Global Psychology

GLOBAL PSYCHOLOGY, also referred to at times as INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY is an emerging branch of psychology that focuses on the worldwide enterprise of psychology and is (i) concerned with an understanding of challenging contemporary topics that are not geographically bound, and which have a psychological dimension and (ii) designing contextualized, ethical, and socially responsible actions to address these challenges and support individual and social well-being (research, consultation, practice).

The goal of the course is to sensitize students to global psychological issues of particular significance to low-income countries.

This course is grounded in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and will provide an opportunity for students to observe, examine and understand human behavior within its natural context in a low-income country, and the kinds of psychological help offered to members of the society.

As part of the course, students will be engaged in a 3-month obligatory field experience (internship) to gain an understanding of the complex socio-cultural, historical, political, economic issues affecting how people, organizations and environments interact. The goal is to facilitate the development of cultural sensitivity and awareness. Students will learn to establish respectful and ethical relations with global populations, considering the impact of their own culture on global cultures.

Psychology is a product arising from interaction among ecological, cultural, and political systems. Mainstream psychology as it is practiced in much of the world is rooted in the realities of Western industrialized countries. This approach to a large extent has shown very little cognizance to cultural, political, ecological, and social factors that affect people¿s emotions, thoughts, and behavior. Western conception of human behavior, thoughts, and emotions as well as its practice are often transported from one part of the world to the other in packages of "absolute truths". Notwithstanding great results, they have sometimes proven to be ineffective and even detrimental to the receiving group of people. Moreover, psychological services are often provided in a manner devoid of cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity and at best minimum cultural competence.

The crux of the course is to help students to expand their cultural horizon and provide them with first-hand close observation of psychological services in a low-income country

Knowledge

At the end of the course the student should be able to:

• Describe the health care system of the LMIC (i.e. low or middle-income country) where the internship takes place.
• Identify and describe indigenous psychological health care practices in the LMIC that the internship takes place.
• Discuss how the social, cultural and political systems of the country the internship occurred may shape behavior, thoughts and emotions of the people in the country

Skills:

• Discuss how one's culture of origin views may facilitate or impede working with people of of cultural backgrounds different from one's own
• Discuss how cultural-bound syndromes may arise from cultural beliefs and practices of a cultural society.
• Discuss culturally based ethical dilemma one may face when working in different cultural contexts
• Learn to cope with acculturative stress

General competence

• Develop a global and an international perspective of psychology as a field
• Develop an understanding for the limitations mainstream psychology may have when applied to people living in LMIC.
• Understand how psychological practices are rooted in the socio-cultural, ecological political structures of the society
• Relating competently and sensitively with people of different cultural backgrounds

The first part of the course will be taught at the University of Bergen, and the second part (Internship) is hosted at a university in a Low-and middle income country (LMIC).

For the 2024/25 Academic year, the hosting LMIC university is the University of Ghana in Accra. The university of Ghana will be the host, however the internship will take place at different places in Accra.