Psychology can ask a lot of bold questions of diplomacy, opening up new ideas and possibilities for consideration. There are at least 20 different angles to pose these questions from, and probably many more. Let's start with the first five, which represent the broad historical paradigms of psychology so far. Once we've covered those, we can get into the many sub-fields of psychology. If you look at the history of psychology it has been most influenced by these five paradigms: 1) psychoanalysis, 2) behaviorism, 3) humanism, 4) cognitivism, and 5) evolution. Here we'll go into each school of thought very briefly. Then we will extend its questions into the context of diplomacy. And finally we will mention some possible PsyDip application areas for the paradigm.
Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud and further developed by Carl Jung, Karen Horney and others. Its basic focus was on resolving unconscious conflicts rooted in early childhood. At the diplomacy-level, we might therefore ask: do some nations, leaders, and citizens (including our own) have unconscious, repressed psychological conflicts and taboos rooted in their early histories? Can these conflicts be brought into awareness through introspection and thereby reconciled by way of a national or individual catharsis? Would such potential resolution result in a more balanced, less distressed foreign policy? Can we better understand and work with other nations and their leaders and citizenry by looking into our/their historical psychodramas? Possible PsyDip application areas: human rights, history of foreign relations, holocaust issues, cultural exchanges, elections, library programs, peace process, transparency, censorship, political participation, public reconciliation, communication, historical accuracy and redress, etc.
Behaviorism was founded by John Watson and embraced by Edward Thorndike and B.F. Skinner, among others. Its focus was on measuring objective behaviors with methodological rigor. As such it was a reaction to the subjectivity of psychoanalysis. At the diplomacy level, the Behaviorist might ask: Do some nations, leaders, and citizens (including our own) have patterns of behavior which are the result of conditioning or learning in a context of stimulus and response? Can their measureable behavior be changed by modifying antecedents and consequences to it? Can the negative or undesirable habits of these nations and individuals be changed or reshaped by new schedules of reinforcement that associate new positive and desirable habits with rewards and old negative and undesirable habits with punishment or at least lack of reward? Can we better understand and work with other nations and their leaders and citizenry by looking into what they have been rewarded for doing and what they have been punished for doing? Possible PsyDip application areas: embargos, investments, microcredit loans, rewards for justice, smart power, tariffs, sanctions, bribery, claims, treaties, agreements, pay, warnings, refugees, World Trade Organization, allowances, drug trafficking, donations, intellectual property, hardship pay, castigation, praise, anti-terrorism, etc.
Humanism was founded by psychologists like Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Fritz Perls. It was a reaction to both Psychoanalysis and Behaviorism. It attempted to look at the whole person, arguing that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Maslow created a hierarchy of needs, Rogers created client-centered therapy, and Perls spoke of the "gestalt" of a person (his/her experiential present amidst the web of his/her relationships). Humanistic psychologists thought Psychoanalysis was too focused on neurosis and Behaviorism was too focused on lab rats. A psychologist from this school might ask at the diplomacy level: Do some nations, leaders, and citizens (including our own) have unique and subjective meanings for themselves that can be invoked, elicited, and appealed to? By looking at a nation, an individual leader, or citizen as a whole and not just a series of parts or dysfunctions, can we then focus in on their positive growth and meaningful identity development? Can nations and their people be attracted to a perspective of free will that will enable them to build up from core needs to self-actualization of their highest potential? Can we better understand and work with other nations and their leaders and citizenry by helping them to reach their full psychological and perhaps even spiritual potential? Possible PsyDip application areas: Art in Embassies Program, democracy, arbitration, development finance, relief, rule of law, water for the poor, confidence and security building measures, religious freedom, population stability, sustainable development, culture, recreation, human potential development, etc.
Cognitivism was pioneered by thinkers like Ulric Neisser, Noam Chomsky, and George Miller. It built upon the experimental foundations of Wilhelm Wundt and Jean Piaget. The focus was on information processing. Cognitive psychologists conceive of people as information processing systems whose mental operations can be described in computational and linguistic terms. At the diplomatic level, they might ask: Do some nations, leaders, and citizens (including our own) think and speak in predictable ways that can be changed for the better by cognitive restructuring or reorganization? Can their negative or undesirable thought or speech patterns be changed by reframing, revising, or convincing them to think and use language differently - perhaps to even remember differently? Can we change the way nations and their people think and believe by endeavoring to change the way they use linguistic or mental representations of things or by the way they process information? Can we better understand and work with other nations and their leaders and citizenry by looking into how they think and by trying to actively change their thinking? Possible PsyDip application areas: language services, Freedom of Information Act, dissent channel, information technology, telecommunications, publications, communications policy, policy planning, translations, State Magazine, propaganda, interviews, town halls, mission statements, information policies, debate, science, education, editorials, speeches, briefings, campaigns, media coverage, etc.
Evolutionary psychology was pioneered by Charles Darwin in his book, Descent of Man. It has been further developed by David Buss and Steven Pinker, among others from varied disciplines. The core idea of evolutionary psychology is that much of human behavior is generated by psychological adaptations that evolved to solve recurrent problems in human ancestral environments. Consistent with the process of natural selection, the idea is that humans have inherited certain adaptive, hard-wired capacities such as that of language, emotional intelligence, a preference for healthy mates, fears of spiders and snakes, etc. In short, we have what we have because of our evolutionary context and survival needs for given ecologies. At the diplomacy level, an evolutionary psychologist might ask: Are some nations/leaders/peoples (including our own) more evolved than others for certain niches/domains/times? Are some nations/leaders/peoples evolved in different and unique ways relative to others? What evolutionary baggage do we all carry? Are some nations/leaders/people more homogenous or more heterogeneous than others and does this affect their or our capacity or capabilities for interaction? Should we tailor our approach to a given nation/people by taking into consideration their literal or figurative DNA, sexual/reproductive/matching behavior, or traits we see them select among themselves? Can we find a use for a given literal or figurative genetic or memetic/social mutation we observe? Can we engage in literal or figurative selective matching of characteristics we deem desirable by connecting previously disparate players in the population? Can we better understand and work with other nations and their leaders and citizenry by looking into how evolved they are, literally or figuratively, in either broad terms or terms specific to a particular domain/task? And most importantly, how can we analyze our human behavior in animal terms but not succumb to thinking that is all we are and can possibly be? In short, how can we both acknowledge our capacity for brute nature and at the same time rise above it? Possible PsyDip application areas: AIDS, diversity visa, relationship-based visas, resettlement, science, Tuberculosis, conflict, war, war crimes, domestic violence, women's rights, economic and political competition, nationalism, ethnic cleansing, gene mapping/therapy, physical and social viruses, population dynamics, overpopulation, population control, information flow, physical and psychological diversity awareness/appreciation, peace accords, law enforcement, economics, aggression, law, medical ethics, biotechnology, human genome project, etc.
As you can see, psychology has a lot of bold questions. What you do not see here is the incredible amount of detailed research that has gone into and come out of each of these traditions, to one degree of experimental rigor or another. Most professional psychologists publish in esoteric journals reviewed only by peers in the field and read only by professionals and students in the field. This posting is an initial attempt to bring together what they have to offer diplomacy so that further connections can be explored for their potential. Not all psychology matters will apply to diplomacy of course, but a great many will, as most diplomacy is carried out by individuals - individuals with individual minds - the stuff of psychology. Often connections emerge over time as their considerations become relevant in contexts which we later take for granted. As Sigmund Freud said, "the voice of the intellect is a soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing."
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