On what is important when we think of psychology in Poland

Abstract

The author takes up the problem of the condition of psychology as an academic discipline. He narrows down the scope of his reflections to answering four questions concerning the context of the country in which psychology is developed – in this case: Poland. The author answers Question 1 – Does it make sense to speak of any specificity of research carried out by psychologists in Poland? – in the negative. In his opinion, it is possible (and advisable) to speak of the cultural context of psychological practice but not research practice. Psychological cognition is intersubjective and has a global character. The author’s answer to Question 2 – Should psychologists publish (also) in their native language and should they publish their work also in Poland? – is positive. In the context of Question 3 – What indices are used (or should be used) to determine a psychologist’s position in world science? – the author comments critically on the practice of overusing various not always well thought-out bibliometric indices and is in favor of increasing the role of peer review assessments. Answering Question 4 – What conclusions should we draw from the scientific pathologies that have come to light and what should our reaction to those pathologies be? – the author suggests that psychologists should make their raw data available and share them with other researchers so as to make external replications of empirical studies possible.