The indigenous psychology (IP) movement has challenged mainstream psychology, which is considered rooted in colonial legacies, and has advocated for locally informed and developed theories and practices. The article explores the nexus of IP and decolonial psychology, emphasizes the need to challenge Western-centric hegemony, and promotes a contextually rich, relational paradigm based on reflexivity. IP critiques the Euro-American methodologism and calls for broader epistemic and substantive perspectives and a more inclusive and equitable psychology based on ontological and cultural diversity. Illustrations from IP-informed research are presented as concrete knowledge outcomes. The theory of strong-ties and weak-ties rationalities, used in combination with Bourdieu's critical sociology, addresses the impact of modern economic hegemony and renders intelligible the ecological grief of an Indigenous People in Malaysia. The postcolonial debate concerning the Chinese concept of xin (heart) is elaborated to show that decolonization and IP are entangled. We conclude with concrete suggestions for decolonizing psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
There is growing evidence of the connection between variations in kinship intensity and cross-cultural differences in psychological traits. Contributing to this literature on kinship intensity, we put forward a mental model to explain the enduring connection between ancestral niche and psychological traits. Our model posits that two primary orientations or dispositions-strong-ties and weak-ties rationalities-have co-evolved with our ancestral niches to perpetuate-by internalizing and reproducing-the social structure (such as preferences for certain attitudes, values, and beliefs) of the ancestral niche. The findings from 1,291 participants across four societies-China, India, Taiwan, and the United States-support our hypothesis that strong-ties (weak-ties) rationalities, when activated, will endorse strong-tie (weak-ties) values and beliefs. This proposed model contributes to the toolbox of cultural and cross-cultural psychology in a twofold sense: First, in addition to the index of kinship intensity, it offers a measure of kin-based rationality as another predictor of psychological traits; second, it renders intelligible the niche and rationality disconnect prevalent in the globalizing era.