Psychology in Modern India: Historical, Methodological, and Future Perspectives

This book offers a critical account of the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological developments in key areas of psychology in India, providing insights into the developments and advances as well as future directions. Filling an important gap in the literature on the history of psychology in India, it brings together contributions by leading scholars to present a clear overview of the state of the art of the field. The thematic parts of the book discuss the historical perspectives: development of psychology in India; research methodologies in the West and India; future directions for research in the field. The book is of special interest to researchers, school administrators, curriculum designers, and policymakers.

Girishwar Misra, Ph.D. served as Professor of Psychology at the University of Delhi for two decades. He also served as Vice Chancellor ofMahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishvavidyalaya, Wardha. Dr. Misra’s research is focused on social, developmental, health, and cultural psychology. He has published journal articles on these topics, many in top tier peer-reviewed journals such as American Psychologist, International Journal of Psychology, Psychology and Developing Societies, and International Journal of Behavioural Development. He has served as the President of the National Academy of Psychology (NAOP), India, and edited the journal Psychological Studies (Springer) for 16 years. He was Fulbright Senior Scholar at Swarthmore College and Michigan University, An Arbor. He is a recipient of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Award by the Government of Madhya Pradesh, National Fellowship of the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Fellowship of the NAOP, India, Fulbright Nehru Fellowship and S.C. Mitra Memorial Award by Asiatic Society. His recent works include Psychosocial Interventions for Health and Well-Being (Springer, 2018) and Surveys and Explorations in Psychology (Oxford, 2019). Nilanjana Sanyal, Ph.D. served as Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata. She has 35 years of teaching experience. She has authored a book, co-authored two books, edited two books and is a co-author of the Indian adaptation of a Test Manual. She has over 180 international and national publications including 32 book chapters to her credit till date. Her research interests include psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy, clinical psychology, gerontology, spiritual and positive psychology. She is also a practicing psychoanalyst for the last 38 years. Sonali De, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata. She has 23 years of teaching experience and has written more than 30 journal articles. Her research interests include social psychology, the psychology of gender, and media psychology. She has contributed a review chapter to the 6th ICSSR Survey of Psychology. She is serving NAOP, India as its Secretary General.