An overview of South African psychology

Abstract

This overview of psychology in South Africa presents a concise and historical account of its science and practice, from its early origins in the late nineteenth century to the present, and traces seminal influences on the discipline. It is a review of how psychology in South Africa developed over more than a century to become one of the most popular subjects in universities and an established and recognized profession, whose members play a variety of roles in the South African polity and larger society. The impact that apartheid racism had on key aspects of psychology's development is traversed, and the influences that previous ruling party politics had on professional psychological organizations are delineated. The unification of psychology under the Psychological Society of South Africa, a few months before the advent of democracy in South Africa, is explicated. The protection of the title of psychologist in law and certain other changes in the legislative environment, enabling a greater role for psychologists, are reported. The primary research sites for psychology and its funding and the main university psychology programs are described, as are the requirements for registration and licensure. The genesis and the importance of the work of internationally acclaimed South African psychologists, such as J. Wolpe and A. A. Lazarus, are contextualized. With the increased participation of progressive black psychologists in leadership and research in the past two decades, a transformed psychology has the potential to play a significant role in addressing human issues confronting South Africa.

A history of South African (SA) Psychology

“…Biesheuvel also informed Prof. Otto Klineberg, the secretary-general of the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS), that while all races would be admitted to SAPA, regional committees would be allowed to make ad hoc arrangements dictated by their peculiar circumstance. An example of such an arrangement was that the usual official dinner was not arranged for the 14 th SAPA annual meeting to avoid Black and White delegates meeting as equals in a social setting (Cooper & Nicholas, 2012). Therefore, SAPA eventually allowed black membership mainly to retain the advantages of international engagement while hoping for as little contact with black psychologists as possible.…”

“…In 1946, at the UN he was, however, confronted with his hypocrisy of calling for human rights everywhere except in SA where racism was the official policy. The UN eventually applied sanctions against SA, which would also curtail SA psychologists' international engagements (Cooper & Nicholas, 2012;Dubow, 2008).…”

“…Its second defining characteristic is related to the extent to which politics and race were intertwined with SA psychology (Cooper & Nicholas, 2012;Nicholas, 2013).…”

Integral approach to South African psychology with special reference to indigenous knowledge

“…Ten years after democracy (Mayekiso, Strydom, Jithoo, & Katz, 2004) urged for professional programmes to use selection procedures and criteria that broadened access to the profession of psychology for more meaningful transfor mation. Pillay and Siyothula's (2008) Cooper and Nicholas (2012) noted that licensed Black professional psychologists still only made up about 25% of the profession. Twenty years after democ racy, the number of Black African students selected into postgraduate training in Clinical Psychology still does not reflect the demographics or needs of the country.…”

Psychology’s health and future in South Africa

“…Historically, psychology followed the path and lead of the governments of the day, doing little or nothing to challenge the prevailing social order and injustices, tending rather to collude with them. A fair amount has been written on the history of psychology in the country, including the popularity of the subject as a choice of undergraduate and graduate study as well as the contributions made by psychology professionals (Cooper & Nicholas, 2012). Nevertheless, pondering the current state of the discipline over two decades into democracy and contemplating its future must remain a critical exercise.…”