Social psychology, history, and the study of the Holocaust

The perils of interdisciplinary “borrowing”

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12438733
AutoresJovan Byford (0000-0002-3493-1394, The Open University, autor de correspondencia), Cristian Tileaga (0000-0003-3652-7616, Loughborough University)
Año2014
Volumen20
Número4
Páginas349-364
Fecha de publicación2014-09-22
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPeace and Conflict Journal of Peace Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1078-1919 • E-ISSN: 1532-7949
EditorialAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1037/pac0000054
OpenAlexW2036059938
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas31

The article offers a critical examination of “borrowing” as a form of interdisciplinary engagement between psychology and history. This is where specific insights from one discipline are used (often selectively) by the other to shed light on a specific problem regarding experience, human motivation, or behavior. Using two studies on the social psychological aspects of the Holocaust as relevant examples, the article highlights some of the epistemological and conceptual tensions implicit in this form of interdisciplinarity. These include the role of narrative and emplotment in historical reconstruction, the relationship between texts and historical context, the role of discourse and interpretation, and the tension between universalism and particularism. The article considers the different ways in which some of these challenges could be overcome in future research, and how one might take the interdisciplinary study of the Holocaust, but also other instances of mass crimes and genocide, beyond selective “borrowing.”

History of psychology · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Social science · Sociology · The Holocaust · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Cultural Differences and Values · Law · Psychology · Social Representations and Identity