Synopses & Reviews
Political belief systems are, at heart, psychological theories of motivation, personality, mental health, education, and social interaction. In this volume, Diane Halpern and Alexander Voiskounsky take advantage of recent political events in the former Soviet Union which have created a unique opportunity to study the ways in which two major world powers have defined contemporary psychological issues. Because access to Western literature in psychology was strictly controlled until 1991, much of Soviet psychology developed independently of Western ideas. Likewise, impediments in communication also prevented Western researchers and theorists from enhancing their work with Soviet perspectives. Although the political climate has changed enormously, barriers to the exchange of ideas still remain. States of Mind explores newly evolving areas of psychology that are particularly important at this time in history, and addresses these topics from both post-Soviet and American perspectives. Psychologists from both backgrounds present their personal views of their own areas of expertise to offer their counterparts a portion of the psychological landscape from a new vantage point.
Review
"What a brilliant idea to bring under the cover of this book the results gained by Eastern (post-Soviet) and Western researchers on the same or close psychological problems. The authors are not competing with eachother, they are making a mutual breakthrough to meet the challenge for the benefit of world science and of each particular reader."--Victor A. Sadovnichy, Rector of Moscow State University
Table of Contents
1. Introduction to States of Mind: Psychology in a Sociopolitical Context,
Diane F. Halpern and Alexander VoiskounskyI. Politics and Persuasion
2. The Psychosemantic Approach to Political Psychology: Mapping Russian Political Thought, Victor F. Petrenko and Olga V. Mitina
3. Psychological Perspectives on International Conflict and Cooperation, Philip E. Tetlock
4. Comprehension of Lies: A Russian View, Victor Znakov
5. Deception, Lying, and Demeanor, Paul Ekman
6. Russian Advertising in Search of Psychology, Dimitry A. Leontiev
7. The Social Psychology of Mass Communications: An American Perspective, Anthony R. Pratkanis
II. Contemporary Crises in Mental Health
8. Alcoholism in America: Extent, Diagnosis, Etiology, Treatment, and Prevention, Peter E. Nathan
9. Alcoholism in Russia: The Enemy Within, Boris S. Bratus
10. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Historical Context and Evolution, Teresa L. Kramer and Bonnie L. Green
11. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders as a Loss of the Meaning of Life, Madrudin S. Magomed-Eminov
12. Gerontological Psychology: The Western Perspective, Timothy A. Salthouse
13. A Lifespan Approach to the Study of Psychogerontology in Russia, Vera A. Kol'tsova, Natasha B. Meshalkina, and Yuri N. Olegnik
III. Prejudice and Interethnic Hostilities
14. Strangers in the Homeland: Problems of Forced Immigrants in Russia, Galina U. Soldatova
15. Changed Ethnic and National Identities in Estonia, Aksel Kirch, Marika Kirch, Tarmo Tuisk, and Vello Pettai
16. Interethnic Intolerance in Post-Soviet Ukraine, Evgeny Golovakha and Natalya Panina
17. Prejudice and Discrimination: Old Paradigms in New Models for Psychology, Pamela Trotman Reid and Nicole E. Holland
18. Ethnic Psychology in the United States, Jonathan S. Kaplan and Stanley Sue
IV. Environmental and Ecological Psychology
19. Environmental Psychology: Evolution and Current Status, Paul A. Bell and Eric D. Sunstrom
20. Environmental and "Green" Psychology in the Former Soviet Union, Segei Deryabo and Vitold Yasvin