The study of the psychological and emotional factors that underlie conflicts and affect conflict resolution, including topics such as identity, motivation, and emotion management.
Conflict Resolution: Understanding the process of resolving conflicts through mediation, negotiation, arbitration, and nonviolent communication.
Trauma: The impact of war and conflict on psychological health, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other trauma-related disorders.
Aggression: The causes and consequences of aggressive behavior, from individual acts of violence to wider social and political conflict.
Power Dynamics: The ways in which power structures and hierarchies influence conflict, including issues of dominance, control, and oppression.
Identity and Group Conflict: The roles of identity, including race, ethnicity, and religion, in creating and resolving conflicts.
Cultural Diversity: The ways in which culture influences conflict, including the importance of cultural understanding and cross-cultural communication.
Communication: The role that communication plays in creating and resolving conflict, including strategies for effective communication in high-risk situations.
Leadership: The qualities that make effective leaders in conflict situations, including negotiation skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to manage complex situations.
Human Rights: The importance of human rights in conflict, including the history of international human rights law and the role of human rights organizations in conflict resolution.
International Conflict: The dynamics of international conflict, including the role of the state, diplomacy, and international law.
Peace psychology: This type of psychology of conflict studies is concerned with the causes and effects of war and conflict, as well as strategies for promoting peace, reconciliation, and non-violent conflict resolution.
Social psychology of conflict: This field of study examines the social factors that contribute to the escalation and resolution of conflict, including group dynamics, communication patterns, and intergroup relations.
Trauma psychology: This area of psychology of conflict studies focuses on the psychological effects of war and conflict, including trauma, PTSD, and other mental health conditions that arise from exposure to violence and other stresses.
Political psychology: This field of study explores the role of psychology in shaping political behavior and decision-making, including the psychological factors that contribute to the escalation and resolution of conflict.
Military psychology: This area of psychology of conflict studies is concerned with the psychological factors that influence military behavior, including the impact of combat stress, leadership dynamics, and combat decision-making.
Cross-cultural psychology: This field of study explores the cultural dimensions of conflict, including the impact of cultural differences and similarities on the escalation and resolution of conflict.
Developmental psychology of conflict: This type of psychology of conflict studies examines the psychological processes that occur during different stages of development, including childhood trauma, adolescent identity formation, and adult decision-making.
Humanitarian psychology: This area of psychology of conflict studies focuses on the psychological aspects of humanitarian work, including the psychological impact on relief workers, and the psychological effects of aid on survivors.
Environmental psychology of conflict: This field of study explores the ways in which human behavior and the natural environment contribute to conflict, including the psychological impact of environmental disasters and climate change.
Strategic psychology of conflict: This type of psychology of conflict studies examines the psychological factors that contribute to strategic decision-making in conflict settings, including the impact of cognitive biases, heuristics, and decision-making under uncertainty.