

Generalizations, concepts, and pseudoconcepts: The subjective content of epistemic violence

Barbara Held’s article (2020) challenges the “for/about prepositional divide” (p. 349), which is presumed by critical and Indigenous psychologies, at two empirical and epistemological levels. I argue that Held’s critique can be further strengthened empirically, with reference to Lev Vygotsky’s analysis of the relation between spontaneous and scientific concepts, and epistemologically, with reference to Evald Ilyenkov’s treatment of concepts in contrast to mere notions.

Mistaking the subject of violence in scientific psychology

Barbara Held (2020) claims that critical and Indigenous psychologists are right to point out how scientific psychology has contributed to findings that do undue harm to racial groups, but are wrong to suggest that, due to epistemological violence, scientific psychology cannot provide psychological truths that may inform progressive public policies. She rightly questions the relevance to violence of “for” and “about” findings in being linked to metaphors of “below” and “above” as discussed in Thomas Teo’s work, but then pivots to offer a violent corrective, asserting the importance of objectivity for capturing the situated subjectivity of individuals engaged in the oppressive practice of othering. Despite its promise for socially just consequences, Held offers a psychological science that remains in itself a subject of violence.

The sociocultural movement in psychology, the role of theories in sociocultural inquiries, and the theory of sociocultural models

This special issue presents the theory of sociocultural models (TSCM) and its applications in diverse areas of psychology, including education, health care, clinical practice, gender relations, and general research. As many theories already exist in the social sciences, some readers may ask: “Why do cross‐cultural, cultural, and indigenous psychologists need another theory?” This question is comprised of two aspects: culture/cultural and theory/theoretical. Therefore, to answer it, it is important to clarify both issues. The first relates to cultural and its relation to psychological. The second, theory, considers its relation to cultural and psychological. These issues have long‐range implications for all culture and psychology disciplines as they pose many questions: What role does culture play in the mental functioning of people? How is culture constituted? Is cultural related to social? Does people’s mental functioning exert reciprocal influences on their cultural and social functioning? While working toward answering these questions, researchers quickly determine that more questions arise: What role should theories play in answering these questions? What constitutes theory in culture and psychology disciplines? How should such a theory (or such theories) address the triad of cultural, social, and mental? Consequently, in an effort to provide an overview of the TSCM and to begin to answer these questions, this introduction consists of two parts. The first part addresses the sociocultural turn in modern psychology; this part discusses its implications for research in culture and psychology disciplines. The second segment examines the topic of the theoretical backgrounds of cultural and cross‐cultural research and connects the philosophical paradigms of interpretivism and realism with the theory of sociocultural models. This introduction concludes with a brief overview of the articles included in this issue.

“Hybrid psychology agent”: Overcoming the about/for dichotomy from praxis

I draw on my experience in community development with “othered” groups to present the idea of the “hybrid psychology agent.” This, I contend, is a key figure in overcoming the dichotomies alleged by Indigenous psychologists and confronted by Held (2020). On the one hand, the concept is rooted in hands-on work in multicultural settings. It is also supported by Cultural-Historical research through projects such as Service Learning that connect higher education students with disenfranchised Roma children. On the other hand, the concept follows a critical theory framework where, as implied by Held, a paradigm shift in science is needed. The issue at point is not whether folk Indigenous knowledge should replace so-called objective knowledge, but how the latter should embrace the experience of a more diverse psychological object and subject, mainly through the participation of “othered” people as psychology scientists and practitioners.

Hegemonic categorization of the other contributes to epistemological violence

Held (2020) missed one central concern of Indigenous psychology (IP), namely that hegemony of knowledge production in mainstream psychology (MP) is to be resisted. In this commentary, I identify two prevalent assumptions in MP that warrant resistance: first, to gain knowledge of the other is to categorize them; second, the use of neutral categories can reduce epistemic violence against the culturally different other. My critique is based on a cultural analysis of strong-ties versus weak-ties rationalities.

The dangerous tendency to essentialize cultural categories in academic psychology

This commentary welcomes Held’s (2020) article on epistemic violence in psychological science. When psychologists employ social categories, such as “Black people” or “the Japanese” as “fixed factors” in their experiments, they may ignore the social construction of these categories within a cultural context. This can lead to cultural conceptions being enshrined in a methodology that has a tendency to essentialize social categories, with their inferred psychological attributes simply becoming a question of their “accuracy” or “inaccuracy” and not about the history and ideologies within which they are formed. Cultural psychology and Indigenous psychologies challenge this ideological neutrality of social categories, which is illustrated by Hinton’s cultural model of stereotypes. Ignoring the evidence that traditional academic psychology is a cultural psychology (rather than an objective science) simply maintains the dominant ideological structures of epistemic violence within it.