Abstract
The Introduction focuses on the central notions of diversity and social development which cover vast domains of conceptual and theoretical knowledge. As diversity has become the defining characteristic of our social and cultural worlds, it raises new questions and demands for both social scientists and policymakers. The core issues, consequences and challenges of diversity are explicated. The aspects of diversity as discussed in this volume including multiculturalism, caste, religions and linguistic diversities and disability are the focus of this chapter. As development is an essentially contested concept and is progressively evolving, the different connotations and meaning of development are discussed.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abdallah-Pretceille, M. (2006). Interculturalism as a paradigm for thinking about diversity. Intercultural Education, 17(5), 475–483.
Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Atal, Y. (2016). The climate of violence and the concern for communal harmony. In R. C. Tripathi & P. Singh (Eds.), Perspectives on violence and othering in India (pp. 55–68). New Delhi: Springer.
Bell, J. M., & Hartmann, D. (2007). Diversity in everyday discourse: The cultural ambiguities and consequences of “happy talk”. American Sociological Review, 72, 895–914.
Bhargava, R. (2016). Between revenge and reconciliation: The significance of truth commissions. In R. C. Tripathi & P. Singh (Eds.), Perspectives on violence and othering in India (pp. 197–214). New Delhi: Springer.
Bobo, L., & Hutchings, V. L. (1996). Perceptions of racial group competition: Extending Blumer’s theory of group position to a multiracial social context. American Sociological Review, 61, 951–972.
Bougle, C. (1971). Essays on the caste system. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cameron, L., & Turner, R. N. (2010). The application of diversity-based interventions to policy and practice. In R. Crisp (Ed.), The psychology of social and cultural diversity (pp. 322–351). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Chakravarty, S. (1984). Aspects of India’s development strategy for 1980s. Economic and Political Weekly, 19(20/21), 845–852. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4373279.
Coetzee, W., & Soderbaum, F. (2016). Nordic development studies: Lessons, pitfalls and future directions. Strategic Review for Southern Africa, 38(1), 126–137.
Collins, P. H. (2015). Intersectionality’s definitional dilemmas. Annual Review of Sociology, 41, 1–20. Doi: 10.1146/annurev-soc-073014-112142 –via Pro Quest.
Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development. (1995). A/CONF. 166/9, Chapter 1, Annex 1, UN Documents.
Crisp, R. (2010). Introduction. In R. Crisp (Ed.), The psychology of social and cultural diversity (pp. 1–8). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Diao, X., McMillan, M., & Rodrik, D. (2017). The recent growth boom in developing economies: A structural change perspective (CEPR Discussion Paper, No. DP11804). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract: 2908217.
Dixon, J., & Levine, M. (Eds.). (2012). Beyond prejudice: Extending the social psychology of conflict, inequality and social change. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Dovido, J. F., Saguy, T., Gaerrtner, S. L., & Thomas, E. L. (2012). From attitudes to (in)action: The darker side of ‘we’. In J. Dixon & M. Levine (Eds.), Beyond prejudice: Extending the social psychology of conflict, inequality and social change (pp. 248–268). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Durkheim, E. (1984) [1893]. The Division of Labor in Society. New York: Free Press.
Fieldhouse, E., & Cutts, D. (2010). Does diversity damage social capital? A comparative study of neighbourhood diversity and social capital in the US and Britain. Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue Canadienne de Science Politique, 43, 289–318.
Foa, R. (2011, January). Indices of social development handbook. ISS working paper series: The Hague.
Gangrade, K. D. (2014). Gandhi on sustainable development. In I. Modi (Ed.), Polity, civil society and development: Essays in honour of Prof. Yogendra Singh, vol. 3 Modernization, globalization and social transformation (pp. 171–189). Jaipur: Rawat.
Gardenswartz, L., & Rowe, A. (1998). Managing diversity: A complete desk reference & planning guide. Boston: Mcgraw-Hill.
Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Haslam, S. A., Dingle, G., & Xue-Ling Chang, M. (2016). Groups 4 health: Evidence that a social-identity intervention that builds and strengthens social group membership improves mental health. Journal of Affective Disorders, 194, 188–195.
Helliwell, J. (2004). Well-Being, social capital and public policy: What’s new? (NBER Working Papers No. 11807).
Hettne, B. (2009). Thinking about development. London: Zed Books.
Jehn, K. A., Chadwick, C., & Thatcher, S. M. (1997). To agree or not to agree: The effects of value congruence, individual demographic dissimilarity, and conflict on workgroup outcomes. International Journal of Conflict Management, 8, 287–305.
Jha, G. N. (2010). India’s language diversity and resources of the future: Challenges and opportunities. Position paper inFLaRe Net (Fostering Language Resource Network), Barcelona, Spain.
