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Exploring the world of psychology / Psychology in Finland

Nigel Foreman (Chair, International Committee) introduces a new series of occasional articles on psychology beyond the UK. Then Klaus Helkama and Nigel Foreman look at a country with one of the highest density of psychologists in the world.

18 January 2003

In a sense, psychology in the UK is international; the roots of the British empirical tradition are traceable to the 19th-century laboratories of Germany, and much current literature emanates from the US. International journals and editorial boards, international congresses, global partnerships in research and e-mail exchanges mean that psychology in the UK does not and could not operate in isolation. But on the other hand, the diet of information that we receive about psychology outside the UK is thin and filtered. Linguistic and cultural barriers prevent us from knowing, for many countries, what psychologists are practising and teaching, and how these activities reflect local national concerns. This month we begin a series of articles in The Psychologist to redress the balance.

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