Housed within, and an integral part of the Department of Psychology at Western Washington University, the Center for Cross-Cultural Research was inaugurated in 1969. The Center was started in response to the EuroAmerican bias in psychological theory, research, and practical applications that were common at that time. We believed then, as now, that for the discipline of Psychology to become a universally valid science it must expand its horizons beyond the narrow cultural basis that continues to characterize much of Psychology in the Western world.

Since 1969, there have been many significant developments regarding the influence of culture in all aspects of psychological functioning. Through the collective activities of its associates, the Center has made substantial contributions to this growth. Most of its associates are on the faculty of the Department of Psychology; several associates are faculty members from other academic departments at Western Washington University. It is unusual for a Psychology Department to have so many of its faculty interested in the broad area concerning culture's influence on behavior; this interest certainly indicates the increasing importance that psychologists place on culture and ethnicity in their thinking and research.

The Center is not a separately-funded entity or institute within the Department of Psychology, nor does it have a "formal" mandate. Rather, its associates are regular members of the Psychology faculty who share common interests in studying the influence of culture on human thought and behavior. Thus, consistent with its original intent, the Center is primarily an identity within the Department of Psychology, and its associates generally follow their own interests in research and scholarship.

Activities of the Center for Cross-Cultural Research and its associates can be divided into three areas: Contributions to the Curriculum, Research and Scholarship, and Publications.

Above image: Western Washington University campus.

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