Jodhka, S. S. (2010). Engaging with caste: Academic discourses, identity politics and state policy (Working Paper Series, Volume 02, Number 02). New Delhi: Indian Institute of Dalit Studies and UNICEF.
Jones, J. M., Dovido, J. F., & Vietze, D. L. (2014). The psychology of diversity: Beyond prejudice and racism. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Kapur, P., & Misra, G. (2017). Religious behavior: Psycho-social perspectives. In G. Misra (Ed.), 6th ICSSR research surveys and explorations: Psychology, vol. 3: Individual and the social: Processes and issues. New Delhi: Springer.
Kemp, R., & Martens, P. (2007). Sustainable development: How to manage something that is subjective and never can be achieved? Sustainability: Science, practice and policy/http://ejournal.nbii.org, 3(2), 5–14.
Kemp, R., Parto, S., & Gibson, R. (2005). Governance for sustainable development: Moving from theory to practice. International Journal of Sustainable Development, 8(1–2), 13–30.
LaFromboise, T., Coleman, H. L., & Gerton, J. (1993). Psychological impact of biculturalism: Evidence and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 395–412.
Landiyanto, E. A. (2018). Research in development studies: Philosophy, methods and rigor.
Leung, A. K., Maddux, W. W., Galinsky, A. D., & Chiu, C. (2008). Multicultural experience enhances creativity: The when and how. American Psychologist, 63, 169–181.
Maalouf, A. (1996/2003)). In the name of identity. New York: Penguin.
Mamgain, R. P. (2010). Foreword. In S. S. Jodhka,. Engaging with caste: Academic discourses, identity politics and state policy (Working Paper Series, volume 02, number 02). New Delhi: Indian Institute of Dalit Studies and UNICEF.
Marmot, M. (2005). Social determinants of health inequalities. Lancet, 365, 1099–1104.
Martinovic, B. (2013). The inter-ethnic contacts of immigrants and natives in the Netherlands: A two-sided perspective. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 39, 69–85.
Midgley, J. (2014). Social development: Theory and practice. Los Angeles: Sage.
Milem, J. F. (2003). The educational benefits of diversity: Evidence from multiple sectors. In M. J. Chang, D. Witt, J. Jones, & K. Hakuta (Eds.), Compelling interest: Examining the evidence on racial dynamics in colleges and universities (pp. 126–169). Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Moghaddam, F. M. (2008). Multiculturalism and intergroup relations: Psychological implications for democracy in global context. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Moghaddam, F. M. (2012). The omnicultural imperative. Culture & Psychology, 18, 304–330.
Mohanty, A. K. (2017). Multilingualism, education, English and development: Whose development? In H. Coleman (Ed.), Multilingualisms and development (pp. 261–280). London: British Council.
Molloy, D., Knight, T., & Woodfield, K. (2003). Diversity in disability: Exploring the interactions between disability, ethnicity, age, gender and sexuality. Research report of the National Centre for Social Research on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. Crown Copyright 2003.
Nahar, S. (2014). Text analysis of social development as a concept. Master’s dissertation, University of Texas at Arlington.
Odora-Hoppers, C. (2007). Cultural diversity, traditions and modernities: Complexities and opportunities in the 21st century. Background paper. Cited from Investing in cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, UNESCO World Report.
O’Riordan, T. (1996). Democracy and the sustainability transition. In W. Lafferty & J. Meadowcroft (Eds.), Democracy and the environment. Problems and prospects (pp. 140–156). Northampton: Edward Elgar.
Page, S. E. (2007). The difference: How the power of diversity creates better groups, firms, schools and societies. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Panda, M., & Mohanty, A. K. (2014). Language policy and education: Towards multilingual education. In R. C. Tripathi & Y. Sinha (Eds.), Psychology, development and social policy in India (pp. 103–130). New Delhi: Springer.
Park, R. E. (1928). Human migration and the marginal man. American Journal of Sociology, 33(6), 881–893.
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 751–783.
Pieterse, J. N. (2010). Development theory deconstructions/reconstructions (Second ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Plaut, V. C. (2010). Diversity science: Who needs it? Psychological Inquiry, 21, 168–174.
Portes, A., & Vickstrom, E. (2011). Diversity, social capital, and cohesion. Annual Review of Sociology, 37, 461–479.
Putnam, R., Leonardi, R., & Nanetti, R. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Putnam, R. D. (2007). E pluribus Unum: Diversity and community in the twenty-first century: The 2006 Johan Skytte prize lecture. Scandinavian Political Studies, 30, 137–174.
Quillian, L. (1995). Prejudice as a response to perceived group threat: Population composition and antiimmigrant and racial prejudice in Europe. American Sociological Review., 60, 586–611.
Ramos, M. R., Hewstone, M., Barreto, M., & Branscombe, N. R. (2016). The opportunities and challenges of diversity: Explaining its impact on individuals and groups. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 793–806.
