INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGY

• Indigenous psychology is an alternative paradigm to study

human behaviour. The alternative paradigm suggests that the
exploration of human thoughts and actions should be strongly
focused on ‘indigenization’ i.e. study of behaviour in a context
that is free from all external influences (Shams, 2002).
• The term ‘indigenous’ refers to the natural occurrence at a
local place, hence, the prominent feature of indigenous
psychology is the absence of external, foreign and non-local
contexts in understanding human behaviour.
INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGY
 How is indigenous psychology developed?

• The changing social processes in a community context are

identified as ‘local knowledge’. It is believed to facilitate social
change and is an essential gatekeeper for empowering local
communities.
• The process of internalizing local knowledge is manifested
in our everyday life, for example, adherence to the local
customs and celebration of localised practices. The ongoing
local knowledge accumulation, and generating new localised
knowledge, may help to develop a sustained indigenous
psychology (Shams, 2005).
DEFINITION
• Indigenous psychology is a scientific study of human mind
and behavioral processes that are indigenous, not taken
from other areas, and intended for people who are the
subject of such research (Kim & Berry, 1993).
• Indigenous psychology (IP) is both an approach or perspective and a
movement in psychology.
• It has been defined by a number of scholars, most of whom were the
founders of the IP movements in their respective countries. Here are
key examples of how IP was defined.
INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGY
• Dissatisfied with having to rely on Western constructs,theories and
measures,indigenous psychologies emerged in response to the need
for non-western cultural communities to study human activity using
constructs and practices of psychology that are valid in their native
social and cultural contexts(Kim,Yang,&Hwang,2006 a).
• Indigenous psychology studies psychological phenomena in local
contexts,with local researchers,using locally derived measures and
occasionaly methods.
INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGIES
• Even in contemporary times,Western psychological thought
dominates the way researchers worldwide analyze ,explain and
interpret human experiences and psychological processing.
• The three worlds of psychology view illustrates the theme of power
and dominance in psychological thinking on a global scale.
• This position criticizes the exporting the Western (U.S) psychological
concepts and measures without modification into other
countries ,with little regard for whether they are culturally
appropriate.
INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGY
• In this view,the United States represents the first world as dominant force in
disseminating,publishing and exporting psychological thought to other areas of
the world.This process often takes place uncontested,as if what is relevant in the
United states with respect to psychological processing should be equally relevant
elsewhere in the world.
• The second world is influential in the third world(developing nations such as
Nigeria and India) but has relatively little impact on American psychology.
• Due to a variety of factors including access to resources,the third world is unable
to disseminate knowledge outside of the third world itself.Despite changing
demographics and the rise of economic wealth in many countries throughout the
world,the first world continues to provide the dominant psychological view.
COMMONALITIES OF EXPERIENCE
• Despite the hetrogenity and diversity,it is also true that these
countries have certain commonalities of experience in
historical,economic and socio-political terms.As a result,certain
uniformities are observed not only on political and ideological planes
but also in the way academic disciplines have developed or are
developing.
• 1)COLONIAL DOMINATION &ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION BY THE
WEST OF MOST OF THE DEVELOPING WORLD:With independence ,in
most erstwhile colonial countries there has been an awakening and
search for a new national identity.
COMMONALITIES OF EXPERIENCE
• 2)Second,in addition to political and economic subjugation there was
academic domination.There was denigration of the indigenous
system of knowledge and their entire system of knowledge and their
replacement by western system of knowledge and their entire
replacement by western systems of learning and science.
• There was no exchange of knowledge but only one way transfer of
knowledge.
• The rich treasure house of psychological knowledge which most of
the countries had from ancient times was ignored and replaced by
materialism,determinism,empiricissim,and positivistic tradition of
western scientific psychology.
WESTERN DOMINATION AND ITS
CONSEQUENCES
• Psycholgy that developed was largely Euro-American or Soviet .
• Scholars at least the influential ones---were western educated.
• What developed was a “photo copy of psychology as it existed in western
countries during the early years of psychology”.
• Western psychological ethos was so deeply absorbed in academic circles that
there was a large element of “foreignness” in research pursuits.
• It led to a shift in the local scholar’s focus of attention from his own country and
problems.Western models and ideas distracted them from the core issues,and
priorities were distorted so that a problem was taken up for investigations not
for its intrinsic theoretical value or practical significance to the needs of the
society or the country because the theme was popular in the west at that time.
WESTERN DOMINATION AND ITS
CONSEQUENCES
• To summarize,the trends in almost all these countries,the indigenous
knowledge in psychology was in the first instance suppressed and
modern scientific psychology was flourishing in the past was
transplanted almost wholesale.
• There was no effort to bring together the indigenous and the modern
systems so that they could be integrated and assimilated in a unified
whole.Since the element introduced was alien to the soil,for a long
time its character remained foreign.After a phase of imitative and
replicative researches ,dissatisfaction and disillusionment,with the
discipline was expressed in varying degrees and locally important
problems began to attract the attention of psychologists
WESTERN DOMINATION AND ITS
CONSEQUENCES
• Initially,there were researched within the frameworks provided by
western models and theories.
• Gradually,western concepts ,tools and methods of data collection
began to be questioned.
• There developed a distinct trends towards outgrowing that alien
framework or what may be termed as “a process of
indigenization”(Sinha,1986a).It seems to have come “as a part of
protest against neo-colonialism,against cultural subordination and
even con tamination.”(Turtle,1987)
TOWARDS INDIGENIZATION
• Growing disillusionment with the foreign roots of
psychology,realization of the non-applicability of its concept and tools
of research in the radically different socio-cultural copntexts of the
developing world,its “iirrelevance”to the vital issues facing the
country and failure to make a thurst in the national life are signs of
growing crisis is psychology.
