Peter Suedfeld

University of British Columbia | UBC ·  Department of Psychology

Despite growing interest in resilience research, there is a notable gap in understanding the psychological characteristics predicting resilience in individuals who have experienced extreme adversity. The present study examines narratives of Ukrainian survivors of Soviet concentration camps, or GULAG (ГУЛАГ—Глaвное Управлeние исправительно-трудовых...

This chapter reports the results of a comparison between how presidents Trump and Biden think about other countries and their leaders, and how this relates to each president’s worldview and policies. The comparison is based on content analyses of presidential speeches, interviews, and other texts. Content analysis provides nonreactive measures of a...

This study investigated the dynamics of stress and recovery responses and their relationships with perceived environmental mastery during one-year of polar winter-over expeditioners in distinct environmental conditions of sub-Antarctic and Antarctic polar station. The findings of multilevel analysis suggested that the several stress and recovery re...

Democracy was forged in the furnaces of oppression, whether combatting tyranny or affirming the rights of the individual. As democracy is under threat in many parts of the world, there has never been a more urgent need to understand political thoughts and behaviours. This lucid and accessible book brings together a global group of scholars from psy...

It is the task of political psychology to examine political behaviour from a psychological or socio-psychological perspective. Its topics include the analysis of political elites, especially their personalities, motives and actions, political leadership, foreign policy decision-making processes, international and ethnic conflicts and their pacifica...

A white paper with the Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA). This paper uses content analysis of verbal materials attributed to Vladimir Putin to assess changes in his thinking and personal threat profile, in relation to international events and changes in his foreign policy.

This paper has two major parts. The first recounts the beginning and growth of the friendship between Siegfried Streufert and Peter Suedfeld, who in the mid‐1960s were graduate students in Harold M. Schroder's social psychology laboratory at Princeton University. Each continued to develop a different line of theory and research on cognitive aspects...

Life in Isolated and Confined Extreme (ICE) environments poses important challenges and constraints and therefore to human adaptation and more particularly to the processes of psychological adaptation (PAP). Contemporary models view psychological adaptation as a dynamic process of constant adjustment to the environment, encompassing changes in phys...

Grounded within a multidimensional and multilevel approach, the aim of this study was to investigate the time course of Psychological Adaptation Process (PAP) dimensions (social, emotional, occupational, and physical) during one-year polar winter-overs in Subantarctic and Antarctic stations. The effects of perceived control (PC) at the start of pol...

PALINKAS, L.A., and P. SUEDFELD. Psychosocial Issues in Isolated and Confined Extreme Environments. NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV (1) XXX-XXX, 2020. Psychosocial elements of behavior and performance will significantly impact the outcomes of long duration missions in space, ranging from individual and team decrements to positive benefits associated with suc...

This chapter reports the results of two studies using different versions of thematic content analysis. The analyses are based on speeches made by Donald J. Trump before and since ascending to the presidency. Applying a variety of metrics, the research examines the content, structure, and implications of Pres. Trump’s texts covering US foreign polic...

President Donald J. Trump’s “America First” outlook has inspired both enthusiasm and condemnation among different segments of the American population. This book examines the meaning and implications of that perspective, and how the Trump Administration has implemented it—or failed to do so. Contributors, subject-matter experts with diverse points o...

Over the last 2 decades, we have begun to gain traction on the neural systems that support creative cognition. Specifically, a converging body of evidence from various domains has demonstrated that creativity arises from the interaction of two large-scale systems in the brain: Whereas the default network (DN) is involved in internally-oriented gene...

The data presented in this article relate to the research article entitled “assessing psychological adaptation during polar winter-overs: The isolated and confined environments questionnaire (ICE-Q)” [1]. These data were acquired in order to develop a standardized instrument – the ICE-Q – designed to assess psychological adaptation within isolated,...

A white paper with the Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA). Governments continue to pour money into deradicalization programs with the goal of rehabilitating violent extremists. Are there lessons in psychological theory and research, and in historical examples, from which current-day programs could benefit? In this paper we highlight lessons tha...

The paper deals with the structural analysis of self-representations of cosmonauts who have finished their flight careers. Self-representation is a central formation of ego-consciousness while profession and family are two important spheres of the human realization and formation, line of development. The authors consider how veteran cosmonauts repr...

A white paper with the Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) In order to gain a quantified, evidence-based picture of decision-making tendencies of Chinese industrial, technical, economic, and political leaders, the UBC research group assessed the integrative complexity and motivational hierarchy of high-level figures in government and (ostensibly...

Missions in isolated, confined and extreme (ICE) environments often require small heterogenous crews to live and work in close proximity for long periods of time. Identifying the personal characteristics that makes someone suitable for this type of deployment and might explain how they communicate and cooperate with others is crucial for mission su...

