چکیده (انگلیسی):

T o date, the study of societal change in social and political psychology has been dominated by an intergroup relations research
agenda. But in addition to intergroup dynamics, there are other major pathways to societal change and emancipation, which
are almost never systematically considered in psychological research. The distribution of technologies (e.g., “ICT for
development”) or money (e.g., microcredits) are among the supposed drivers of societal change. Many development aid
projects are anchored in expectations about the effect that such instruments have on anticipated primary goals and the
emancipation of particular groups (such as women). In the current paper, we begin by reviewing theories in the field of social
change. Social psychological theories mainly address the conditions under which social change stimulated by intergroup
dynamics is likely to occur , while other mainly historical and sociological research has focused on the role of different technologies
as drivers of social change in history . Next, we review recent research focusing on the anticipated primary goals and (often)
unanticipated psychological and cultural changes resulting from development aid interventions, presenting two examples of
such interventions in Ethiopia and Sri Lanka in more detail. We suggest that (1) development aid projects can instigate profound
psychological and cultural change and (2) that the pathways to such changes are markedly different from those traditionally
examined in the literature. At the political level, we reflect on the unanticipated side effects of development aid. We conclude
with some recommendations for practice following from the research described.