After a brief history of the Committee on International
Relations of the American Psychological Association, 3
points are made about international psychological research
that matters. First, it matters when the definition of the
research problem area and the findings can potentially be
reflected in policy change, in the practice of educators or
psychologists, or in the mindsets of a new generation of
researchers. Person-centered analysis of adolescents’
social and political attitudes has this potential and can
complement variable-centered analysis. A cluster analysis
of the IEA Civic Education Study’s data in 5 Western
European and 5 Eastern European countries illustrates
this. The following 5 clusters of adolescents were
identified: those supportive of social justice but not
participative, those active in conventional politics and the
community, those indifferent, those disaffected, and a
problematic cluster of alienated adolescents. Second,
research that matters is situated in a cultural context. It is
proposed that publications using data from any single
country be required to include information about the
cultural context in which the research was conducted.
Finally, it matters that attention be given to the dynamics
of the collaborative international research process, not
only to research results.