Resource Collaboration: A Model of Psychology Derived From Cross-cultural/ Cross-disciplinary Projects

Abstract

It is clear that the different approaches used in psychology are limited and can benefit from the inclusion of other perspectives. Challenging the formulation of a general paradigm of psychology, this paper urges psychologists to give up the stance of being superior and invulnerable vis-à-vis other disctplines and colleagues and to evolve a science of human conduct which would include notions of freedom, inherent unpredictability and subjective bias. This general paradigm can be constructed from a representative number of psychologies from a representative set of cultures. The need to focus on the nested relationship of culture, psychological theory, people and the practices of science is emphasised. The strengths of Western scientific psychology are outlined and the paper illustrates how inputs from different disciplines and cultures can be used to develop a multi-culturally useful general paradigm.