Miller’s (1969) influential paper argued that psychology must ‘give away’ its scientific outputs to the people, thus signaling a process of democraticization based on a conventional understanding of the science and practice of psychology; a view that privileges the scientifically generated findings over other forms. In this paper, I argue for a democraticization of inputs, based on an ethnopsychological view of the science and practice of psychology and calling for a psychology that gives voice to the people as dialogic partners and co-authors of our work. The implications of this different understanding of democraticization is examined with respect to psychological theory, research, education and practice. The theme of experiential or epistemological democraticization that this paper reflects is seen to be part of a larger movement appearing in various segments of primarily Western societies and challenging the hegemony of currently prevailing frameworks for understanding the nature and character of the person.
