Chapter 2: In Search of a New Paradigm: Why WEIRD Psychology Does Not Work in Developmental Science

In developmental sciences the notion of context is taken in two different forms: on one hand, it is related to human development as context dependent. On the other hand, it is considered the place where knowledge production is made. We want to focus on the second one concerning knowledge production to argue about the need for a new paradigm in Developmental Psychology. Taking into consideration different places instead of European/US centrality is the first pathway to reframe the context of knowledge production. It can contribute to the search for a new paradigm from the fringes. A paradigm is considered a general framework regarding how one designs their research and interprets their findings. It leads to what is nowadays criticized as WEIRD psychology, an acronym that refers to Western, Educated, Industrialized, Democratic societies. We want to discuss how ‘weird’ scientists are when they approach human phenomena based on universal cultural and developmental standards. We state that each cultural background is unique including those of scientists. In this sense, the culture of science is a meaning-making process made by scientists strictly related to their contexts. Thus, understanding and interpreting the world from a weird point of view must be shifted to avoid neoliberal and modernist perspectives.