A huge step towards understanding the psychology of conflicts.

Abstract

This book is ''the missing link'' between the studies of nonviolence and the field of psychology. The author has, for 25 years, studied and published important contributions to the understanding of the nonviolent sides of human nature. For the minority within the growing peace research society, who care more about peace than war, this is a valuable source of deep thinking to understand the psychological dimensions of peaceful behavior. Kool-a Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York, who has written several classic books on the psychology of nonviolencetakes the reader through the main schools of psychology and discusses, with deep knowledge, their relevance for understanding how nonviolent behavior can be understood as a human reaction in certain situations.For psychologists, this volume opens doors to the lesser known world of nonviolent activities in social conflicts. As a complement to the enormous number of works on aggression and violence, Kool offers a focus on the constructive, peaceful, and creative reactions for humans in conflicts.The problems of understanding and measuring nonviolence are discussed in detail, and several methodologies are examined. Based on his own Nonviolence Test and other methods, Kool provides the reader with an unusual and nuanced picture of the complexity of nonviolence as an important human response to stressful pressure and as a way to handle conflicts.