The relationship between adolescents' concern over the threat of nuclear war and several personality dimensions.

447 Canadian high school students (mean age 16.5 yrs) completed a survey examining concern over the threat of nuclear war with respect to the future and Ss' ability to delay gratification, impulsivity, venturesomeness, and locus of control. Concern over the threat of nuclear war was measured directly and indirectly by scales designed for the present study. Results indicate that the majority of Ss were concerned about the nuclear threat. This concern was associated with orientation to the future but not with other personality variables considered. The inclusion of nuclear education in the schools is discussed. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and nuclear war: A chapter in our legacy of social responsibility.

Notes that psychologists' participation in work on nuclear-war-related problems since 1945 has been sporadic and suggests that this sporadic research is related to fluctuating modulations in government policy. The history of these activities is viewed as a case that can be used to evaluate both the underlying forces of psychological research and the feasibility of a professional model of psychologists' social responsibility. The recent activities of psychologists suggest some alternatives for their involvement in global issues, specifically for rethinking what is psychological about such issues and for determining what problems might or should concern psychologists. It is suggested that psychologists must go beyond simply evaluating their science as a corpus of either intellectual innovations or ideologies. (88 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Public opinion and nuclear war.

Notes that public opinion research shows that a majority of respondents in the US and several European countries favor a reduction in nuclear armaments and a nuclear freeze as a 1st step in that direction and that there has been a marked increase in involvement by psychologists and psychological organizations toward this end. It is argued that the present situation is propitious for the active participation of psychologists. Possible contributions appropriate for psychologists, ways of making these contributions effective, and the desirability of associating such activities, whenever possible, with those of colleagues in other parts of the world are discussed. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists and nuclear war: A survey.

Surveyed 290 members (187 males and 103 females) of the American Psychological Association about their attitudes toward nuclear war. Findings show that the Council of Representatives' resolution calling for a Soviet-American nuclear weapons freeze was supported by a majority. Females were more supportive of the resolution. Less than one-fourth of Ss responded that the nuclear war issue had entered into their personal decision making. Ss supported public involvement in the issue. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

After the missiles: Sociopsychological effects of nuclear war.

Discusses the physical and medical effects of nuclear war, including the effects of radiation and the possibility of a "nuclear winter," and speculates on the sociopsychological effects on persons in urban and rural areas. Issues considered include the occurrence of survival guilt and deindividuation, the forseeable breakdown in the social and economic order, and resulting violence. The uncertainties of nuclear war and the disastrous effects of even a limited nuclear exchange are emphasized. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Different age groups' similar outlook on nuclear war.

While S. T. Fiske (see record 1987-21635-001) noted greater concern about nuclear war among children and adolescents relative to adults, a survey by the present authors of 1,239 adolescents, young adults, and adults shows similar perceptions of risk, estimates of destructiveness, and overall concern in each of those populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The potential contribution of psychology to nuclear war issues.

Considers the relevance of psychology to 9 nuclear war issues (the nuclear arms race, attitudes toward other nations, deterrance, arms control negotiations, defense-related decisions, crisis behavior, war outbreak, accidental nuclear war, and crisis and conflict management) in response to an article by J. G. Blight (see record 1987-16803-001) and suggests that psychologists could contribute to the understanding of nuclear war by studying these issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender arrangements and nuclear threat: A discussion with Dorothy Dinnerstein.

One of the major contributions in the social science of the post-Vietnam era has been the initiation of a new discourse on the psychology of gender. If one were pressed to identify the prototypical statement of this fresh field, the most justifiable candidate would be Dorothy Dinnerstein's book, The Mermaid and the Minotaur. Dinnerstein's thesis is that mother-monopolised child-rearing deforms both male and female psychological development, engendering semi-monstrous mythical figures bound together symbiotically rather than complementary human beings in creative, loving relation. The social confounding of child-rearing with mothering implies a process of development that confronts boys with an abrupt disidentification. For girls, on the other hand, it is the continuity of identification that presents problems. This article presents an interview with Dinnerstein on the relationship between gender development and war. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Must the psychology of avoiding nuclear war remain free and insignificant?

Responds to criticisms by M. D. Intriligator and D. L. Brito, L. Nelson, W. B. Earle, R. R. Holt and M. B. Smith (see PA, Vol 75:24635, 24650, 24609, 24632, and 24674) of the present author's article (see record 1987-16803-001); it is suggested that in order for psychologists to make a responsible contribution toward ending the risk of nuclear war, they must remove themselves from the discipline of psychology as it currently exists and begin to work within the realm of policymakers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists and the cold war.

