This article is adapted from "Poland National Tour" prepared by J. Strelau & M. Toeplitz-Winiewska, 2008, which appeared in Wedding, D., & Stevens, M. J. (Eds). (2009). Psychology: IUPsyS Global Resource (Edition 2009) [CD-ROM]. International Journal of Psychology, 44 (Suppl. 1).

In Poland the first chair of psychology was founded at the University in Lwow in 1901. Before the beginning of World War II research in psychology was conducted at five universities. Psychology at that time was a part of philosophy departments. The growth of psychology as an experimental science was accelerated in the 1950s and 1960s, first of all at the universities in Warsaw, Krakow and Poznan. In 1983 the distribution of Polskie Towarzystwo Psychologiczne members among the major fields in psychology was as follows: 38% clinical psychology, 43% educational psychology, 10% research and academic teaching, 9% miscellaneous. Currently this proportion is similar with a growing tendency toward clinical psychology. Recently managerial psychology has developed with a growing number of PTP members involved.

Research in psychology is conducted in: twelve universities, the Institute of Psychology at the Polish Academy of Sciences, and several central institutes, such as education, defense, health, sports, etc. In the last decade, the major fields of psychological research were developmental and educational psychology, personality and individual differences, social psychology, health psychology, clinical psychology and psychotherapy, brain research and psychophysiology, health psychology, psychology, and methodology.

Psychology as a major is offered in 14 universities (including the Warsaw School of Social Psychology and Higher School of Finances and Management) to about 15,000 students. Following a five-year training, the curriculum can be completed by a university degree, the Master of Psychology.

In Poland there is no state licensing of psychologists. The regulations for training professional and applied psychologists are local and depend on the decisions made at university levels.

Polish psychologists do have a formal code of ethics. It has been published by the Polskie Towarzystwo Psychologiczne and also will occur as an Appendix in the "Psychology: Academic Handbook" published in 2000.

Publications

Przeglad Psychologiczny (Psychological Review, in Polish), 1952-, 4/year
Nowiny Psychologiczne (Psychological News, in Polish), 1981-, 4/year
Polish Psychological Bulletin (in English), 1970- , 4/year
Studia Psychologiczne (Psychological Studies, in Polish), 1956- , 2/year
Psychologia Wychowawcza (Educational Psychology, in Polish), 1958- , 5/year
Czasopismo Psychologiczne (Psychological Journal, in Polish), 1995, 2/year
Kwartalnik Polskiej Psychologii Rozwojowej (in Polish), also published in English as:
Polish Quarterly of Developmental Psychology, 1995-

Updated December 2008