Modulative and Generative Orientations in Psychology: Implications for Psychology in the Three Worlds

Psychology in the United States and the other industrialized nations, as well as in Third World societies, has tended to be modulative in orientation, in that it “reacts to” rather than instigates societal change. The urgent need in Third World societies to achieve fundamental change and modernization has led some psychologists to show interest in generative psychology, which attempts to initiate and influence macrolevel change. A greater emphasis on a generative orientation will have important implications for psychology in all three worlds, particularly with respect to “despecialization,” the relationship between psychology and power elites, the role of psychological factors in national development, and the relationship between the speed of change in psychological, economic, and other spheres.