• As a result,the process of indigenization has been unleashed,and
there is a strong trend towards the development of the discipline
suited to the needs and socio-cultural context of the country.
TOWARDS INDIGENIZATION
• BIOLOGICAL TERMS---From which the expressions has been borrowed
and extended to the sphere of knowledge ,it means to bring about
such transformations as to make knowledge or the discipline natual or
applicable to the particular socio-cultural features of the country or
the region.
• Applied to psychology,it implies such transformation in the subject
that was transplanted from the west so that it is suited to the socio-
cultural milleu of the country concerned.It represents a plea for an
alternative culture of psychology.
TOWARDS INDIGENIZATION
• As Mukherjee(1980) has observed in the Indian Context, “psychology
has to go to native if it has to be creative and relevant to society, .
• Kumar (1979)has ponted out that there are three processes involved
in indigenization
• 1)Indigenization of Structure,,content and theoretic.
• Apart from building its own institutional and organizational
capabalities for production and diffusion of science,the main thurst on
its own society,people and economic and political institutions,and in
constructing distinctive,conceptual frameworks and meta theories
which relflect their worldviews,social and cultural experiences and
perceived goals.
TOWARDS INDIGENIZATION
• Cultural systems are explored for concepts and models relevant for
understanding social reality which are put to scientific scrutiny.This
aspect of process is clearly seen in psychological researches
conducted in India.
• Second it involves assimilation of western concepts,models and tools
of research by making them appropriate to the social reality of the
country.
• Third indigenization also involves a new orientation in
teaching,remodelling of the syallbus and producing case
reports ,books and monongraphs incorporating authentic local
materials.
INDIGENIZATION OF PSYCHOLOGY
IN INDIA
• Indigenization is a global phenomenon.
• Neither it is confined to a few countries or regions of the world nor to the
social sciences only though in some regions and in certain disciplines the
need for indigenization is greater .Pandey(1988) argued that to achieve
the goal of universal psychology,the first step is the development of
Indigenous psychologies in various cultural context.
• .Although the need for indigenization might be greater in certains,but it is
not universal.In the ernwhile Colonial countries(under the rule of
britisher’s west)there was and still has a strong trend toward
decolonization of knowledge education to not be according to west and
decolonization is called call for self-rule in knowledge.
INDIA
• This trend can be reflected in
• 1)islamizing knowledge in Pakistan(1982)
• 2)Vedic mathematics in India (1980 ‘s’)
• 3)Contextualization of Psychology in Philiipines settings(1987)
• The need of Indigenization is greatest for Social Sciences as this is a
subjects which deals with the interaction of Human beings in
Social/Cultural context.
• Sinha 0994) claimed that "indigenization is a global phenomenon" (p.180),
i.e., it is a necessity in all countries and across all disciplines. In India, there
have been repeated, aperiodic calls for indigenization of psychology
following the initial call of Durganand Sinha 0973) to make psychology
relevant to the Indian context and to serve the needs of the Indian people.
• In the past decade much has been written about the state of, type of,
extent of, sources of indigenization of psychology in India, and of the
positive and negative factors influencing its progress. The writings of Adair,
Puhan, and Vohra 0993), Dalal 0996), D. Sinha 0994), andJ.B.P. Sinha
(2000) among others have each concluded that indigenization in India is
slowly but steadily progressing.
• Psychology was first introduced as a subject in the
philosophy department at Calcutta University.
• The fascination for laboratory work and value-free
research based on the natural science model
sustained the interest of Indian psychology in the
areas of sensation, perception, reaction time, etc.
which was influenced by the work of Wundt and
Titchner.
• By applying western psychology and its principles, Indian
psychologists began to develop a secular identity distinct from religion
and philosophy. It was probably hoped that the explanation of
positive science would provide the much needed respectability to
indian cultural practices and rituals.
• At that point the three streams of academic psychology, namely
experimental psychology, psychological analysis and testing, were
more prevalent.
• Soon, Indian psychologists began to live in two parallel worlds, one
focusing primarily on the western ideology and the other that began
to relook at our rich Indian tradition and scriptures aiming to find a
more holistic and complete psychology
• Soon psychologists began to realize that they had a
responsibility to change their approach to research in socially
relevant direction, focusing on social issues that were prevalent
in the society at that time.
• After independence, a new development was the growth of
psychology outside the University system. For instance, growth
in the clinical field was seen. In addition, in the armed forces,
both in the selection of army personnel and in the conduction of
research on a wide range of defence related problems e.g.
motivation, leadership, etc. was also seen
• By the mid 1970's, a crisis of identity in Indian psychology was
imminent. The enthusiasm which the western-educated Indian
psychologists carried along with their degree was u'aning as
western psychology failed to shed light on Indian social issues and
had not yielded any significant discoveries.
• The western psychological theories and research were also not
found effective in understanding the Indian social reality.
• As a result, Indian psychologists became increasingly marginalized
in society. A strong need was felt to return to the cultural roots. This
called for the development of an indigenous psychology with its own
paradignls to understand the concerned problems and issues.
• The term The term -Indigenous psychology refers to the body of knowledge that derives its
principles, laws and theories from the natural taxonomies that the people of a culture
employ for organizing their thoughts and actions, constructing their realities, relating with
others and designing their future.
• It reflects the collective efforts of a group of social scientific discipline that is unique to a culture.
• Indigenous psychology involves the rejection of western psychology and not the rejection of westem
knowledge. The term w,esternism refers to an uncritical admiration of western culture, w.ithout
acknowledging and respecting one's own rich heritage. It also rejects scientism, which refers to an
uncritical acceptance of the mechanistic model without examining its appropriateness for the
psychological domain. There were three factors that shaped the
• As a result, some noticeable changes in the content and
quality of Indian research and psychology were seen. For
example, a number of studies were conducted to identi$r the
unique features of Indian culture and to demonstrate
empirically and through scriptures that the western concepts
and theories were not applicable to the Indian cultural
reality. The emphasis on problem oriented research began
around the same time.
