As a science, psychology experiences paradoxical condition. There is indeed a recognition that its applications in the educational, clinical, and industrial fields have proliferated extensively in Indonesia. However, there are criticisms that 1) psychology mimics natural science epistemology, 2) the identity of Indonesian Psychology is still in the “status quo”, 3) its role in designing social change is minimal (e.g. “Mental Revolution” movement in Indonesia is considered to be more influenced by Sociology rather than Psychology proponents), 4) psychology tends to prioritize the well-being of the elite (socially-economically) of society, not the poorest. This study used a qualitative descriptive approach to explore the social representation on the perceptions of university students about the contribution of psychology in inspiring them to create social change. Participants of this study were 104 Psychology students (28 males, 76 females; 101 undergraduate, 3 graduate students) in Jakarta, Banten, Westand Central Java, Indonesia. We asked them a) the reason for choosing Psychology study program, b) the meaning of social change, c) the psychological courses associated with social change, d) the social problems urgent to be managed by psychology, and e) what their own plans are in making the change. Generality and uniqueness of the participants’ answers will be discussed so as to generate suggestions for psychology curriculum development that is more contextual, innovative, and empowering in Indonesia.
Cruz, M.R. and Sonn, C. (2010) (De)colonizing Culture in Community Psychology: Reflections from Critical Social Science. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47, 203-214. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1283-4_10
Lasmono, H.K. and Siaputra, I. (2016) Pengayaan Pendidikan Psikologi Indonesia: Penguatan Tata Nilai Ke-Indonesia-an Sebagai Modal Dasar Pencapaian Indonesia Emas (Enrichment of Indonesian Psychology Education: Strengthening Indonesian Values as the Basic Capital of Achieving Golden Indonesia).
http://ap2tpi.or.id/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&task=download&id=104
Yusainy, C.A. (2015) Quo Vadis Psikologi Sebagai Sebuah Kajian Ilmiah? Buletin Psikologi, 23, 51-56.
http://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/index.php/buletinpsikologi/article/download/10577/7972
Suharto, J.P. (2012) Dimana dan Sedang Apa? (Where and What Were You Doing?) at Psikologi Indonesia Mailing List.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/psiindonesia/conversations/messages/19381
Koentjoro, K. (2012) Draft Prosedur Operasi Baku-Bencana (Standard Operation Procedure Draft-Disaster) (SOP) at Psikologi Indonesia Mailing List.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/psiindonesia/conversations/messages/19727
Abraham, J. and Rufaedah, A. (2014) “Theologization” of Psychology and “Psychologization” of Religion: How Do Psychology and Religion Supposedly Contribute to Prevent and Overcome Social Conflicts? Procedia Environmental Sciences, 20, 516-525.
Sahbani, A. (2014) Amicus Curiae untuk Pengujian UU Perkawinan (Amicus Curiae for Examination of Marriage Act).
http://www.hukumonline.com/berita/baca/lt5492765e30325/iamicus-curiae-i-untuk-pengujian-uu-perkawinan
Painter, D., Terre Blanche, M. and Henderson, J. (2006) Critical Psychology in South Africa: Histories, Themes and Prospects. Annual Review of Critical Psychology, 5, 212-235.
Sarwono, S.W. (2013) An Indonesian Perspective on Psychological Literacy. In: Cranney, J. and Dunn, D.S., Eds., The Psychologically Literate Citizen: Foundations and Global Perspectives, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 178-190.
Adams, G., Dobles, I., Gómez, L.H., Kurtiş, T. and Molina, L.E. (2015) Decolonizing Psychological Science: Introduction to the Special Thematic Section. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3, 213-228. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.564
Sinha, C. (2016) Decolonizing Social Psychology in India: Exploring Its Role as Emancipatory Social Science. Psychology & Society: Online Journal, 8, 57-74.
Watkins, M. and Ciofalo, N. (2011) Creating and Sharing Critical Community Psychology Curriculum for the 21st Century: An Invitation. Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 2, 9-18.
Supratiknya, A. (2016) Menegaskan Kedudukan Psikologi Sebagai Ilmu & Implikasinya Terhadap Kurikulum Program Pendidikan Akademik Psikologi Pada Jenjang S1, S2, & S3 di Tanah Air (Affirming the Position of Psychology as a Science & Its Implication to Curriculum of Academic Program of Psychology at Bachelor, Master, & Doctoral Level in Indonesia). The National Scientific Meeting of Indonesian Psychological Association with Theme “Menelisik Perkembangan Psikologi Indonesia” (“Investigating the Development of Psychology in Indonesia”), Yogyakarta, 18-19 November 2016.
California Institute of Integral Studies (2017) Minor in Critical Psychology.
https://www.ciis.edu/academics/bachelors-completion-program/minor-in-critical-psychology
