Psychology in Crisis -- An Introduction

Abstract

A central task to achieve a rethinking of psychology in the 21st century is to closely examine how psychological theories are entangled with political interests, how forms of psychologization serve particular groups, and how, conversely, psychology can unfold emancipatory power. This trope of thinking runs through all the contributions in this book;it seems clearer today than ever that theories in the social sciences cannot be discussed without also engaging with their political embeddedness. It appears that psychology has, since its inception as a discipline, always been on the margins and in between opposing interests. Taken together, this volume speaks to the epistemic shifts psychology currently undergoes. Stemming from a crisis-driven reconfiguration of the social world, the authors inquire about and envision new theoretical pathways for psychology to take in order to be more just, more apt, and inclusive beyond the traditional scope of the discipline. Specific crises such as mass unemployment, dismantling of democratic institutions, globalization, and climate change tend to overwhelm people in their meaning-making efforts. Concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors argue that we can only show responsibility for the future by realizing inevitable and irreparable change and loss to how we lived our lives in the past. Bearing this examination of lessons we can learn from past developments in our discipline and theoretical advances needed to move beyond the current state in mind, Part II of this volume inquires about the role of crises from a relational point of view. Can crises function as cathartic moments and produce new and improved ways of understanding the individual in relation to the social world? Based on relational analyses, the final part of the book emphasizes the role of psychology in a world of perpetual political, economic, cultural, and social crises. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)