• It proposed that psychological research must not be merely an
academic exercise but must have praciical utility in the Indian setting. A
development was cross-cultural testing of psychological concepts and
theories. Another major development was that of psychology becoming
more indigenous. At the core of indigenous was the belief that all
knowledge inducing psychorogy is the product of historical and socio-
cultural factors.
• These research activities raised the hope that psychology in India is
eventually arriving and is better equipped to deal with the social
concerns and issues in the Indian setting. There is a growing
realization that the distinct identity of psychology in India is based on
culturally grounded psychological theories.
INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGY
• However,one of the recent movements in general psychology is
critical to the development of cultural psychology .In the late 20th
century,researchers began to question the accuracy &relevance of
using Western measures and theories in countries in which they did
not originate.Eventually folk or indigenous psychologies began to
appear,and these frameworks drew attention to the inherent Western
biases in the dominant approaches.
• Culturally relevant concepts and consturcts became the focal point of
research rather than relying upon imported western psychological
knowledge(Chakkarath,2012)
INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGIES
• IP are aresponse to the difficulties that arise when applying western
psychological thinking to explain and interpret actions and thoughts in non-
Western settings.Indigenous psychologies seek to use local,culturally
embedded psychological concepts and theories to explain and interpret
human behaviour and thought (Yang,2012).
• Indigenous psychologies with their emphasis upon cultural relativism,share
common ground with cultural psychology.Thus,this approach is mentioned
in the emergence of cultural psychology as a distinct field of study.
• Although cultural psychology and indigenous psychology share similar goals
and perspectives and are both fields that are “cultural sensitive”,they are
not interchangeable terms.
INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGY
• However,one could argue that the same dissatisfaction with general
psychology that inspired the emergence of cultural psychology also is
applicable to the emergence of indigenous psychology.Researchers in
other cultures become discontented with the dominance of Western
theories and the reliance upon “the other” in studying phenomena in
other cultural contexts.(Chakkarath,2012).
• Thus,Indigenous psychology links to research conducted by native
researchers who employ local cultural concepts to benefit the people
they study(Kashima&Gelfand,2012)
• Psychology that is anchored on the thought and experience of the
indigenous people, as understood from an indigenous perspective
• (adaptation from the Philippines’ Virgilio Enriquez’s definition of
Sikolohiyang Pilipino, the Philippine IP, 1975).
• Psychology that emerges from cultural tradition; lies in daily, mundane
activities of people; understands and interprets in terms of indigenous
and local frames of reference and culturally derived categories (Berry
et al., 1992: 380–381); and embodies psychological knowledge that is
relevant and is designed for its people – reflecting the sociocultural
reality of its society (India’s Durganand Sinha, 1997: 132).
• Post-colonial reactions to mainstream psychology, and the belief that
it was not an efficient aid to solving local social problems, were seen
as important reasons for developing IPs.
• IPs were generally seen as attempts to produce a local psychology
within a specific cultural context.
• Different views about what methods are legitimate in IPs were
present (from experiments to various more ‘humanistic’ methods). IPs
were commonly seen as being able to open up, invigorate, and
improve mainstream psychology.
• The term ‘Indigenous psychology’ begs the question, “What is the
indigenous in indigenous psychology?” Borrowing from the attempt of
Enriquez to clarify this during the early days of IP in the Philippines, it
is possible to clarify three uses of ‘indigenous’: Indigenous
psychology refers to psychology that is anchored on the thought and
experience of the indigenous people, as understood from an
indigenous perspective..
• Psychology of the indigenous people refers to any analysis of
psychological behavior of the indigenous people, whether from an
indigenous perspective or not, i.e., whether using indigenous or
nonindigenous theories and methods.
• Psychology in the indigenous country or culture would then refer to
the development of psychology in the particular culture or country,
embodying both indigenous and nonindigenous perspectives and
research.
INDIGENIZATION
• IP as a movement has been referred to as the “indigenization
movement in psychology” (Hwang, 2013: 716), which Hwang traced
back to Wilhelm Wundt and his first laboratory at Leipzig in 1879.
• D. Sinha (1997) defined indigenization as the process of developing
IP, the process or the strategy for obtaining an IP.
• This process evolves through stages, beginning with an
acknowledgment of the limitations of Western theories and methods,
which are then corrected by adapting them to suit local realities, or
through the discovery of indigenous concepts and methods arising
from the local culture.
• The second path of indigenization is indigenization from within or
cultural revalidation (Enriquez, 1987, 1992) or internal indigenization
(D. Sinha, 1997). Here, the source of concepts and methods is the
indigenous culture. This path involves processes such as semantic
elaboration, indigenous codification or recodification, and systematic
explication of implied theoretical frameworks, to produce knowledge
that reflects the indigenous experience and realities (Enriquez, 1987,
1992). This strategy of indigenization also pays attention to the
application and use of the generated knowledge to benefit the
indigenous
• INDIGENIZATION is a global phenomenon.
• Long before the above definitions of indigenization were offered,
Virgilio Enriquez, the forefather of IP in the Philippines, had been
very much involved with the process since the early 1970s.
• This hands-on experience with IP led him to clarify two pathways of
indigenization.
• The first path is indigenization from without (Enriquez, 1987, 1992)
or indigenization of the exogenous (D. Sinha, 1997)
• Using the exogenous culture as the source, the flow of indigenization
is inward, i.e., the indigenous culture is the target. The goal is to
create or produce an indigenous version of the exogenous or
imported materials, adapting the foreign material to the indigenous
context. Typical examples are translation of Western theories,
modification of psychological tests or other measures, and replication
of Western studies.
