Psychological responses to nuclear war: An examination of the contribution of Robert Jay Lifton.
Item
-
Title
-
Psychological responses to nuclear war: An examination of the contribution of Robert Jay Lifton.
-
Identifier
-
AAI9020763
-
identifier
-
9020763
-
Creator
-
Grossmark, Robert Samuel.
-
Contributor
-
Adviser: Lawrence J. Gould
-
Date
-
1990
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Psychology, Clinical | Psychology, General | Psychology, Social
-
Abstract
-
The field of nuclear psychology has grown much in recent years. The main thrust of the field is the examination of the changes in psychological life in response to the advent of nuclear weapons. Many studies attest to the deleterious effects of the idea of nuclear war upon psychological development, mental health and human functioning. These studies are reviewed and recurring methodological problems, including the lack of empirical design and hypothesis-generated questions, are outlined. The contribution of psychoanalysis to the discussion of the effects of nuclear weapons on psychological functioning is reviewed. The most prominent theorist in the field of nuclear psychology is the psychoanalyst Robert Jay Lifton. His contribution is examined and his two main hypotheses are outlined; the idea of nuclear weapons induces (a) psychic numbing and (b) a shift in the belief in symbolic immortality toward the fifth mode, which emphasizes the experience of the moment. In order to test these hypotheses responses to the idea of nuclear war were compared to responses to other death, war and control stimuli. Subjects were randomly assigned to groups and presented with identical abstract poems that differed only in their title and the repetition of that title in the body of the poem. The titles were "Nuclear War," "War," "Death," "Car Crash" and the control "Thoughts on life." Pre- and post-experimental measures assessed psychic numbing and symbolic immortality. When memory for the poem was the measure, the experimental groups all showed more numbing than the conrol group. When doubt of mood was the measure, the nuclear group showed more numbing than the car crash and death groups, but less than the war and control group. Nuclear war prompted no shift in symbolic immortality different to the other groups. The findings are discussed. Lifton's hypotheses are not clearly supported. The concept of numbing requires greater refinement; these findings suggest that numbing involves diffusion of emotional experience rather than cognitive processes. Implications for further research and for the field of nuclear psychology are discussed.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
