Soviet and American Psychology During World War II

by Albert R. Gilgen, Carol K. Gilgen, Vera Koltsova, Yuri Oleinik

Overview

This book compares the influence of the period leading up to World War II and of the war itself on the discipline of psychology in two major, but very different countries. During the 1930s, Soviet psychologists were formally isolated from developments in Western psychology by the ideological requirements of the Communist Party; in the United States, a vast variety of topics was being researched. When the war began, the discipline in the Soviet Union turbaned increasingly toward specialized topics, such as the rehabilitation of the wounded, ways to improve morale, and the psychological basis of color-camouflage. American psychologists, on the other hand, applied their psychometric and clinical skills to military needs. With the coming of glasnost, American and Russian psychologists were able to collaborate to create the first thorough examinations of the state of wartime psychology in these countries. Of interest to all students and researchers of the history of psychology, psychological theory, and the history of World War II.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313287947
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/30/1997
Series:	International Contributions in Psychology , #34
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)
Lexile:	1470L (what's this?)

About the Author

ALBERT R. GILGEN is Professor of Psychology at the University of Northern Iowa. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology. His publications include: American Psychology Since World War II: A Profile of the Discipline (1982), International Handbook of Psychology (coedited with Carol K. Gilgen, 1987), and Chaos Theory in Psychology (coedited with Frederick David Abraham, 1995), all from Greenwood Press.

CAROL K. GILGEN is a certified public accountant. She is coeditor with Albert R. Gilgen of International Handbook of Psychology (Greenwood, 1987).

VERA A. KOLTSOVA is Head of the Laboratory of the History of Psychology and Historical Psychology of the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

YURI N. OLEINIK is Dean of the Faculty of Psychology of the Youth Institute in Moscow and Senior Scientist of the Laboratory of the History of Psychology and Historical Psychology of the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The editors also collaborated on Post-Soviet Perspectives on Russian Psychology (Greenwood, 1996).

Table of Contents

Preface
Soviet Psychology During World War II
Soviet Psychology during the Pre-World War II Period
The Reorganization and Development of Soviet Psychology in Accordance with the Demands of the War
Soviet Psychologists' Wartime Research and Applied Activities
American Psychology During World War II
Psychologists Organize and Plan for the War Effort
Psychologists and the Military Enterprise
Psychologists' Other Wartime Research
The War and Postwar Psychology
General Conclusions and Comparative Comments
The Russian Perspective
The American Perspective
Appendix: Chronology of Major Events During World War II (Russian Perspective)
Index

Editorial Reviews

Examines the impact of the war on the profession in a totalitarian and socialist country that was under siege and in a capitalist democracy neither invaded nor devastated by enemy forces. Then draws some conclusions and makes some comparisons from American and Russian perspectives. The collaborators include Russian and American psychologists and a scholar of Russian studies. Includes a chronology from the Russian perspective and a few photographs. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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