Books by PsySR Members
PsySR members have written dozens of books covering a wide range of psychological issues. A partial listing of books published since 2001 is available HERE.
The PsySR Newsletter
The latest issue of our newsletter, The PsySR Herald, is now available. Newsletter issues from the past five years can be found in our Archives.
Torture is for Amateurs
Published by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, in December 2007, this Special Issue of the Journal of Peace Psychology is based on a seminar for psychologists and former military interrogators sponsored by PsySR and Georgetown University. The seminar included four recently retired, senior U.S. Army interrogators--veterans of the first Gulf War and the current war in Iraq, as well as of wars in Vietnam, Grenada, Bosnia and Kosovo--and seven research psychologists from the fields of social, cognitive, forensic, cultural, political and peace psychology.
Social Action: A New E-Journal
Edited by Rebecca Toporek and Tod Sloan, the inaugural issue of the new Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology is now available. The journal aims to bring social action research, practice, and training into the forefront of scholarly discourse in counseling and psychology, and to provide a forum for demonstrating effective social problem interventions.
PsySR's Handbook on Using Psychology to Help Abolish Nuclear Weapons
This Handbook by Marc Pilisuk and Jamie Rowen, produced upon the auspices of PsySR, is designed to provide information about the potential contribution that psychology can make in our efforts to abolish nuclear weapons.
"Us & Them": PsySR's Presenter's Manual for Moderating Group Conflict
Written by Stephen Fabick and based on a project of the Michigan Chapter of PsySR, this Presenter's Manual provides tools for intervention before intergroup prejudice and tensions erupt into violence. The program it describes is applicable to an array of problems including religious intolerance, racial tension, ethnic turmoil, and community divisiveness.
Two Important PsySR Manuals: "Dismantling the Mask of Enmity" and "Enemy Images"
These two manuals were prepared by PsySR a decade and a half apart. Both the Cold War era Dismantling the Mask of Enmity and the Gulf War era Enemy Images remain timely in describing how to dismantle images that limit our thinking about security and that fuel tensions and wars.
PsySR Conference Report: Integrating Approaches to Psychosocial Humanitarian Assistance
Psychologists and other mental health professionals are increasingly involved in assisting individuals and communities affected by ethnopolitical warfare and other contemporary forms of violent conflict. This Conference Report explores the many challenges associated with this critical work.
A Graduate Level Curriculum For Trauma Intervention and Conflict Resolution
This Graduate Level Curriculum for trauma intervention and conflict resolution in ethnopolitical warfare was prepared by a joint task force of the American and Canadian Psychological Associations. PsySR served as the secretariat for this important project.
Learn about "Groupthink"
Groupthink occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment” (Janis, 1972, p. 9). Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that dehumanize other groups. PsySR has developed educational materials about Groupthink. An overview is available HERE and a "vaccine" is available HERE.
Books of Special Interest
Working for Peace A Handbook of Practical Psychology and Other Tools
By Rachel M. MacNair and PsySR, Working for Peace is the complete guidebook to the psychology of social activism. It contains expert guidance from 40 active peace workers--psychologists, social workers, and communication specialists. Included are practical tips for every aspect of grassroots peacebuilding.