IPP—Quo Vadis?

Abstract

Research, Practice, Consultation (IPP) was designed to extend psychological knowledge both geographically and thematically. Our mission was also to discover and find ways to effectively use this acquired psychological knowledge to address problems of local relevance to people. The efforts reflected, in part, the principles of the graduate training of the first editor (Gibbons) at Carnegie-Mellon University in the 1960s and 70s-to apply knowledge and to search for mechanisms of change (Card, 2016). The efforts also address many of the practical goals of the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2015). This last issue of 2016 provides an opportunity to reflect on what IPP has accomplished, and our way forward.Studies published in IPP from the first issue of 2012 through the third issue of 2016 included samples from 75 different countries, representing 38% of the world's countries, and all continents except Antarctica. The authors, based on their affiliations, stemmed from 60 different countries. About one third of the articles represented collaborations between authors from the global north and those from the global south. Other international collaborations comprised another 14% of the studies. Thirteen percent of them were authored exclusively by scholars from the Southern Hemisphere.The topics covered during this era were those not often found in psychology journals, and frequently addressed local problems. Do taxi drivers in Addis Ababa obey local traffic laws as well as verbally endorse them (Mamo & Haney, 2014)? What is the quality of life for individuals living near a garbage dump in Nigeria (Olapegba, Balogun, & Chism, 2012)? Do Kenyan adults believe health messages delivered by children (Jukes, Zuilkowski, Okello, & Harris, 2013)? How do women living in Turkish squatter communities understand family violence (Güvenç, 2014)?The broad representation of locale and topics was achieved, in part, by an editorial mentoring project designed and spearheaded by Lynette Bikos. Three articles were brought to fruition through editor mentoring by Dr. Bikos in collaboration with her graduate students. Editorial mentoring involves a close collaboration between an emerging scholar and an experienced scholar; the mentor serves without coauthorship to bring the manuscript to fruition. For the mentor a kind, patient disposition and large investments of time are necessary,

The Nature and Challenges of Indigenous Psychologies

“…Yet a further example of the increasing interest in internationalizing psychology is division 52, International Psychology, of the APA and its journal International Perspectives in Psychology Research, Practice, Consultation, inaugurated in 2012. It is interesting that Gibbons and Carr (2016), in an editorial for this journal, did not find it relevant to mention IP. The editorial described the journal as "designed to extend psychological knowledge both geographically and thematically" (Gibbons & Carr, 2016, p. 207), and noted that its goals overlap remarkably with the sustainable development goals launched by the United Nations in 2016.…”