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Thoughts on the GCC National Research Context: Challenges to Developing a Local Psychology

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Toward a Positive Psychology of Islam and Muslims

Part of the book series: Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology ((CAPP,volume 15))

Abstract

In this chapter, we cover challenges pertaining specifically to psychology research within the GCC region and offer some insights and solutions. We analyze why, given a largely stable political landscape, economic prosperity and a government strategy for supporting science and academia, the GCC countries still lag in the development and growth of psychological science. We first offer an overview of the GCC nation’s higher education landscape, and focus on three areas that hinder the development of research in psychology: Higher education institutions and their academic orientations; the intellectual environment in institutions, and the broader social landscape, including governments and research participants. We argue that this is a missed opportunity for Muslim psychology on a wider scale as much could be done within these countries to build a more informed understanding of Islamic and Muslim psychology in a native context.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Louise Lambert

  2. UAE University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Saad Ibrahim Yaaqeib & Semma Saad

  3. University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji

    Annie Crookes

  4. Aspire Psychological Services, Austin, TX, USA

    Brettjet Cody

Authors
  1. Louise Lambert
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  2. Saad Ibrahim Yaaqeib
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  3. Annie Crookes
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  4. Brettjet Cody
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  5. Semma Saad
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Houston Community College and University of Houston Downtown, Houston, Texas, USA

    Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi

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Lambert, L., Yaaqeib, S.I., Crookes, A., Cody, B., Saad, S. (2021). Thoughts on the GCC National Research Context: Challenges to Developing a Local Psychology. In: Pasha-Zaidi, N. (eds) Toward a Positive Psychology of Islam and Muslims. Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72606-5_16

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