• The need of Indigenization is greatest for Social sciences as this is a
subject which deals with the interaction of human beings in
Social/cultural context.

• Thus,it was obsersved during 1980 ‘s’in India that psychological tools
and concepts that were delivered developed in past had little no
applicability in Indian Context and thereby a need to have tools and
concepts from your native cultural arise.
• India’s J.B.P. Sinha offered five overlapping trends of indigenization:
purist endogenous trend,
• endogenous indigenization,
• purist exogenous trend,
• exogenous indigenization, and
• integrative indigenization “in which Western and Indian concepts and
methods were integrated to produce hybrid concepts and theories”.
• (J.B.P. Sinha, 2003; also in Allwood and Berry, 2006: 256). Vohra (2004)
argues for a combination of these trends to help and ensure the
sustainability of the indigenization movement.
• Sinha 0994) claimed that "indigenization is a global phenomenon" (p.180),
i.e., it is a necessity in all countries and across all disciplines. In India, there
have been repeated, aperiodic calls for indigenization of psychology
following the initial call of Durganand Sinha 0973) to make psychology
relevant to the Indian context and to serve the needs of the Indian people.
• In the past decade much has been written about the state of, type of,
extent of, sources of indigenization of psychology in India, and of the
positive and negative factors influencing its progress. The writings of Adair,
Puhan, and Vohra 0993), Dalal 0996), D. Sinha 0994), andJ.B.P. Sinha
(2000) among others have each concluded that indigenization in India is
slowly but steadily progressing.
INDIGENIZATION IN INDIA.
• BEING one of the oldest civilisations in the world, mind and human
bevaviour have been subject matter of systematic study in India for
the last three millennia.
• The ancient scriptures, such as Vedas, Upanishads and different
schools of thought are rich storehouses of psychological knowledge
dealing with inner human growth.
• The major pursuits have focused on self-realisation and alleviation of
human suffering. The Yoga systems evolved sophisticated mindcontrol
techniques to facilitate the inner growth.
 The Gita can be called as one of the ancient books on counselling, in
which Krishna exhorts Arjun to fight rather than cowardly give up. It
may, however, be stated that these propositions are neither in the
language that we understand in science, nor are they testable with
present-day research methodologies.
In those earlier times no clear distinction was maintained between
psychology, philosophy and spirituality. This tradition of knowledge
continued unabated for centuries, albeit in low key in medieval period
due to political and socio-cultural upheavals.
• During the British rule when modern psychology made a new
beginning in India it did not have any continuity with the existing
knowledge institutions and field of psychology. Western psychology
with laboratory work was a novel approach, not having any parallel in
traditional Indian psychology.
• The colonial government was in need of a large number of teachers
to induct the British educational system in India and, for that, many
teachers’ training centres were set up.
• Psychology was an important component in their course curriculum.
• Much later in 1916 the first Master’s Programme in Psychology was started at
Calcutta University where the Department of Experimental Psychology was
established.
• N.N. Sengupta, who chaired this department, had his education with Hugo
Musternberg, a student of William Wundt. Inspired by the European ethos,
laboratory research at Calcutta was in the areas of depth perception,
psychophysics, attention and motivation, which became a model for other
institutions to follow.
• Acknowledging the scientific nature of psychological research, it was inducted as
an independent section in the Indian Science Congress in 1923. The Indian
Psychological Association was founded in 1924 and the Indian Journal of
Psychology, the first psychology journal in India, appeared the very next year.
• The progress of scientific psychology was slow in India. The colonial
government was more interested in promoting anthropology and
sociology to have a better understanding of Indian culture and society
for smooth governance (Dhanangre, 1985).
• Academic psychology as a replica of the Western psychology was not
of much interest to the then government.
• As a result, at the time of India’s independence there were only three
universities (Calcutta, Mysore and Patna) in the country having
psychology departments. Until then psychology was mostly part of
the course curriculum in philosophy and education departments.
• After Independence in 1947 the National Government recognised the
importance of social science teaching and research in attaining the
objectives of national reconstruction and social development.
Psychologists began to realise that they have a responsibility to engage in
socially relevant research.
• As an example, concerned with the wide-spread Hindu-Muslim riots
during the partition of India in which thousands died, many psychological
studies were initiated. With the help of UNESCO a major research project
was developed to find the causes of communal violence. Many Indian and
Western psychologists collaborated on this project which culminated in
the book edited by Gardner Murphy in 1953, entitled In the Minds of Men.
• However, psychology as a discipline was not prepared to play an active
role in developmental programmes, along with economists and other
social scientists.
• The government engaged in a massive expansion of higher education, so
much so that by the end of the 1960s 30 more universities had established
psychology departments.
• Since there was real dearth of psychology faculties in the country, a large
number of these psychology departments were established by taking a
faculty from other sister disciplines, primarily from philosophy. These
faculties from philosophy were not well trained in scientific methodology,
nor had much orientation to deal with real-life problems.
• To provide proper training to an expanding teaching faculty the National
Government engaged in many educational exchange programmes. A number
of bilateral academic exchange programmes were commissioned by the
University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Ministry of Education. Under
these schemes a large number of Indian scholars went to Britain, Canada, and
the US for doctoral and postdoctoral training in the 1960s and 1970s.
• The most sought-after Fellowships were that of the Commonwealth, Fulbright
and Ford Foundation. Years later when these scholars returned to their parent
institutions they not only had better training in research techniques but also
brought along contemporary research ideas, and continued academic
collaboration with their seminal professors abroad. This brought qualitative
changes in teaching and research.
• Under these exchange programmes many Western scholars also
visited Indian universities.
• Psychology in India was dominated by the scholars trained abroad
for the next two decades.
