Building a global psychological science through research in the Pacific Island nation of Fiji: a systematic review of the literature

Abstract

There is increasing globalisation of psychological science through cross-cultural research, international conferences, and funding initiatives. However, it is important to understand the nature of this globalisation in a more nuanced way and for research to include both etic (universal comparisons) and emic (distinctive cultural understanding) approaches and to incorporate the needs and expertise of the Indigenous populations being studied. The present systematic review aimed to identify the psychological research undertaken in the culturally diverse Pacific Island Country of Fiji and explore how this has added to the general knowledge base in psychological science. Furthermore, the review aimed to use the Fiji research literature to evaluate the extent of globalisation in psychology from an etic, emic and Indigenous psychology perspective. A total of 131 peer-reviewed publications were identified on electronic databases of which 80% reported primary research studies in some form. The literature suggests a growing interest in Pacific-inclusive research that has already added substantially to psychological understanding in many core areas. However, the literature continues to be dominated by etic, cross cultural studies driven by western research interests and universal measures. The discussion suggests more needs to be done to incorporate emic approaches and Indigenous methods as well as consider applied themes and research questions that would better serve the local communities alongside scientific knowledge.

When threat is imminent, does character matter for climate action? Exploring environmental concerns, well-being, and character strengths in the Pacific Island Countries

“…As a low-middle income region, the dearth of psychological research makes any exploration of mental health impact in the Pacific Island Nations challenging (Crookes & Warren, 2022a, 2022b) Regardless, there are clear mental health risks caused by exposure to extreme weather events and natural disasters (Cianconi et al, 2020), which are compounded exponentially when experienced repeatedly as in the PICs (Gibson et al, 2020). There are also many indirect mental health effects.…”