Psychology and Globalization: Understanding a Complex Relationship

Abstract

Within the last two decades, globalization has emerged as one of the most popular topics for study among the social sciences. In contrast, however, to other social science disciplines that immediately grasped the importance of globalization as a trans-disciplinary macro-level concept capable of describing, explaining, and predicting social phenomena, globalization has not yet achieved widespread popularity in psychology. This article discusses the concept of globalization, its emergence, definitions, meanings, consequences, and critical implications for psychology.Upon this gifted age, in its dark hour, Falls from the sky a meteoric shower Of facts. They lie unquestioned, uncombined. Wisdom enough to leech us of our ill Is daily spun; But there exists no loom to weave it into fabric.Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 -1950 Huntsman, What Quarry? The Global Context of Our livesMore than a decade ago, I called for the development of a new psychology-a global-community psychology-that would be responsive to the many changes and challenges emerging within our global era. I defined global-community psychology as a "meta-discipline" or "superordinate discipline" characterized as " . . . a set of premises, methods, and practices for psychology based on multicultural, multidisciplinary, multisectoral, and multinational foundations global in interest, scope, relevance, and applicability." (Marsella, 1998(Marsella, , p. 1282.

Macropsychology, policy, and global health.

“…He also described what I would call psychology's rather "modest mulitiplicity": its limited multidisciplinarity, multiculturalism, and multinationalism and the very limited multisectoral training of psychologists, Marsella argued that psychology paid too little attention to the Universal Declaration of Hu man Rights and that it neglected its potential social activist role. These neglects have by and large continued over two decades, now being even more problematic as globalization has accelerated during that period (Marsella, 2011).…”

Globalization as Re‐traumatization: Rebuilding Haiti from the Spirit Up

“…What we do know is that the ongoing use of participatory action research models in conjunction with the use of mental health intervention models which integrate sustainable livelihood and community empowerment can move us in this direction. We cannot address mental health issues in Haiti, nor in other low and middle income countries, without breaking the cycle of poverty and mental health; we cannot break this cycle without addressing the negative aspects of globalized economic policies (Marsella, 2012; Prilleltensky, 2012).…”

“…We cannot understand mental health dynamics in Haiti, and in many other LAMICs, without understanding the relationship between mental health and economic underdevelopment. Despite some claims that global corporate development lifts all boats (i.e., Dollar, 2001), there is general consensus that for many countries globalization deepens poverty thereby negatively impacting mental health (Cornia, 2001; Gershman & Irwin, 2000; Harrison & McMillan, 2007; Mander & Goldsmith, 1996; Marsella, 2012; Prilleltensky, 2003). Over the past decades there has been a growing consensus that SAPs, in particular, increase poverty rather than decrease it (United Nation Economic Development Forum, 1992; Watkins, 1995).…”

“…Within the context of Haiti, Nicolas and her colleagues have demonstrated that Western criteria for depression are not valid when understanding or identifying the depression of Haitian women in the Diaspora (Nicolas et al, 2007; see also World Health Organization, 2010). Globalization is not only about a global economic infrastructure, it is also about exporting dominant ideologies and cultures (Aneesh, 2012); psychology, as a whole is a clear contributor to this latter aspect of globalization (Arnett, 2008; Marsella, 2012).…”

Negotiating Globalization: Men and Women of India's Call Centers

“…There is no pressure on American or British cultures, in action‐theoretic terms, for communicative adaptation; they are not required to simulate Indian cultural traits. This one‐way characteristic of cultural adaptation is an example of the hegemonic globalization discussed by Marsella (2012) and an example of how countries in the seat of global economic power dictate the terms of the relationship between the global north and the global south (Diaz & Zirkel, 2012).…”