• Equipped with freshly acquired expertise in Western theories and
methods, they exhibited much interest in applying their knowledge
to understand and solve native social problems (see Dalal, 2002, for
details)
• After Independence psychology also started expanding outside the university
setup. Psychology research and teaching was promoted in many social science
institutes, also in technology, agriculture, medical and management institutes.
• These institutes were primarily funded by the government, as there was hardly
any concept of private universities and institutes in India at that time.
• Realising that the government did not have adequate finances, a new scheme of
Centres for Advanced Studies and Centres for Special Assistance was started.
• Under these schemes a few psychology departments were elevated to the status
of Centres of Advanced Studies in Psychology with liberal funding. These
departments were expected to provide leadership in the areas of research,
teaching and professional activities.
• Rapid expansion of psychology in India continued in the 1970s and
1980s, and with that research publications took a quantum jump.
However, most of this research was a continuation of research
conducted during colonial period, or replication of the Western
studies in India.
• Academic psychology was still cut off from the psycho-social
developmental problems of Indian society. In the 1970s a number of
review papers were published to take stock of the contributions made
by Indian psychologists, and of the emerging trends..
• Interestingly, these appraisals of research publications brought home this
realisation that psychology in India is mostly a poor imitation of Western
research and does not lead to understanding Indian social reality. Nandy
(1974) argued, ‘Indian psychology has become not merely imitative and
subservient but also dull and replicative’ (p.5).
• D. Sinha (1977) called for the development of an indigenous psychology with
its own paradigms to understand developmental problems of the region.
• There was growing disillusionment about the applicability of Western theories
and their mindless testing in India. A crisis was perceptible in the discipline in
the mid-1970s, as many felt that Indian psychology was going nowhere.
• This ongoing debate about the imitative nature of psychology in India did result
in some noticeable change in the content and quality of research. Indian
psychologists were showing more interest in studying problems relevant to the
country using Indian concepts and theories. Neki (1973), for example,
suggested a guru-pupil model in clinical counselling to break cultural and social
barriers between the client and the counselor.
• J.B.P. Sinha (1980) proposed a new leadership style – nurturant taskmaster –
which is more likely to succeed in Indian work organisations. Kakar (1982, 1991)
studied the role of traditional healers in maintaining mental health in traditional
societies. Ramchandra Rao (1983) developed a concept of stress based on
ancient scriptures. Pande and Naidu (1992) developed a research programme
to study the concept of detachment and its mental health consequences.
• J.B.P. Sinha (1980) proposed a new leadership style – nurturant
taskmaster – which is more likely to succeed in Indian work
organisations.
• Kakar (1982, 1991) studied the role of traditional healers in
maintaining mental health in traditional societies.
• Ramchandra Rao (1983) developed a concept of stress based on
ancient scriptures.
• Pande and Naidu (1992) developed a research programme to study
the concept of detachment and its mental health consequences.
INDIGENISATION IN INDIA
• Indigenisation is the process of making the discipline sensitive to cultural nuances
and social reality.
• D. Sinha (1993) discussed in detail the indigenisation of psychology in India.
According to him indigenisation can take two routes – endogenous and exogenous.
• ENDOGENUS:The first is purely the product of culture, taking native concepts and
categories.
• EXOGENUS:The second is the product of the interaction of cultural variables with
concepts, theories and methods introduced from outside. This is a gradual process
when alien concepts and theories are adapted in a different culture. A majority of
psychologists in India are trained in Western models, and for them it is not feasible
to make any sudden shift towards endogenous theories and methods.
• But it is natural for them to continue using concepts and tests
borrowed from the West, albeit with increasing sensitivity to the
cultural context. Taking the stance that exogenous indigenisation is
local adaptation of the imported discipline, Adair (1989) observed
that psychology in India is gradually getting indigenized.
• In their shift toward such indigenisation Indian psychologists took quite naturally to the
emerging field of cross-cultural psychology. A large number of collaborative projects were
initiated to test psychological theories and models in developing countries, particularly in
India.
• Many Indian psychologists occupied important positions in the International Association of
CrossCultural Psychology and played prominent role in augmenting this movement.
However, as noted by D. Sinha (1997), the cross-cultural work only led to testing of Western
theories on Indian samples. Very rarely studies originated from the needs of the Indian
society or tested Indian concepts in other cultures. Indiscriminate search for cultural
differences and similarities made such ventures superficial, without providing much
understanding of the culture or the contemporary problems of Indian society. To a large
extent cross-cultural psychology remained a methodological enterprise and culture
remained a peripheral concern (Misra & Gergen, 1993). Presently, crosscultural research is
on decline in India.
• However, as noted by D. Sinha (1997),
• the cross-cultural work only led to testing of Western theories on
Indian samples. Very rarely studies originated from the needs of the
Indian society or tested Indian concepts in other cultures.
• Indiscriminate search for cultural differences and similarities made
such ventures superficial, without providing much understanding of
the culture or the contemporary problems of Indian society.
• To a large extent cross-cultural psychology remained a methodological
enterprise and culture remained a peripheral concern (Misra &
Gergen, 1993). Presently, crosscultural research is on decline in India.
• Endogenous indigenisation, on the other hand, focuses on the contemporary
relevance of cultural heritage and native theories, popularly termed as ‘Indian
Psychology’. J.B.P. Sinha (2002) has referred to this kind of indigenisation as ‘purist
trend’ which is based on a systematic analysis of the culture bound concepts and
categories.
• Such indigenisation has relied primarily on the rich storehouse of knowledge derived
from Indian scriptures and philosophical texts of the last two to three millennium.
• The plurality of Indian tradition and an ethos of accommodating diverse thought
systems provide a rich gold mine for creatively building a new psychology. It may be
relevant to state here that historically a distinction is made between Indian
psychology and psychology in India. This is to differentiate native psychological
viewpoints (culturally-rooted) from the 20th century Western psychology in India
• Indian psychology has developed around the existential quest to
overcome human suffering and in the process to raise the person to
higher levels of awareness and mental state.
• Thus, Indian psychology endeavours not only to provide an
understanding of the nature of a person, the causes and
consequences of his/her conduct, but also to explore the methods
and means of transforming the person in pursuit of perfection,
knowledge and happiness.
• Indian psychology focuses on the innerself which is accessible through
subjective methods of self-verification.
• The beginning of Indian psychology in present times can be traced in
the writings of many eminent thinkers, like Vivekanand and Sri
Aurobindo in the early part of the last century.
• The monumental work of Jadunath Sinha (1934/1958, 1962) on
Indian psychology can be considered as a landmark in formally
establishing it as an independent discipline.
• The books of Ramachandra Rao (Development of psychological thought in India,
1962),
• Ragunath Safaya (Indian Psychology, 1975) gave it further impetus in the early years.
• These efforts to rejuvenate psychology in the ancient texts intensified in the 1980s and
1990s.
• Some notable publications of this period are by Paranjpe (1984, 1998), Chakraborty
(1995), Saraswathi (1999) and K. Ramakrishna Rao (2002, 2005).
• There is a rich and growing body of research in this area and many excellent reviews
are available.
• A number of recent publications on Indian psychology, such as Kuppuswami’s
Elements of Ancient Indian Psychology (1985) and Misra and Mohanty’s Perspectives
on Indigenous Psychology (2002), have the potential of serving as textbooks.
• More recently, Joshi and Cornelissen’s edited volume, Consciousness,
Indian Psychology and Yoga (2004), K.R. Rao and Marwaha’s Towards a
Spiritual Psychology (2006), and K.R. Rao, Paranjpe and Dalal’s Handbook
of Indian Psychology (2008), have broadened the scope of this field.
• This stream has built not only on the interpretation of traditional concepts
and theories in contemporary idiom, but also on their integration within a
broader, global perspective. Cornelissen (2005) has pleaded that
psychological knowledge from the Indian spiritual tradition needs to be
integrated in the teaching programmes. According to Cornelissen, the core
of its curriculum could be Indian theories of self and consciousness.
• Clearly, by the turn of this new millennium, the academic scenario is
changing in India.
• The scientific community is better prepared now than in the past to
accept a psychology rooted in native wisdom and philosophical texts.
• Psychologists in India are increasingly aware of the wide gap between
their academic pursuits and the real-life problems of people.
• The recipient nature of research endeavours, antiquated and
obsolete teaching programmes, and lack of applied orientation have
devoid the discipline of any professional momentum.
• Indian psychologists want to break free from the theoretical and
methodological constraints of the discipline to grapple with the real
issues of development and to act as social catalysts in the change
process.
• The endeavour is contemporarising Indian theories on one hand, and
testing their relevance for enhancing human competencies and
wellbeing, on the other. It is against this backdrop that Indian
psychology is gearing itself to usher in a new era of exciting
possibilities.
SUMMARY
• In the 70s and 80s a number of review papers were published to take stock of the contributions made by
Indian psychologists, and of the emerging trends.
• Interestingly, these appraisals of research publications brought home this realization that psychology in
India is mostly a poor imitation of western research and does not lead to understanding Indian social reality.
• A crisis was perceptible in the discipline in the mid-70s, as many felt that
• Indian psychology was going nowhere. The following passages present a
• brief account of this crisis of direction and progress.
• By the mid-1970s the enthusiasm with which the Western-educated Indian
• psychologists were conducting research was waning.
• Indian scholars were getting restive, as Western psychology was failing to
• throw light on Indian social issues.
• Sixty years of Western psychology in India had not yielded any significant
• discoveries.
• Nandy (1974) argued, "Indian psychology has become not merely imitative
• and subservient but also dull and replicative".
• K.G. Agrawal (1973) called psychology in India as that of “”adoptology . ‟
• There was growing disillusionment about the applicability of Western
• theories and their mindless testing in India.
• The failure to resolve inner conflicts of cherishing Indian cultural values
• at the personal level and maintaining high standards of objectivity at the
• professional level was reflected in methodologically sophisticated but
• socially irrelevant research. As a result, Indian psychologists were ncreasingly
marginalized in the society. A strong need was felt to return
• to the cultural roots.
• For example, the Indian government brought in the well-known Americanpersonality
psychologist, David McClelland and later, his student, DavidWinter, to find a solution for
India’s poverty and lack of Western styleeconomic success. In addition to government
support, McClelland and Winter were supported by the Ford Foundation, the USAID,
Carnegie Corporation, and others.
• Their work was based on modernization theory, that is, that the way to be a
• modern country was to adopt Western methods and attitudes (McClelland &
• Winter, 1969). From a Westerner’s perspective, McClelland believed that he
• had found the “problem” with India or with Indians. They needed more
• achievement motive and training programs were developed to help
• bring at least some of the business population to a higher level of
• achievement motivation.
• The intent is not to question McClelland’s motives in this. Others who
knewhim will testify to his genuine desire to help. But, his lack of
success wasdue in large part to the fact that McClelland ignored Indian
culturaltraditions and ways of relating
• In the field of social psychology, Durganand Sinha (1922–1998) and Jai B.
• P. Sinha, led the development of indigenous approaches (D. Sinha, 1998;
• J. B. P. Sinha, 1995, 1997).
• They drew on their training in Western psychology but melded it with
• knowledge and insights gained from their deep understanding of Indian
• culture. Along with a few colleagues they began to develop an Indian
• psychology that could be applied to Indian life.
• D. Sinha (1977) urged that the scientific understanding of Indian social
• reality should benefit from its vast treasure of traditional psychological
• knowledge accumulated over centuries.