A white paper with the Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) Executive Summary: The UBC research group assessed psychological processes of six DPRK leaders, including Kim Jong-un, using thematic content analysis for integrative complexity and motive imagery, and Profiler Plus® computer-scored measures of Belief in Ability to Control Events (BACE),...

Antarctic stations have for decades been used as research analogues of spacecraft, especially space stations such as Skylab, Mir, and the International Space Station. It is time to review this practice. True, the two environments generally share isolation, confinement, novelty, discomfort, danger, and remoteness. Assuming them to be analogues is at...

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note...

Despite physical and mental stressors in space capsule environments, almost all astronauts cope successfully with the demands of their careers (Suedfeld, Brcic, & Legkaia, 2009; Suedfeld, Brcic, Johnson, & Gushin, 2015). This study assessed astronauts' and cosmonauts' use of humor as a strategy for coping with the stressors encountered in training...

The space career requires numerous absences from the cosmonaut's family during training and spaceflight. Such absences mean missing important milestones, events, and celebrations in the lives of their children. This study assesses retired cosmonauts' views of actual and desired involvement with their children during their spaceflight career. The Fa...

This chapter reviews the effects of a special category of environments on cognitive and cognitive/ emotional processes. These extreme and unusual environments (EUEs) are characterized by drastic differences from the individual's accustomed milieu, and by posing serious challenges to well- being, health, and survival. There is a massive and wide- ra...

Motivational patterns have been shown to be related to outcomes such as occupational success and satisfaction, innovation, aggressiveness, cooperation, and conformity. They are likely to be important in adaptation to the demands of flying in a space crew. Autobiographical interviews with 20 retired long-duration male cosmonauts were scored for refe...

Jehovah's Witnesses in countries under Nazi rule refused to participate in war-related activities in any way. Consequently, unless they abjured their religion, they were subject to severe penalties. Between 6,700 and 7,000 were sent to concentration camps. In contrast to Jewish Holocaust survivors, not much research has been conducted on this group...

The article deals with methodology of studying cosmonauts'modes of narrating autobiography. Life story may contain information that can be interpreted by psychologist as a projection of such indicators of psychological well-being as self-attitude, self-consciousness, social behavior and life chances. In this context, it is alluring to study life ex...

Mark Wood, a British explorer who skied alone and unsupported to the Geographic South Pole in a 2011/12 expedition, made his exploration diary available for thematic content analysis (TCA). TCA comprises a number of scoring systems measuring various psychological processes, including aspects of cognition, motivation and personality. The diary entri...

The paper reports the results of investigating interpersonal perception by members of multinational space missions. Participants were 20 Russian cosmonauts aged 45 to 66 years who had completed the flight carrier after 1 to 5 missions. An author PSPA-test, a synthesis of the repertory grids and semantic differential, was applied. Content-analysis o...

Reviews the film, The Revenant directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (2015). This film is based on a novel by Michael Punke, itself based on an episode in the life of Hugh Glass, an explorer, scout, and guide in the American West. In 1823, while on a trapping expedition in what is now South Dakota, 33 members of his 50-man crew working for the Ro...

Psychology has a long history of basing its research on a restricted sample of human beings (to say nothing of other species); a recent examination of this tendency refers to our database as primarily drawn from people living in WEIRD societies (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic). In consequence, psychology’s position as a uni...

This study investigated time patterns and the relationships between perceived stress, recovery, control, attention lapses and defense mechanisms during a 12-month wintering in Concordia polar station with an international crew. Preventive psychological countermeasures should be developed to improve adaptation to ICE (Isolated, Confined, Extreme) si...

Coping is a dynamic physiological and psychological process in response to perceived environmental stress that functions to restore physiological homeostasis and reduce negative affect [1]. Thematic content analysis was employed for references to 13 well-established coping strategies in interviews with 20 retired long-duration male cosmonauts. As i...

This study investigated time patterns and the relationships between perceived stress, recovery, control, attention lapses, and defense mechanisms (DM) during a 12-month wintering in Concordia polar station with an international crew of 14 volunteers. This ICE (Isolated, Confined, Extreme) environment induced some stress, mainly in the social dimens...

Individuals operating at complex and at simple levels of conceptual structure played a tactical game for three ½-hr. periods. There was a negative relationship between information input and subsequent information search. Conceptually simple Ss, while generally requesting more information, wanted feedback about ongoing events; complex Ss requested i...

Conway, Conway, Gornick, and Houck (2014) report a major effort to automate integrative complexity coding. Judging this effort requires researchers to be more explicit in articulating key methodological assumptions about the coding process and theoretical assumptions about the construct. Unresolved issues include: (1) when, and on what basis, we sh...

