Psychology in Latvia

Abstract

History of psychology in Latvia can be divided into three stages: (1) origin and early development during the period of independence between the two World Wars; (2) survival under rather difficult conditions under the Soviet rule; and (3) rapid growth after the reestablishment of independence in 1991. After a brief review of the first two stages, this survey concentrates on recent and current trends in Latvian psychology. Research is reviewed on: interethnic relations, social representations; attachment styles in infancy and childhood and their reverberations in adulthood; early detection and intervention of depression in schoolchildren and university students; validation of major intelligence tests and exploration of new modes of assessing intelligence, and the interplay of social axioms and personal characteristics in observing traffic regulations. As a profession, psychology has burgeoned in the last two decades; programs for training psychologists have been expanded; and applications of psychology have been extended beyond schools to clinical, counselling, industrial/organizational, military, and sports settings.