The images that the United States and the Soviet Union hold of one another may play a large role in perpetuating the nuclear arms race. Although many psychologists are unaware of it, much research has been done on the psychology of U.S. images of the Soviet Union. This work has been done from a variety of psychological perspectives, including psychodynamic, cognitive, developmental, and social.
... [Show full abstract] Here, I describe the results of this research, discuss the theoretical and methodological issues that have arisen, and suggest a number of questions that need to be answered. Finally, I argue that psychologists have not only the capability but also the responsibility to further understanding of the processes that lead the people of one nation to exaggerate the threatening aspects of another nation and to apply this understanding to the mutual enemy images of the superpowers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