A Quick Look Assessment by the Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) A multi-method assessment of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This report suggests potential types of actions and messages most likely to influence and deter Bashar al-Assad from using force in the ongoing Syrian civil war. This study is based on multidisciplinary analyses of B...

This article introduces Integrative Complexity (IC), a measure of cognitive structure drawn from the discipline of social psychology, and reports on the application of this technique to the problem of Qur'anic translation quality assessment (TQA). Specifically, the IC scoring method was used to score selected Qur'anic verses relating to either one...

To evaluate the relative reinforcement value of unpredictability and meaningfulness in sensory deprivation, Ss were allowed to button-press for visual stimuli after 0, 1.5, or 3 h of darkness and silence. Stimuli were proverbs, the same with words randomly arranged, or the same with letters randomly arranged. Increasing duration led to more pressin...

The cognitive processing of sentences as a function of stimulus and environmental factors was examined. Sentences were varied as to the number of modifiers per noun (difficulty) and self-embedded phrases (complexity). The experimental environment was 24 h of restricted stimulation, which was compared with a nondeprived control environment. The depe...

After the Space Age began as part of the national rivalry between the USSR and the United States, space exploration gradually took on a multinational character as both countries included astronauts from their respective allies, and eventually from each other, in their missions. This trend became institutionalized in the Shuttle-Mir program and in t...

A critique of one prearranged “response” changed Ss’ scores on two measures of conceptual complexity. The modifiability of these scores, not tested directly before, has implications for researchers in the area.

Pattern complexity was shown to interact with input rate in affecting information processing. Under high rate, Ss did better on simple than on complex problems; under moderate rate, the reverse was true. High-rate Ss also recalled fewer clues, and used a smaller proportion of the clues they did recall.

According to a "parasite stress" hypothesis, authoritarian governments are more likely to emerge in regions characterized by a high prevalence of disease-causing pathogens. Recent cross-national evidence is consistent with this hypothesis, but there are inferential limitations associated with that evidence. We report two studies that address some o...

Motivational arousal led to improved performance on simple problems without affecting performance on complex problems. It also resulted in increased utilization of clues. Its effects seem more specific than those of high input, and may be explicable in terms of arousal theory.

Reviews the book, The Oxford Handbook of International Psychological Ethics edited by Mark M. Leach, Michael J. Stevens, Geoff Lindsay, Andrea Ferrero, and Yeşim Korkut (see record 2012-18685-000 ). This collection, comprising 32 chapters and 490 pages, and involving 62 contributors affiliated with institutions in more than 20 countries, is a valia...

The objective of this chapter is twofold: (a) to review the current knowledge of cultural, psychological, psychiatric, cognitive, interpersonal, and organizational issues that are relevant to the behavior and performance of astronaut crews and ground support personnel and (b) to make recommendations for future human space missions, including both t...

Anecdotal evidence and qualitative research attest to the importance of work–family interactions pre-, during and post-missions. This study uses thematic content analysis to quantify characteristics of work–family interactions and how these changed by stage of cosmonauts’ career, identifying the effect of space career variables (e.g., time in space...

This handbook is the first to comprehensively study the interdependent fields of environmental and conservation psychology. In doing so, it seeks to map the rapidly growing field of conservation psychology and its relationship to environmental psychology. The Oxford Handbook of Environmental and Conservation Psychology includes basic research on en...

Salutogenesis and posttraumatic growth represent personal growth and improved functioning as a result of experiencing major challenging events. These developments are not simply resilience (a return to a baseline level of well-being), but positive change in such characteristics as self-understanding, relations with others, personal values, and life...

This handbook is the first to comprehensively study the interdependent fields of environmental and conservation psychology. In doing so, it seeks to map the rapidly growing field of conservation psychology and its relationship to environmental psychology. The Oxford Handbook of Environmental and Conservation Psychology includes basic research on en...

Predicting when political violence is likely to erupt is a major problem for international, national, and local governments and agencies. In this study, thematic content analysis (TCA) was used to measure integrative complexity (IC) and power motive imagery (PMI) in editorials written by the spokesman for President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. Decrea...

In 1996, I gave a CPA presentation in connection with receiving the Donald O. Hebb Award. The paper was entitled Homo Invictus: The Indomitable Species, and the topic was something that relatively few psychologists were studying: human toughness and the ability to benefit from stressful experiences. I used examples from my own research, which for d...

A two-week mission in March and April of 2011 sent six team members to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). MDRS, a research facility in the high Utah desert, provides an analogue for the harsh and unusual working condi-tions that will be faced by men and women who one day explore Mars. During the mission a selection of quantitative and qualita...

