PROFILE
Meike Watzlawik is Professor for Development and Culture at the Institute for Psychological Research at the Sigmund Freud University Berlin. From 2011 to 2014, she was a visiting professor at the University of Osnabrück, Department of Development & Culture, and from 2008 to 2009, she was a visiting scholar (Feodor-Lynen Awardee of the Humboldt Foundation) at Clark University, Worcester, MA, working in the field of Theoretical & Cultural Psychology. Examining different aspects of identity has been the focus of her research: In depth, she examined the sexual identity development of adolescents in Germany and the United Statesand the impact of sibling relationships on identity development. The combination of different methodologies was her preferred approach when examining adolescents’ identity development in American traditional and non-traditional families. She discussed the benefit of such combinations in several papers. In addition, she critically reflects on constructs like ‘identity’, ‘cultural identity’, ‘sexual identity’, and ‘gender identity’, in several of her publications stressing the need for clear definitions and transparency in science. As part of an international network, Watzlawik has worked with scholars from all over the world, presented the collaborative work at conferences or in recognized publications like the Oxford Handbook of Culture and Psychology. She is part of the editorial board of Culture & Psychology.
