Overview

What kind of person is the state-sanctioned torturer? Under what conditions do governments use torture and violence against their own citizens? The Psychological Origins of Institutionalized Torture shows that under the right conditions even the most righteous among us can become torturers and killers. Approaching the subject through applied social psychology, the book links research on the torturers of the Greek military dictatorship and their victims to psychological studies of authoritarianism, conventionalism, social learning and cognitive theory. Original research, including interviews with former Greek torturers, is supplemented by discussion of former studies, military records and other sources, to provide disturbing but valuable insights into the psychology of torture. The book describes parallel situations such as the rites of passage in pre-industrial societies and cults, elite Corps military training and college hazing, eventually concluding that the torturer is not born, but made. Of essential interest to academics and students interested in social psychology and related disciplines, this book will also be extremely valuable to policy-makers, professionals working in government, and all those interested in securing and promoting human rights.

Full Product Details

9780415282765

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Mika Haritos-Fatouros is Professor of Psychology at the University of Thessalonica, Greece. She studied psychology and psychotherapy at universities in London, Oxford and Thessalonica, and has held visiting appointments at universities in the USA, Europe and Australia. She is President Elect of the European Association of Counselling and Honorary President of the Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims in Thessalonica. She has published works on the subjects of psychotherapy, populations in crisis, women's issues and the psychology of state torturers, and is co-author of the forthcoming book on 'Violence Workers', which will be published by University of California Press.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available