Psychology through international congresses: Differences between regions, countries, and congresses

Abstract

A published database of presentations from the seven most recent International Congresses of Applied Psychology (ICAPs) was compared to a similar but unpublished database (Adair, Anguas-Plata, Unik, & Radons, 2009) on the International Congresses of Psychology (ICPs) for the years 1996-2004. Analyses revealed phenomena characteristic of attendance at both international congresses: Participation rates spike dramatically for host countries; less dramatic regional surges in participation occur when the congress is held in a neighbouring country. Psychologists from 117 different countries participated in the seven recent congresses (ICAP and ICP) from 1994 to 2006. Overall ICP was double the size of ICAP, and represented a larger set of countries at each of its congresses. Regardless of location, most participants at both congresses came from the same 11 economically advantaged and seven majority-world countries. Congress presentations are dispersed across a much larger number of countries than are journal publications. The USA, for example, had modest 14.4% (ICAP) and 11.6% (ICP) presentation rates, much smaller than its majority share of publications (Adair, 2009 ). By contrast, the USA had the greater share of invited addresses at both ICAP (33.7%) and ICP (28.9%) congresses. Nonetheless, the majority-world countries contributing to both ICAP and ICP are clearly indicative of where the discipline is gaining strength and importance to international psychology. The emergence of Iran as a new leading national contributor to the two most recent international congresses, and the rise in the proportion of presentations by majority-world psychologists at ICAPs from only about one in five to more than one of every three presentations in recent congresses are findings consistent with Zakaria's (2008) analysis of changes taking place in the world. Within international congresses, certainly, the "rise of the rest" is changing the face of international psychology.

Contributions of internationalization to psychology: Toward a global and inclusive discipline.

“…Studies of intemational collaboration have shown that the power differential is often uneven; researchers from Western countries are often the dominant party, as they usually have an advantage in terms of language, experience, and resources (Adair et al, 2010). The first is the further development of intemational collaboration.…”

“…The nature of such cooperation is a crucial factor in how much a study can contribute to the internationalization of psychology. Studies of international collaboration have shown that the power differential is often uneven; researchers from Western countries are often the dominant party, as they usually have an advantage in terms of language, experience, and resources (Adair et al, 2010). Obviously, the development of a truly international psychology requires the intellectual input of all parties.…”

Internationalization of Psychological Research: Publications and Collaborations of the United States and Other Leading Countries

“…Although we based our research on analyses of a database of 34,010 articles from 92 countries in 23 journals, the data reported in this article are largely limited to the publications of the United States and other leading countries identified by their research performance in high-quality primary journals. The remaining data, from countries in the majority world (MW), former Eastern Bloc, and the rest of the world (ROW), focusing on their publications in secondary and international journals and presentations at international congresses, have been reported elsewhere (Adair & Huynh, 2011; Adair, Unik, & Huynh, 2010).…”

Social psychology circa 2016: A field on steroids

“…A different analysis using data from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology showed that the number of authors from nations other than the United States has steadily increased since the journal's inception in 1965 and constituted almost one‐third of JPSP articles by 2000 (see Figure ; Quinones‐Vidal, Lopez‐Garcia, Penaranda‐Ortega, & Tortosa‐Gil, ). There has also been an increase in the number of international psychology conferences and the number of countries from which the conference attendees hail (Adair, Coêlho, & Luna, ; Adair, Unik, & Huynh, ; Pawlik & d'Ydewalle, ). Yet another sign of the increasing globalization of psychology is the extent to which cross‐cultural psychology (an important subfield of social psychology) has surged in popularity in recent decades.…”