Peace psychology ppt

Peace psychology

1. PEACE PSYCHOLOGY  

2. It is a subfield of Psychology and Peace Research that deals with the psychological aspects of peace, conflict, violence, and war. DEFINITION

3. Peace psychology can be characterized by four interconnected pillars: Research Education Practice advocacy. PEACE PSYCHOLOGY

4. They are usually normatively bound in their means and objectives by working towards the ideal of sustainable peace using (as far as possible) non-violent means. The ideal of peace can also be conceptualized as the comprehensive implementation of human rights (civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights ); E nsure the satisfaction of basic human needs, such as positive personal and social identity, sense of control, security, (social) justice, well-being, a safe environment, and access to adequate food and shelter . ACTIVITIES

5. In the United States the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence of the American Psychological Association Psychologists for Social Responsibility, a nongovernmental organization based in Washington, DC Australian Psychological Society has an Interest Group called Psychologists for Peace. On the international level, there is the Committee for the Psychological Study of Peace International Network of Psychologists for Social Responsibility , which links organizations from (among other countries) Germany, Finland, the United States, Australia, Costa Rica, India, and Italy ORGANIZATIONS

6. Peace psychology emerged as a distinct area of research and practice during the Cold War, when the preeminent concern was the prevention of nuclear war. In the post-Cold War period, peace psychologists have shifted away from a narrow focus on the prevention of nuclear war and have moved toward a more geo historically nuanced, conceptually differentiated, and systemically integrated perspective on violence and peace . HISTORY

7. Three themes are emerging in post-Cold War peace psychology: Greater sensitivity to Geo historical context A more differentiated perspective on the meanings and types of violence and peace, A systems view of the nature of violence and peace CONT.…

8. To “increase and apply psychological knowledge in the pursuit of peace including A bsence of destructive conflict creation of positive social conditions which minimize destructiveness and promote human well-being” (Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence, 2006, para. 3). GOALS

9. Four Challenges for Peace Psychology For some people, “peace” sounds soft, weak, native, idealistic, and even dangerous and unpatriotic, particularly when the threat of terrorism is a salient concern for Americans (Lott, 2006; Unger, 2006 ). its reliance on qualitative methods; hence, some might assume that it cannot be methodologically rigorous ( Leininger , 1994) APA approved the establishment of Division 48: Peace Psychology in 1991 (because peace psychology was officially organized at the close of the Cold War), some observers might mistakenly identify peace psychology as the study of nuclear issues. It has little to offer IR, a specialty in political science that is well beyond the familiar moorings of mainstream psychology CHALLENGES

10. William James (Deutsch, 1995), who, in a speech at Stanford University in 1906, coined the phrase “the moral equivalent of war” (James, 1910/1995, p. 22). James argued that war provides human beings with opportunities to express their spiritual inclinations toward self-sacrifice and personal honor; consequently, to end war, societies must find alternative “moral equivalents” for the expression of these profoundly important human values (James, 1910/ 1995) PEACE PSYCHOLOGIST

11. Peace psychology does not fail to stress to what extent political economies which accentuate social inequalities both instigate and facilitate xenophobic sentiments and other forms of intolerance . Peace psychology, on the contrary, does not aim at pacification, but at transforming the interactions and distinguishing features of the conflict into newer and more authentic forms of relationship and conditions of lif e CHARACTERISTICS

12. It is a recent acquisition in fieldwork, an up-to-date instrument based on experience drawn from the study and practice of community work. PSYCHO-SOCIAL FACILITATION

13. These training groups take place at regular intervals, in a medium to short timescale agreed on with the participants themselves. TRAINING GROUPS

14. Psychological knowledge may tackle the issue of peace in two different ways: By leaving intact its own theoretical framework and adapting it to the study of peace. By calling in question the traditional approaches and proposing a form of differential psychological knowledge to encourage the evolution of the individual and of society in all its expressions (thought, behaviour , relationships), according to an integrated cross-disciplinary perspective.

15. Type of relation proposed by the aggressor is reproduced in thought and behavior in a counter-reactive and specular-symmetrical manner. The aggressor may be a fully aware person, an agent unaware (or only slightly aware) of the damage being inflicted, or a social system which acts indirectly to the detriment of people. The type of relation inherent in this last mode of behavior is very widespread in our culture, on account of being socially accredited

16. In the second case, a passive behavioral reaction leaves the type of destructive interaction unaltered. In the case of collective phenomena, we have no trouble in recalling the difficult history of downtrodden peoples who have had long experience of foreign occupation or pitiless domestic dictatorships. In this case also, the tendency towards the adoption of passive and non-transformative behavior is culturally induced.

17. T he choice of thought and behavior tends towards the transformation of the type of relation in the light of a possible constructive evolution of the conflict, one capable of bringing positive changes to the existing context. This possibility lies at the very heart of the proposal of nonviolence, which, from interpersonal relationships to collective phenomena, discerns a specific evolutional psycho-social development in the search for genuine relationships supported and upheld by profound respect for the Other, and in the possibility of the constructive transformation of structurally violent situations .