• He called for the development of an indigenous psychology with its own
• paradigms to understand developmental problems of the region. In
• short, psychology in India was seeking its own identity
• A journey toward indigenous psychology
• D. Sinha (1994) discussed in detail the indigenization of psychology in
• India.
• He refers to two facets of indigenization. The first is purely the product of
• culture, the concepts and categories which are culture-bound.
• The second is the product of the interaction of cultural variables with
• concepts, theories and methods introduced from outside.
• J. B. P. Sinha (2002) has referred to these two as endogenous and
• exogenous indigenization. He further expanded the domain by referring to
• two variants of each kind of indigenization
• The first one is a relatively more purist one, having more proximity either
• to the psycho-spiritual Indian thought system, or to the positivistic
• mainstream western psychology.
• The second variant accepts the salience of the traditions but maintains
• greater flexibility in choosing concepts, theories and methods.
• Taken together they can encompass the whole range of indigenization in
• Indian psychological research. Misra and Mohanty s (2002) edited book‟
• “Perspectives on Indigenous Psychology” is a good anthology of research
• in this area
• There are not many pointers that the situation had changed since then. D.
• Sinha (1986) also stressed on finding appropriate theoretical framework and
• research methodologies to make the subject "socially relevant to meet the
• needs of a changing society".
• The ongoing debate did result in some noticeable change in the content and
• quality of Indian research. Indian psychologists were showing more interest
• in studying problems relevant to the country using Indian concepts and
• theories.
• Neki (1973), for example, suggested a teacher-pupil model in clinical
• counseling to break cultural and social barriers.
• To encourage dialog on these matters and to further the development of
• Indian psychology, Durganand Sinha started the journal, Psychology
• and Developing Societies, which published its first volume in 1989.
• Jai B. P. Sinha was trained as a social psychologist at Ohio State University.
• He has recounted how upon his return to India that he tried to simply extend
• what he had learned there to the Indian work and organizational context.
• He found, too, that some of the concepts he had learned in the US simply did
• not apply in the Indian context. In his frustration, he began to find insight in
• Indian psychological and philosophical traditions. He then was able to
• develop the work on leadership for which he became widely known
• He proposed that the Nurturant-Task Leader model was the best fit for
• most Indian work settings. He and his colleagues showed that effective work
• organizations were reliant on the relational character of Indian life, the
• tendency for Indians to personalize all relationships, as well as the
• dependency of Indians.
• An effective leader, Sinha argued, was one who was able to nurture his staff,
• while also expecting them to acquire new skills and experiences that would
• keep them current.
• Ramchandra Rao (1983) and Palsane, Bhavasari, Goswami, and Evans
• (1986) developed a concept of stress based on ancient scriptures.
• Pande and Naidu (1992) developed a measure to study the concept of
detachment and its mental health consequences.Again, the efforts to
investigate indigenous concepts and theories were fragmented and did
not show any long-term research commitment. It is heartening to find
research articles employing Indian concepts, but these are mostly one-
time affairs lacking in in-depth analysis. The best examples of
thematic research over a long period have still employed Western
models (e.g., Kanekar, 1988; R. Singh, 1986). Relevant in this context
is the fact that major funding agencies play an important role in setting
the priority areas of research endeavours.
• UGC,NCERT,ICSSR particularly, have shaped the nature and
direction of research in the past 4 decades. A perusal of the research
projects sanctioned by the ICSSR shows that whereas between 1969-
1972 no research project on tribal communities was funded, during
1982-85 27% of the projects financed were tribal studies. This
explains the spurt of research in this area in the last decade
• A large body of research in India can be included in this kind of
• indigenization in which cultural concepts and practices are examined
• employing western theories and approaches. The other kind of
• indigenization is that which is based on a systematic analysis of the culture-
• bound concepts and categories. Such indigenization focuses on the
• contemporary relevance of cultural heritage and native theories, and is
• termed as “Indian Psychology”. This stream has primarily relied on the rich
• storehouse of knowledge found in Indian scriptures and philosophical texts
• of last 2-3 millennium.
• This trend can be reflected in
• 1)islamizing knowledge in Pakistan(1982)
• 2)Vedic mathematics in India (1980 ‘s’)
• 3)Contextualization of Psychology in Philiipines settings(1987)
• The need of Indigenization is greatest for Social Sciences as this is a
subjects which deals with the interaction of Human beings in
Social/Cultural context.
WHY INDIGENIZATION
• Factors that led to adoption of Indigenization are discussed below:
• In India roots of psychology go deeper into it’s vedic scriptures
philiosphical treatise in epics and folkanes and psychology contained
in them is based on speculation and institutions which hardly can be
considered scientific at that time and this was the reason, that when
West presented Indian psychologists a “ready made intellectual
package” they got highly influenced by it (Nandy 1974).
WHY
• Because of this Indian psychologists readily adopted whatever
constructs and principles became popular in the west without
redefining examining them in accordance to Indian culture(Sinha
1984).

• The tests and literature of psychology thus were mere imitation of

west.They lacked creativity and relevance in Indian context.Modern
psychology in India is often addressed as (Euro american product
Sinha 1984)
WHY
• The tests and literature of psychology thus were mere imitation of
west.They lacked creativity and relevance in Indian context .Modern
psychology in India is often addressed as “Euro-American Product”.

• Mohanty(1986) content analyzed paper’s published in research journals

of psychology in India and found that.
• 85.68%= sourced from American journal dissertation.
• 8.14%= sourced from Europe Japan and this was the reason he defined
the average Indian psychologists as only on uncritical,delayed but
faithful reflection of his American counterpart.
DEFINITIONS AND NATURE OF
INDIGENIZATION
• Literal oxford dictionary meaning is that it refers to the floral/fauna of a
region that is something produced naturally in a region,belonging
naturally to that soil.
• IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
• Views,concepts,ideas and methods,materials and techniques that have
origin in the region or have traditional roots and constitute the cultural
creations could be regarded as Indigenous or
• It is a process of changing modifying the imported elements so that
they become adapted natural or appropriate to the region.(Sinha,1988
emphasized the effect of Indigenization more in context of psychology).
• It is a contextualization of the discipline that is blending of a
foreign,models,theory and methods with the Indigenous ones to
make the foreign aspect of discipline more culturally relevant(Adair
1989).
• INDIGENIZATION HAS THUS TWO FACTES

• INTERNAL EXTERNAL
• INDIGENIZATION INDIGENIZATION
• According to definition given by Adair,Puhan and Vohra(1993)
• “In the context of Social research it emanates from adequately
represents and reflects back the culture in which behaviour is being
studied rather than a discipline that is imported from a primarily
addresses developed world models.
• Different forms of Indegenization given by Krisha kumar in 1973
• 1)STRUCTURAL- INDIGENIZATION
• 2)SUBSTANTIVE-INDIGENIZATION
• 3)THEORETICAL-INDIGENIZATION
• STRUCTURAL INDIGENIZATION
• Instituational and organizational capabalaties of a nation for the
production and development of relevant knowledge.
• It should lead to reorienting organizational and institutional
capabalities for diffusion of social sciences knowledge.
• SUBSTANTIVE INDIGENIZATION
• Should focus on it’s own society,people,economic and political
institution in research.
• Conceptualized within the content focus of the discipline.
• Dr.Sinha strongly adviced the need to make psychology problem-
oriented.
• THEORETICAL INDIGENIZATION
• A condition in which scientists are involved in constructing distinctive
conceptual framework and meta-theories which reflect their
world ,views social and cultural experiences and perceived goals.
• In 1997,Dr.Sinha added another form “aspect of Indigenization in
Indian context i.e indigenization of methods,which is basically
concerned with developing methods of your own in context to Indian
culture.
FOUR FRONTS PILLARS OF
INDIGENIZATION
• OBSERVED BY ATAL IN 1981 are
• 1)Use of local materials and teachings in National and regional languages.--Following independence there
was a move towards replacing English and adoption of Hindi and regional languages for instuctions in
Universities and Colleges.
• It faced several difficulties
• A)fear of being isolated from the world community by psychologists.
• Translation of foreign books considered as “Translation Paliagrism”.

• 2)Research by local scholars---By ICSSR in country

• 3)Determination of research Priorities
• 4)Theoretical and Methodolgical reorientation—appropriateness of foreign theories and methodologies
adapted in Indian psychology discipline is always questionable,therefore the main direction that
indigenization has taken in psychology is reexamination of theoretical framework.
• Example---Nurturant task leadership style as theorized by J.B.P SINHA IN 1980.
DEFINITION AND NATURE
• INDIGENOUS refer to flora and fauna and means produced naturally
in region,belonging naturally to the soil”.
• Extending its biological meaning to the sphere of episteomology it
would refer to those elements of knowledge that have been
generated in country or culture and have developed therein as against
those that are imported or borrowed from elsewhere.
• According to this view,concepts,ideas,materials,methods and
techniques that have their origin in the region or have traditional
roots and constitute the cultural creations would be regarded as
indigenous.
• Second due to contact and communication with other cultures,countries
or regions many concepts theories and methods are implanted and
borrowed from outside.this usually undergo transformation so that they
suit the characteristics of the region.
• Thus,in its second aspect it implies the process of changing or modifying
the imported elements so that they become adapted,natural or
appropriate to the region.
• Strictly speaking “INDIGENIZATION” refers to the second aspect,which
implies the way in which an element of knowledge is transformed so as
to make it natural or suited to the special features of the socio-cultural
setting of the country or region.
• In the context of psychology,indigenization would mean the
transformation of scientific psychology that has been borrowed from
the west in such a manner that it takes on a character suited to the
social and cultural milleu of the country.
• Puhan and Sahoo (1991)have equated it with assimilation and gradual
adaptation .It is route to what Azuma, has called “appropriate
psychology”.In other words it is a kind of “contextualization” of the
discipline i.e blending of foreign models,theories and methods with
indigenous ones to make them culturaaly appropriate.
• As Adair has pointed out “an indigenous psychology gradually
develops from blending of an imported discipline with increasing
attention to unique elements within that culture.
• In one of his earlier papers entitled”Integration of modern psychology
with Indian thought”, Sinha has viewed the process as a “converging
of two lines” or systems of psychological knowledge ,and as an
integrative process.
• From the above exposition,it is evident that Indigenization has two
facets or forms.In first aspect,it is purely the product of a culture and
implies utilization in a particular discipline of concepts and categories
that belong to culture and those that emanate from the social and
cultural milieu itself.
• In its Second aspect,it reflects the interaction of the local or cultural
elements with concepts theories and methods imporeted from
external sources.
• In other words,it is a kind of integrative or assimilative process.
• These two can be respectively as designated as “internal indigenization”and
indigenization of the exogenus –a distinxtion that corresponds to Enriquez’s
(1987) “indigenization from within” and “Indigenization from without”.
• If we study the definitions of indigenization,advanced by Adair and his
colleagues,both aspects of the processes are emphasized. But the definition
propounded by Adir,Puhan and Vohra (1993)seems to emphasize only the
first aspect:”In the context of social research ,indigenisation emanates from
adequately represents and reflects back the culture in which behaviour is
studied,rather than a discipline that is imported from and primarily
addresses Developed World Models
• In earlier definition,however Adair has confined largely to the second
aspect of indigenisation. It is regarded as a process of taking
development from elsewhere(US PSYCHOLOGY) and introducing
modifications to make to make it fit the new culture.
• It is obvious that the expression referes to a set of complex processes
and phenomena that are interrelated.