psychology

Former East Germans Largely Eschewed Opportunity to Read their Stasi Files—What that Says about Ethics

Few of the former residents of East Germany have chosen to view the files kept on them by the communist secret police; scholars have investigated this as an example of strategic ignorance that can help individuals function and preserve social harmony. 

From "Shell Shock" to PTSD, Veterans Have a Long Walk to Health

by Charles Glass

Iraq War veteran Will Robinson brought himself out of a mental health crisis by hiking more than 11,000 miles of trail from the Pacific Crest to the Appalachian, following the century-old prescription of British military doctor Arthur Brock. 

Deconstructing "The Child"

by Jules Gill-Peterson

Since the Victorian era, Anglo-American conceptions of childhood have worked ideologically to place children at risk of harm through the justifying idea of love, and hide the reality that only a tiny percentage of young people experience youth as protected, secure, and nurtured. 

A Family Therapist Looks to Historians for Insight on the Changing Forms of Family Estrangement

Stephanie Coonts and Steven Mintz say that the shift in family bonds from obligation and resources to personal growth and happiness have exacerbated tensions and increased the level of estrangement in multigenerational families. 

Edifice Complex: "Burnout" Used to Refer to the Problems of the Urban Poor

by Bench Ansfield

The psychologization of stress and fatigue under the term "burnout" has blunted consideration of how and why modern society makes people stressed and fatigued. The term's history shows the critical turns not taken. 

Just Wear Your Smile: The Gender Politics of Positive Psychology

by Micki McElya

Positive Psychology, a supposed science of producing happiness, is part of a multibillion-dollar publishing market. Unfortunately, it's helped enshrine patriarchal values into the popular practice of psychology. 

Ignorance of American Political History Correlates to Support for Christian Nationalism

Survey research suggests that respondents who support the idea of a Christian America are not ignorant or unintelligent, but motivated to actively affirm statements about government and history that align with their theological precepts. 

The Racist Beginnings of Standardized Testing

Standardized testing originated when public schooling was expanding and eugenicists were arguing that many immigrant and nonwhite groups were not capable of educational achievement. Tests were developed to sustain this viewpoint. 

LGBTQ Documentary “Cured” Debuts on PBS’ Independent Lens

A new documentary revisits the period before the American Psychological Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in 1973, and psychiatry endorsed extreme measures to "cure" same-sex attraction. 

The Melting of the American Mind: Internet Pop Psychology and the Authoritarian Personality

by Maya Vinokour

The internet and social media have worked to normalize and validate authoritarian and illiberal worldviews, making the mindset that baffled thinkers like Theodor Adorno in 1947 commonplace today. 

Psychologically Speaking, Who Were the Heads of the Chinese Communist Party?

by David Shambaugh

Sinologist David Shambaugh's new book examines the evolution of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic's role in the world through a psychological history of the CCP's leaders. Excerpted here, he offers a schematic overview of the work. 

The Tyranny of the Female-Orgasm Industrial Complex

The writer's personal experiences, in light of a historical review of ideas about female sexuality, suggests that more knowledge has reinforced the social control of women by making pleasure obligatory rather than prohibited (Note: contains frank, explicit and extensive discussions of sexual activity).

Can Historians Be Traumatized by History? (Content Warning)

by James Robins

"If the historian—the very person supposed to process the past on behalf of everyone else—struggles with trauma, then it is little surprise that societies as a whole struggle to face the violence of how they were formed and how they prevailed."

The Psychology of Election Denial

by Robert Brent Toplin

The Republican response to the election results is a lesson in the mental mechanics of cognitive dissonance. 

How Civilization Broke Our Brains

The anthropologist James Suzman's book evaluates the ravages of modern capitalist civilization – in particular, the institution of work –  on individual and collective psychology. 

What We Can Learn About Nazi Psychology From the Wives of Hitler’s Top Officials

A new book, excerpted here, assess everyday life under Nazism by attention to the lives of the wives of leading Nazis. 

Those We Abuse, We Loathe

by J. Chester Johnson

Until white Americans reckon with the significance of white supremacy in America, they will deflect a sense of responsibility by laying blame for black suffering on black Americans themselves. 

The Dark History of IQ Tests (Video)

by Stefan Dombrowski

Since 1905, IQ testing has been put to constructive and highly destructive uses, as this Ted video explains.

The History of Loneliness

by Jill Lepore

Until a century or so ago, almost no one lived alone; now many endure shutdowns and lockdowns on their own. How did modern life get so lonely?

The Psychotherapy of Marcus Aurelius

by Donald Robertson

Did one of Rome’s wisest and most revered emperors benefit from an ancient precursor of cognitive psychotherapy?