ABSTRACT

The present state of psychology in third world countries is presented. As a science and as a profession, psychology is mainly a discipline traditionally cultivated in first world (industrialised, capitalistic) countries. However, Western scientific psychology is a discipline that is also highly developed in the second and third worlds, particularly in the last few decades. The third world includes a large majority of the countries of the world and the majority of people. The training of psychologists, the main areas of application, and the particular problems of psychology in the third world, are pointed out. The importance of indigenous psychologies is indicated. Finally, the trend towards homogeneity in the world is discussed.