Rios, K., & Wynn, A. N. (2016). Engaging with diversity: Framing multiculturalism as a learning opportunity reduces prejudice among high White American identifiers. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 854–865.
Schmid, K., & Hewstone, M. (2010). Combined effects of intergroup contact and multiple categorization: Consequences for intergroup attitudes in diverse social contexts. In R. Crisp (Ed.), The psychology of social and cultural diversity (pp. 299–321). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Schmid, K., Al Ramiah, A., & Hewstone, M. (2013). Diversity and its consequences for outgroup, ingroup, and neighborhood trust: indirect effects via intergroup contact and threat. Presented at Ethnic Diversity and Social Capital: Mechanism, Conditions and Causality, Social. Science Research Centre., May 24–25, Berlin.
Schmid, K., Al Ramiah, A., & Hewstone, M. (2014). Neighborhood ethnic diversity and trust: The role of intergroup contact and perceived threat. Psychological Science, 25, 665–674.
Sen, A. (2003). Development as capability expansion). In S. Fukuda-Parr & A. K. Shiv Kumar (Eds.), Readings in human development: Concepts, measures and policies for a development paradigm (pp. 41–58). New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Sen, R., Wagner, W., & Howarth, C. (2016). Transcending boundaries: Fundamentalim, secularism and social capital in multi-faith societies. In R. C. Tripathi & P. Singh (Eds.), Perspectives on violence and othering in India (pp. 215–234). New Delhi: Springer India.
Singh, G. (2004). State and religious diversity: Reflections on post-1947 India. Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, 5(2), 205–225.
Singh, P., & Siddiqui, R. N. (2017). Identity discourse: From negotiations to harmony in plural societies. In G. Misra (Ed.), 6th ICSSR research surveys and explorations: Psychology, Vol. 3: Individual and the social: Processes and issues. New Delhi: Springer.
Singhal, R., & Tiwari, P. S. N. (2009). Psychology and societal development. In G. Misra (Ed.), Psychology in India, vol. 2: Social and organizational processes (pp. 407–452). New Delhi: Longman, Pearson Education.
Sparkman, D. J., Eidelman, S., & Blanchar, J. C. (2016). Multicultural experiences reduce prejudice through personality shifts in Openness to Experience. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 840–853.
Stonequist, E. V. (1935). The problem of marginal man. American Journal of Sociology, 7, 1–12.
Sumner, A., & Tribe, M. (2008). What is ‘Development’? In A. Sumner & M. Tribe (Eds.), International development studies: Theories and methods in research and practice. London: Sage.
Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Thorat, S. (2015). Foreword. In V. K. Borooah, N. S. Sabharwal, D. G. Diwakar, V. K. Mishra, & A. K. Naik (Eds.), Caste discrimination and exclusion in modern India (pp. xxii–xxxvii). New Delhi: Sage India.
Titley, G., & Lentin, A. (Eds.). (2008). The politics of diversity in Europe. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing.
Tripathi, R. C. (2002). Aligning development to values in India. In A. K. Dalal & G. Misra (Eds.), New directions in Indian psychology (pp. 307–325). New Delhi: Sage.
Tripathi, R. C., & Singh, P. (2016). Prologue. In R. C. Tripathi & P. Singh (Eds.), Perspectives on violence and othering in India (pp. xiii–xixx). New Delhi: Springer.
Turner, J. C., Oakes, P. J., Haslam, S. A., & McGarty, C. (1994). Self and collective: Cognition and social context. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 454–454.
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Social Policy and Development, 56th Commission for Social Development, High-level panel discussion on Emerging Issues: Towards sustainable and resilient societies: Innovation and inter-connectivity for social development, 30 January 2018, 3:00pm – 6:00 pm. United Nations Headquarters, New York.
UNDP Human Development Report 2016. Hdr.undp.org/en/humandev
Vaid, D. (2014). Caste in contemporary India: Flexibility and persistence. Annual Review of Sociology, 40, 391–410.
van Assche, J., Roets, A., Dhont, K., & van Hiel, A. (2017). The association between actual and perceived ethnic diversity: The moderating role of authoritarianism and implications for outgroup threat, anxiety, and mistrust. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 807–817.
van der Meer, T., & Tolsma, J. (2014). Ethnic diversity and its effects on social cohesion. Annual Review of Sociology, 40, 459–478.
Vertovec, S. (2012). “Diversity” and the social imaginary. European Journal of Sociology, 53, 287–312.
World Bank. (2004). The World Bank and the Copenhagen declaration: Ten years after. September 20, 2004. Social Development Department, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Network. Document of the World Bank.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Thapa, K. (2019). Introduction: Psychological Perspectives on Diversity and Social Development. In: Pandey, J., Kumar, R., Thapa, K. (eds) Psychological Perspectives on Diversity and Social Development. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3341-5_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3341-5_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-3340-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-3341-5
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)