2014 honours and awards

Colleen Ward made Honorary Fellow of IACCP

Colleen Ward receives IACCP Award — Colleen receiving her award from Yoshi Kashima (IACCP President) at the IACCP Conference in France in July 2014

The Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research is delighted to announce that our Founder and Director, Professor Colleen Ward, has been made an Honorary Fellow of the International Association of Cross-cultural Psychology (IACCP).

Colleen has had a long and distinguished career in the study of how culture influences the development of human behavior, and how those of differing cultural backgrounds relate to each other when they come into contact. During this 30 year period, she has become a master of both cross-cultural and intercultural psychology.

Her career exemplifies the range of cultural experiences that provide the personal knowledge that motivates many of us who have chosen cross-cultural psychology as a career. The experiences of living in the USA, the UK, Trinidad, Malaysia, Singapore and now New Zealand have provided both first-hand knowledge and research insights into the importance of the role of culture in psychology.

Colleen Ward in Champagne country — Colleen enjoying Champagne country in France after the conference.

Colleen has been extraordinarily productive in her research, and this has propelled her to the forefront of the field. She has been the major contributor to the conceptualization and measurement of sociocultural adaptation that follows intercultural contact. And her book on The Psychology of Culture Shock has become the standard reference work on acculturation and adaptation.

Beyond her commitment to research, Colleen has also been concerned with the application of her work to the betterment of human development and human relations. This is exemplified by her initiative to develop and direct the Centre for Applied Cross-Cultural Research at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.

In addition to her research and her applied activity, Colleen has provided collegial service in a number of capacities. These include serving as Secretary-General and Regional Representative of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, and President of both the International Academy for Intercultural Research, and of the Asian Association of Social Psychology.

Colleen is one of only 23 people to receive this Honorary Fellow award since the IACCP was founded in 1970.