Contributions of Psychology to Peace: Good Intentions, Mixed Results

Click on this link to watch this session on 14 May, 9.00am

Typically, when questions of peace arise, retired military personal and experts from political science, history, sociology, security studies, and other disciplines are usually called upon, instead of psychologists, even though psychological principles are in play at every level of analysis, from the individual to the international. Psychologists have expertise in matters of peace and have made numerous contributions at all levels, including the international level, though they are seldom identified and highlighted. I'll highlight some of those contributions and demonstrate their historical embeddedness, drawing on four historical epochs: World Wars, Cold War, Clash of Civilizations, and the North-South Divide. I’ll also identify instances in which psychologists, while often well-intentioned, engaged in harmful actions that unwittingly resulted in violence.  

PRESENTER: DANIEL J. CHRISTIE

Daniel J. Christie (Dan) is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Ohio State University, USA. His scholarship focuses on peace psychology which is aimed at the prevention and mitigation of violence. Peace psychology also promotes human well-being through psychologically-informed policies and practices that create harmony and equity in human relations and systems. Throughout his career, he has sought to grow the field of peace psychology as an area of research and praxis.  To that end, he is the Series Editor and founder of the Peace Psychology Book Series (Springer), which currently has 40 volumes, and Editor-in-Chief of the three-volume Encyclopedia of Peace Psychology (Wiley-Blackwell). As a Fulbright Specialist in Peace and Conflict Studies, he has introduced peace psychology in Pakistan and has taught peace psychology courses and workshops as a Visiting Professor in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa and Semester at Sea, a shipboard educational program that circumnavigates the world. His recent publications identify psychosocial conditions of social movements that result in socially just outcomes.