Alexander Thomas

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Alexander Thomas (* 4. November 1939 in Cologne ) is a German retired university professor with a research focus on cross-cultural psychology .

Life

Thomas studied psychology , sociology and political science at the Universities of Cologne, Bonn and Munster and graduated in psychology in 1968 . In 1970 he was at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster Dr. phil. PhD and in 1973 appointed Professor of Psychology at the Free University of Berlin . In 1979 he accepted an appointment at the University of Regensburg , where he held the professorship for social psychology and organizational psychology until his retirement in 2008. In 2015, it appointed the Eastern Bavarian Technical University of Regensburg for an honorary professor in the field of international competence.

Services

The main research focus of Alexander Thomas was and still is in the area of ​​cross- cultural and intercultural psychology. He initiated and supervised numerous research projects on these subject areas. At the University of Regensburg, Thomas co-founded the additional course "Intercultural Action Competence", a course that prepares students for international cooperation in the world of work and stays abroad. Thomas created the term “cultural standards” , which classifies and describes the mentality of a culture.

He is also co-founder of the “Institute for Cooperation Management ”, which was launched in 1999 and offers international organizational consulting in the fields of intercultural competence, communication in organizations , team and leadership , personal assessment and learning in organizations.

Thomas is a member of the Council for Migration of the Federal Republic of Germany. He is a member of the board of the "Research Association for Eastern and South Eastern Europe". He is also on the scientific advisory board of “interculture journal”, an online journal for intercultural studies.

criticism

Thomas states that he can define the seven German cultural standards as well as the character traits of Germans. Other social science schools today grasp the concept of culture in a dialogical and situational manner and not as an equivalent for a nation state. Thomas indirectly denies that people are "German" who cannot identify with the given cultural standards. Furthermore, Thomas argues that these rules are confirmed in cross-cultural studies or in ethnology without providing evidence.

In his book "Professionally in the Arab Gulf States" he says: "In the Arab Gulf States, friendships can quickly develop and be made. However, their rights and obligations are defined differently than friendships that develop within the German cultural area. An Arab has next the fundamental sympathy also always has the practical benefit of friendship in mind. "

Awards

  • 2003 Special award from the Bavarian Ministry of Science for the course "International Action Competence"
  • 2004 German Psychology Prize
  • 2012 Honorary doctorate from the Ruhr University Bochum

Fonts (selection)

  • with Ernst F. Müller: Introduction to Social Psychology . Hogrefe, Göttingen 1974. ISBN 3-8017-0083-6 .
  • Ed .: Intercultural exchange as intercultural action. Theoretical foundations d. Exchange research . Breitenbach, Saarbrücken 1985. ISBN 3-88156-313-X .
  • Outline of Social Psychology Vol. I, 1991 and BD. II, 1992;
  • (Ed.). Comparative cultural psychology. An introduction. 2nd revised and expanded edition. Hogrefe, Göttingen 1993. ISBN 3-8017-0408-4 .
  • Psychology and multicultural society. Problem analysis and problem solving . Verlag für Angewandte Psychologie, Göttingen, Stuttgart 1994. ISBN 3-87844-112-6 .
  • (Ed.): Psychology of intercultural action . Hogrefe, Göttingen 1996. ISBN 3-8017-0668-0 .
  • Ed. Together with Eva-Ulrike Kinast, Sylvia Schroll-Machl: Handbook Intercultural Communication and Cooperation . 2 volumes. Vol. 1: Basics and fields of practice ; Vol. 2: Countries, Cultures and Intercultural Professional Activities . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 2003.
  • Basics of intercultural psychology . Bautz, Nordhausen 2005, ISBN 3-88309-226-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ OTH Regensburg appoints Prof. Dr. Alexander Thomas as honorary professor ( Memento from February 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Research report 2003-2006 and research report 1991-1994
  3. ↑ https://rat-fuer-migration.de/verbindungen/
  4. ↑ http://www.wissenschaftsministerium.bayern.de/pressearchiv/2003/11/nov232.html
  5. ↑ BDP Psychology Prize 2004 for Alexander Thomas
  6. ↑ Biography ( Memento from February 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German university professor and social psychologist
DATE OF BIRTH November 4, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne