The Laboratory of Applied Cross-Cultural and Social Psychology was established in 2019. It represents the institutional evolution of the Center for Cross-Cultural Psychology, which had been operating since the 1990s within the Section of Psychology of the Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology. The Laboratory continues a significant tradition shaped by distinguished Greek psychologists whose pioneering work defined the field, including Harry Triandis and James Georgas.
The founder of the Center for Cross-Cultural Psychology, Professor James Georgas, was a foundational figure of Cross-Cultural Psychology in Greece and internationally. He developed the Ecocultural Model, a multilevel framework that explains psychological differences across cultures on the basis of ecological and social conditions, avoiding simplistic equivalences between culture and nation-state. His contributions extended to the ecocultural classification of countries, the cross-cultural study of the family, and the adaptation of psychometric instruments, including the Greek version of the WISC-III and the Georgas Intelligence Test. He was also a pioneer in the psychological study of migration and acculturation, proposing bidimensional models of integration and designing applicable interventions addressing bilingualism, schooling, and positive intercultural contact. Through his work, Georgas positioned Greece firmly on the international map of Cross-Cultural Psychology.
Following Professor Georgas’s retirement, the directorship of the Center was assumed by Katerina Gari, who further advanced the methodology of comparative cross-cultural research, with particular emphasis on Greek cultural patterns. Her tenure as a member of the Executive Board of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology strengthened the international presence of Cross-Cultural Psychology in Greece. A major milestone in this trajectory was the organization of the 21st International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology in 2006 in Spetses, co-chaired by Katerina Gari and Kostas Mylonas.
The transformation of the Center for Cross-Cultural Psychology into the Laboratory of Applied Cross-Cultural and Social Psychology in 2019 (Government Gazette 4467/Β/9-12-2019) marked an expansion of its mission and scope. The Laboratory has since been directed by Vassilis Pavlopoulos, also a member of Professor Georgas’s academic lineage. Under his leadership, the Laboratory deepened its research on cross-cultural differences, acculturation, and the psychological adaptation of adults and adolescents with migrant and refugee backgrounds, linking cultural processes to issues of identity, values, and social change. At the same time, it expanded its participation in large-scale cross-cultural research programs.
Throughout this trajectory, the realization of the Laboratory’s objectives would not have been possible without the contribution of numerous faculty members of the Department of Psychology and the dedicated work of doctoral and postgraduate students, many of whom have developed into autonomous and creative scholars.
