Collateral Damage: The Psychological Consequences of America's War on Terrorism (Contemporary Psychology (Hardcover))

Color-coded terrorism alerts are issued, then lifted with no explanation. False alarms can, like crying wolf, desensitize people to a real need to be on alert. And that psychic numbing is just one effect discussed in this book by fifteen psychologists teamed up to take a critical look at the U.S. war on terrorism. These experts are led by the Chairman of an American Psychological Association task force charged with pinpointing the effect of our anti-terrorism efforts on American mental health. Together, they present the most up-to-date and intriguing picture we have of the fallout on our own people from our own programs. The text spotlights stereotyping of foreigners, increased domestic hate crimes, fear, depression and helplessness, as well as increased militancy and belligerence, especially among students. Perhaps most disturbing in the land of the free, we also see increasing acceptance of restrictions on our personal freedoms, and acceptance of human rights violations. Color-coded terrorism alerts are issued, then lifted with no explanation. False alarms can, like crying wolf, desensitize people to a real need to be on alert. And that psychic numbing is just one effect discussed in this book by fifteen psychologists teamed up for a critical look at the U.S. war on terrorism. These experts are led by the Chairman of the American Psychological Association task force charged with pinpointing the effect of our anti-terrorism efforts on America's mental health. Together, they present the most up-to-date and intriguing picture we have of the fallout on our own people from our own programs. The text spotlights fueled stereotyping of foreigners, increased domestic hate crimes, fear, depression and helplessness, as well as increasing militancy and belligerence, especially among students. Perhaps most disturbing in the land of the free, our attention is drawn to growing acceptance of restrictions on our personal freedoms, and acceptance of human rights violations. Contributors to this collection aim to give us a reality check, looking at what our national reactions to terrorism have been, how those reactions have affected the psyche of our people and whether this has made us stronger or weaker, and more or less likely to be the target for future attacks. Contents......Page 6 Foreword by Philip G. Zimbardo......Page 8 Acknowledgment......Page 12 Introduction by Paul R. Kimmel......Page 14 chapter 1 US & THEM: Moderating Group Conflict—A Track Four Diplomacy Program......Page 20 chapter 2 9/11 Aftershocks: An Analysis of Conditions Ripe for Hate Crimes......Page 38 chapter 3 Jujitsu Politics: Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism......Page 64 chapter 4 The Social Psychology of Punishing Dissent: Negative Reactions to Antiwar Views in the United States......Page 86 chapter 5 Untangling the Web: Threat, Ideology, and Political Behavior......Page 98 chapter 6 Perceptions of Threat, National Representation, and Support for Procedures To Protect the National Group......Page 128 chapter 7 Efforts To Prevent Terrorism: Impact on Immigrant Groups......Page 150 chapter 8 Psychological Effects of the Virtual Media Coverage of the Iraq War: A Postmodern Humanistic Perspective......Page 164 chapter 9 The Impact of U.S. Antiterrorism Interventions on Terrorist Motivation: Preliminary Research in Afghanistan and Iraq......Page 184 chapter 10 Cities of Fear, Cities of Hope: Public Mental Health in the Age of Terrorism......Page 208 Afterword by Chris E. Stout......Page 224 Index......Page 228 About the Series Advisory Board......Page 232 About the Editors and Contributors......Page 236 Foreword / Philip G. Zimbardo Introduction / Paul R. Kimmel US & THEM : moderating group conflict a track four diplomacy program / Stephen Fabick 9/11 aftershocks : an analysis of conditions ripe for hate crimes / Daniel J. Christie Jujitsu politics : terrorism and responses to terrorism / Clark McCauley The social psychology of punishing dissent : negative reactions to anti-war views in the United States / Bernice Lott Untangling the web : threat, ideology and political behavior / Rhoda Unger Perceptions of threat, national representation and support for procedures to protect the national group / Gordon Hodson, Victoria M. Esses, and John F. Dovidio Efforts to prevent terrorism : impact on immigrant groups / Nina K. Thomas Psychological effects of the virtual media coverage of the Iraq War : a postmodern humanistic perspective / Ilene A. Serlin The impact of U.S. anti-terrorism interventions on terrorist motivation : preliminary research in Afghanistan and Iraq / Michael Wessels Cities of fear, cities of hope : public mental health in the age of terrorism / Chris E. Stout and Stevan Weine Afterword / Chris E. Stout. "Led by the chairman of the American Psychological Association task force charged with pinpointing the effect of anti-terrorism efforts on America's mental health, these experts offer the most up-to-date picture available of the fallout of antiterrorism programs. That fallout, as discussed here, includes stereotyping of foreigners, increased domestic hate crimes, fear, depression and feelings of helplessness, as well as increasing militancy and belligerence, especially among students. Perhaps most disturbing in the "land of the free," is a growing acceptance of human-rights violations and restrictions on personal freedoms."--Jacket