Purpose of the Division of International Psychology

The Division bylaws capture the Mission, Vision and Values of the Division. These provide a useful review:

Mission

(Bylaws, 2024, Section 2.1 Division 52 Mission Statement)

Our mission is to promote globally minded education, exchange, leadership, practice, research, study, service, and training activities that support conceptual depth, cultural responsivity, ecological validity, intellectual rigor, interdisciplinary collaboration, mutual understanding, personal and professional integrity, self-awareness, and kindness, compassion, and care for all.

Vision

(Bylaws Section 2.2 Division 52 Vision Statement)

Division 52 seeks to:

  • become the primary or secondary professional “home” for current and future psychologists engaged in international psychological work;
  • encourage psychologists and students to direct their education, training, research, practice, leadership, exchange, study, and service activities and aspirations toward global emphases, populations, and needs;
  • openly explore and engage a globally inclusive and epistemologically diverse understanding of psychology as a discipline and profession, while respectfully and credibly appraising established and emerging models, methods, and worldviews from the Global North, South, East, and West and eschewing the reflexive and superficial embrace or rejection of any particular paradigm or approach, regardless of origin, culture, or context;
  • promote a globally inclusive and epistemologically diverse understanding of psychology within our affiliated organizations and systems as well as the programs, policies, and practices that we develop, implement, and review;
  • provide timely and relevant resources for personal and professional development that are aligned with our mission, vision, values, and strategic priorities;
  • create vibrant opportunities for collaboration and networking within psychology and with interdisciplinary colleagues and students around the world;
  • apply globally informed psychological science and expertise to the global challenges we collectively face, exemplified by the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations;
  • foster a culture of globally informed citizenry, ethical engagement, and social responsibility by the field and profession of psychology

Values

(Bylaws, 2024, Section 2.3 Division 52 Values Statement)

Both in the United States and elsewhere, the Division (1) engages current and future psychologists to think and act globally in their lives and work, (2) promotes ethically responsive and internationally informed education, exchange, leadership, practice, research, study, service, and training, and (3) fosters application of the essential knowledge, skills, and values of psychology to the most pressing issues of our day.

The Division envisions a psychology where a broad representation of applied, cultural, disciplinary, empirical, epistemological, theoretical, and global synergies may engage and enliven current and future psychologists in our ongoing pursuit of the greater good.

We value globally-minded education, exchange, leadership, practice, research, study, service, and training activities that support intellectual rigor, personal and professional integrity, self-awareness, ecological validity, conceptual depth, interdisciplinary collaboration, mutual understanding, cultural responsivity, and kindness, compassion, and care for all, including marginalized and dispossessed individuals and groups as well as the natural world that sustains us.

To facilitate the inculcation of and responsivity to such values, the Division promotes processes of self-reflection regarding the many formative variables that shape who we are and may become as students, professionals, citizens, and human beings (e.g., cultural, economic, educational, environmental, ethnic, gender, national, linguistic, political, religious and socio-economic). We value activities that disseminate, translate, evaluate, and infuse globally responsive findings, pedagogies, and applications into credible, impactful actions, policies, and practices. In doing so, we recognize the needs, contributions, perspectives, and hopes of the many publics we serve, at home and abroad