Academic inbreeding and isolation in South African psychology

English: Several factors have contributed to the fact that academic inbreeding and isolation have reached almost epidemic proportions at South African universities. Although this phenomenon has been described as a cancer in tertiary education, almost no data are available regarding the specific prevalence of inbreeding and isolation in academic psychology in South Africa. The present study aims to make a contribution in this regard. More than 1 000 questionnaires were distributed to academics and professionals to determine how many of them have obtained their qualifications from a single university; whether they were, at the time of the study, employed at a university from which they had graduated; what overseas training they had had; how many were members of international psychological associations; their attitudes towards continuing education, and to what extent they utilised computer networks. The findings are presented and recommendations made.