Freedom and Psychology in the Americas

Resumen

This study empirically demonstrated that indices of the status of psychology in the 35 countries of the Americas (scholarly productivity, existence of a psychological ethics code) are tied positively to enabling national conditions (economic and political freedom) in which the discipline is situated.  Specifically, the relationship of economic and political freedom to the research productivity of psychologists was mediated by Internet usage.  While political freedom and urban population ratio together predicted the adoption of a formal ethics code, the proportion of urban population was a more powerful predictor.  These findings are discussed within the structural and dynamic realities of the region, and promising lines of inquiry are identified.