"The cold war and the new technologies have created new frontiers, and these frontiers beg for fresh, bold, and imaginative approaches." "In order to maximize the effectiveness of any man-machine system, we must have quantitative information about human performance under various conditions." "The psychologist can… outline the best system in which men and machines function together." Equipment requirements, equipment reliability, personnel selection, morale, and education are discussed with regard to technological warfare. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the future.

Asked 9 distinguished psychologists to comment on psychology and the future. Predictions for the future included (a) program evaluation research will expand; (b) students preparing or the practice of psychology will increasingly seek the PsyD degree; (c) psychology will be more responsive to real-life crises such as pollution, energy resource depletion, urban decay, and international conflict, and will receive more federal support to the extent that it can contribute to the solution of such problems; (d) continuing education is likely to flourish; (e) the discipline of psychology will become still more fractionated; and (f) the future will bring a merging of humanistic and scientific orientations in psychology. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

External threat and the definition of deviance.

Studied how task-oriented groups of 5 members each responded to threats. 240 17–30 yr old males joined task groups to evaluate the case histories of juvenile delinquents and make correctional treatment recommendations to criminal justice authorities during a 55-min discussion period conducted by an observer. One member of the team was a confederate. During the 1st 30 min of group interaction, groups experienced a mild-threat condition (a criminal justice authority indicated he had to leave to observe another group and said that the group should probably not continue), a strong-threat condition (the authority said that the group should not continue), or no threat (the authority simply left the meeting). Discussion was allowed to continue, and at the end of the meeting Ss were asked if they would like to remain members of the group; each S was extensively interviewed after the meeting. Results show that level of threat was directly related to the extent of rejection and negative definition; noncomformity to the central task norm was not systematically related to deviant status; high-status actors were more involved in the rejection of the deviant; sociometric rejection of the deviant was accompanied by negative definition in the strong-threat condition; and the level of group solidarity was related to the extent of rejection and negative definition. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a policy-relevant psychology of avoiding nuclear war: Lessons for psychologists from the Cuban missile crisis.

A virtually paradigmatic psychological response to the risk of nuclear war has begun to emerge: nuclear depth psychology. The goal of nuclear depth psychologists is to reverse the arms race by healing what they take to be a deeply pathological superpower relationship. This approach is criticized as implausible historically, because even the most opportune moment for fundamental change in the relationship between the United States and Soviet Union (immediately following the Cuban missile crisis) failed to produce such a change. It is also argued that this and subsequent failures to fundamentally alter the superpower relationship are due to the persistence of conflicting values and of pervasive ambiguities faced by policymakers charged with managing nuclear risks. It is apparent, therefore, that a policy-relevant psychology of avoiding nuclear war must begin where nuclear policymakers begin: by focusing on (salient psychological aspects of) the prevention and management of nuclear crises. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-predictive orientation and the movement interpretation of threat.

On the basis of rating forms administered to graduate and undergraduate Ss in the author's classes, the hypothesis that the individual will perceive himself as being less predictable to himself in social relationships involving threatening acquaintances than in social relationships involving nonthreatening acquaintances is upheld. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the Carter Administration.

Due to the spiraling costs of health care, it is likely that a comprehensive program of national health insurance will be enacted under the Carter Administration. Mental health services will be included as a primary health benefit. Psychologists should spend their energies not arguing whether psychotherapy is a health service, but instead insuring that psychology is independently recognized under national health insurance. Otherwise, it should be expected that all training support will soon be phased out and that the profession will cease to exist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the State Associations.

Comments upon Robert Perloff's comment (1964) on state associations. The author mentions some things that Perloff might discover if he approached the problem as a psychologist. It is noted that the status and support of any science or profession depends upon public understanding and appreciation. In simple self-interest, any psychologist who takes the trouble to be informed in these matters, and who wants to support himself rather than live on the efforts of his colleagues, will join his efforts with theirs to insure professional standards and status for those who serve the public in the name of psychology. This means support and utilization of state associations, for there is no other organ so well adapted to deal with professional problems and the public's interest. Also, aside from the important questions of standards and competence, state associations are ideally situated to deal constructively with the divisive forces in American psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and the moral imperative.

Examines the moral obligations of psychology. An inquiry into the main priorities of academic and professional psychology suggests that contributions to human welfare, its preeminent moral obligation, comes in third after guild issues and professional self-interest, and the pursuit of knowledge. In an effort to reassign moral philosophy a place of prominence and to broaden the ethical discourse of psychology, the authors use the term "moral imperative" (MI). The promotion of the MI entails the exploration of 3 fundamental questions. These concern the extent that the present social order promotes human welfare for everyone, the extent that psychology supports or challenges the present social order, and the contributions that psychology can make to the advent of the "good" society. The MI advances 4 human agency values: self-determination, distributive justice, collaborative and democratic participation, and relationality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)