This introduction to the special issue traces the history of psychosocial concerns related to Ant... more This introduction to the special issue traces the history of psychosocial concerns related to Antarctic exploration, from the heroic age of early explorers through the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957 to 1958 to recent and current systematic research projects. The introduction discusses the organization and topics of international psychological investigations in polar stations and summarizes the articles that follow. Living in Antarctica imposes some unusual restrictions as well as opportunities, and it requires psychological adaptation to extreme environmental circumstances. The thrust of previous scientific and popular literature has been to focus on the negative effects of the situation and ignore the positive ones; however, ongoing studies are bringing about a more balanced view. Having an accurate understanding is important not only intrinsically and for appropriate application in the Antarctic itself but also in analogous extreme and unusual environments. These include extended space flight and space habitation, such as the projected voyage to Mars.
The neurological and psychological characteristics of adolescence make adolescents particularly v... more The neurological and psychological characteristics of adolescence make adolescents particularly vulnerable to recruitment tactics employed by fringe and antisocial groups. ISIL is not the first group to take advantage of adolescents’ vulnerabilities, but the group has become particularly adept at doing so. Undermining their influence among potential recruits in this age range requires an understanding of the adolescents’ state of mind and brain; counter-messages that are intuitively appealing to older adults may be ineffective, or even counter-productive among this audience. In particular, messages directed to adolescents should (1) focus on emotionally impactful messages instead of logical arguments, (2) avoid emphasizing the risks associated with joining ISIL, and (3) undermine ISIL’s claims to provide belongingness and peer affiliation and provide alternate means for social acceptance. Introduction On February 23, 2016 the government of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region repor...
This report suggests potential types of actions and messages most likely to influence and deter B... more 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 preliminary study is based on multidisciplinary analyses of Bashar al-Assad’s speeches, and how he reacts to real events and verbal messages from external sources. The results are summarized in a two-part report. Part I (this document) provides a preliminary summary, comparison of results, and recommendations. Part II gives a detailed description of each analytical approach. Data: The speeches used in the study were delivered by al-Assad from Jan 2000 to Sept 2013; the past six years was sampled most densely. Additional Twitter feeds were analyzed to gauge his influence in the region. Analytical Approaches: Five separate methods analyzed the speeches: (a) automated text analytics that profile al-Assad’s decision making style and ability to appreciate alternative viewpoints; (b) integrative complexity (IC) analysis that...
This introduction to the special issue traces the history of psychosocial concerns related to Ant... more This introduction to the special issue traces the history of psychosocial concerns related to Antarctic exploration, from the heroic age of early explorers through the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957 to 1958 to recent and current systematic research projects. The introduction discusses the organization and topics of international psychological investigations in polar stations and summarizes the articles that follow. Living in Antarctica imposes some unusual restrictions as well as opportunities, and it requires psychological adaptation to extreme environmental circumstances. The thrust of previous scientific and popular literature has been to focus on the negative effects of the situation and ignore the positive ones; however, ongoing studies are bringing about a more balanced view. Having an accurate understanding is important not only intrinsically and for appropriate application in the Antarctic itself but also in analogous extreme and unusual environments. These include extended space flight and space habitation, such as the projected voyage to Mars.
The neurological and psychological characteristics of adolescence make adolescents particularly v... more The neurological and psychological characteristics of adolescence make adolescents particularly vulnerable to recruitment tactics employed by fringe and antisocial groups. ISIL is not the first group to take advantage of adolescents’ vulnerabilities, but the group has become particularly adept at doing so. Undermining their influence among potential recruits in this age range requires an understanding of the adolescents’ state of mind and brain; counter-messages that are intuitively appealing to older adults may be ineffective, or even counter-productive among this audience. In particular, messages directed to adolescents should (1) focus on emotionally impactful messages instead of logical arguments, (2) avoid emphasizing the risks associated with joining ISIL, and (3) undermine ISIL’s claims to provide belongingness and peer affiliation and provide alternate means for social acceptance. Introduction On February 23, 2016 the government of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region repor...
This report suggests potential types of actions and messages most likely to influence and deter B... more 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 preliminary study is based on multidisciplinary analyses of Bashar al-Assad’s speeches, and how he reacts to real events and verbal messages from external sources. The results are summarized in a two-part report. Part I (this document) provides a preliminary summary, comparison of results, and recommendations. Part II gives a detailed description of each analytical approach. Data: The speeches used in the study were delivered by al-Assad from Jan 2000 to Sept 2013; the past six years was sampled most densely. Additional Twitter feeds were analyzed to gauge his influence in the region. Analytical Approaches: Five separate methods analyzed the speeches: (a) automated text analytics that profile al-Assad’s decision making style and ability to appreciate alternative viewpoints; (b) integrative complexity (IC) analysis that...
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