On the Road to Half a Century of Cross-Cultural Psychology: Foundations, Current Status, and Forecasts

The modern movement of cross-cultural psychology began in the mid-1960s. Shortly after those earlier activities, two conferences were building blocks in helping to develop and institutionalize the field. The first was a NATO-sponsored conference held in Istanbul in 1971. Organized by Lee J. Cronbach and Pieter J. D. Drenth, it resulted in a book that they edited, Mental tests and cultural adaptation (Mouton Press, 1972). The second was the inaugural IACCP conference held in Hong Kong in 1972. It was organized by John Dawson and resulted in the first IACCP proceedings volume, Readings in cross-cultural psychology (Dawson and Lonner, published by the University of Hong Kong Press in 1974) In addition, a number of other activities spanning the mid-1960s to the early 1970s were important in setting the stage for the rapid ascent of contemporary culture-oriented psychology. For example, the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology was inaugurated in 1970. Unit 1 of IACCP’s Online Readings in Psychology and Culture contains further information about the first half century of IACCP (IACCP.org).