President Obama's weekly radio addresses to the nation during his first two years in office were scored using thematic content analysis (TCA). TCA is a method for deriving quantitative data from qualitative materials through the use of detailed scoring manuals applied to oral or written texts by trained, reliable scorers. We scored the addresses fo...

Peace and war (and intermediate conditions) are states or events that can involve the lives or deaths of hundreds of millions of people and most of the world. The debate about how to explain, predict, and influence their occurrence has engaged political leaders as well as scholars for centuries. Substantial progress in this enterprise could enable...

The flotation version of restricted environmental stimulation technique (REST) has been shown to improve perceptual-motor skills in sports and creativity in the sciences. We examined whether these effects would extend to jazz improvisation—an activity involving perceptual-motor coordination and creativity. College students enrolled in an intermedia...

According to the uncertainty model of opinion change, a persuasive message induces instability in the recipient's belief system. Opinion change is then a function of the degree of instability which has been induced. Subjects possess a repertoire of arguments to bolster beliefs which support their own attitudes, and another repertoire to refute mess...

Erikson (1959) proposed a theoretical basis for healthy psychosocial development. His theory posits eight critical conflict situations throughout one's lifetime, each of which can result in a favorable or unfavorable resolution. Autobiographies, memoirs, interviews, personal diaries, and oral histories of 97 international astronauts were content an...

Our study examines the personal and group values that appear in the communications of terrorist and non-terrorist groups. In the psychological literature, values are defined as “desirable, transsituational goals, varying in importance, that serve as guiding principles in people's lives” (Struch, Schwartz, & Van der Kloot, 2002, p. 16). They underli...

One hundred twenty-five astronaut autobiographies, interviews, and oral histories were content analyzed and scored for references to values (Schwartz, 1992). The current study extended methods tested in 2 pilot studies of space veterans from many nations, of both sexes, and with different experiences within the history of human spaceflight. Value r...

This article reviews over 30 years of research on the role of integrative complexity (IC) in politics. IC is a measure of the cognitive structure underlying information processing and decision making in a specific situation and time of interest to the researcher or policymaker. As such, it is a state counterpart of conceptual complexity, the trait...

Integrative complexity scoring was performed on almost 1250 paragraphs, whose source was the English transcription of materials produced by 14 Middle Eastern leaders between summer of 1990 and March, 1991. The data set was divided by leader, two levels of involvement in the Gulf crisis (high vs. peripheral), two political positions (adherence to pr...

The scoring of integrative complexity (IC) from archival materials has been shown to forecast outbreaks of war vs. peacefully negotiated agreements in a number of international crises. In scoring documents and other verbal materials released by national leaders and leadership groups, maintained or increased IC prior to the outcome of the confrontat...

The simulation and analogue environments used by psychologists to circumvent the difficulties of conducting research in space lack many of the unique characteristics of future explorations, especially the mission to Mars. This paper suggests that appropriate additional analogues would be the multi-year maritime and terrestrial explorations that map...

The first meeting of the Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP) Standing Review Panel (SRP) was held in Houston, TX on November 1-3, 2009. Our task was to assess the Integrated Research Plan (IRP) related to the fields covered in the SRP charge (see section VIII). Having considered and discussed the extensive materials distributed prior to the mee...

Measures of the cognitive complexity of leaders have been used to infer the flexibility, open-endedness, and information-orientation of their decision making in international and nonstate confrontations. At present, there are two major methods of "assessment at a distance" used in this context. One uses computer scoring to develop personality profi...

Authoritarianism is one of the most studied and most controversial concepts in personality, social, and political psychology. It also has wide usage in political discourse, as, for example, in the distinction between authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. It has entered the general vocabulary: a Google search finds more than one-and-a-half million...

The first part of this paper reviews the available sources of information relevant to predicting the psychological conditions of a voyage to Mars and back. These sources are simulations, environments created especially to resemble some aspects of the actual voyage, and analogues, environments that exist independently of the Mars mission but by thei...

Using integrative complexity scoring, the current study addresses how communications by leaders of India and Pakistan have revealed their information processing and decision-making strategies. The hostility between India and Pakistan started with the official creation of the two states and has lasted through more than a half-century. It has been ma...

Autobiographies, memoirs, interviews, and oral histories of 72 spaceflight veterans were content analyzed to assess reported coping strategies in each phase of space missions (before, during, and after the flight). Comparisons were made on the basis of: Home space agency, gender, historical era of spaceflight, longest flight duration, and number of...

This paper reviews psychological theories and quantitative research aimed at the explanation and prediction of decision-making by national and sub-national leaders. Inferences of the strategic intentions of leaders are based on the "assessment at a distance" of both their stable and changing cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes. The rev...