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Series:   Elements in Psychology and Culture

Indigenous Psychology in Africa

A Survey of Concepts, Theory, Research, and Praxis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2024

Seth Oppong
Seth Oppong
Affiliation:
University of Botswana

Summary

Understanding human behaviour, thoughts, and emotional expressions can be challenging in the global context. Due to cultural differences, the study of psychology cannot be de-contextualised. This calls for unearthing of the explanatory systems that exist in Africa to understand and account for behaviour, emotions, and cognition of Africans. This call is addressed through the emergence of African Psychology (AP) or Indigenous Psychology in Africa (IPA) as a legitimate science of human experience. This Element discusses the motivations for AP, centrality of culture, demarcations of AP, and the different strands within AP. It highlights issues related to African philosophy, African cultural anthropology, African philosophy of science, and suitable methodological approaches for AP research. It also discusses some selected theoretical contributions and applications of AP. The Element concludes that AP researchers and practitioners need to pursue interdisciplinarity and avoid meaningless rejection of good ideas from other cultural settings.
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Keywords

African psychologyindigenous psychologyAfrican philosophy of scienceAfrican philosophyapplied African psychology
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in Psychology and Culture
Online ISBN: 9781009392860
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 23 May 2024

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Indigenous Psychology in Africa
  • Seth Oppong, University of Botswana
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Indigenous Psychology in Africa
  • Seth Oppong, University of Botswana
  • Online ISBN: 9781009392860
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