Ethics of War and Peace

1. Ethics of War and Peace Why Wage War – Participating in Warfare Mrs. Kercher 8th Grade Gifted

2. What contribution has psychology made? • Explaining warfare • Participating in warfare/military objectives • The effects of warfare Take notes on each of these sections.

3. PARTICIPATION IN WAR • up to 1960s it was all about human resources • mass IQ testing • psychometric testing- matching skills to jobs • staff welfare designing plane controls/sex ed for soldiers

4. Use of Animals • Skinner trained pigeons to navigate missiles during WW2 • They learned to discriminate ships • Never used as too unreliable • Sea gulls were also trained to detect submarines • Classical conditioning was used to shape their behavior • Dogs and dolphins were trained during WW2 using psychological techniques to carry bombs and search danger zones • Dogs are used today like sniffer dogs to search dangerous buildings ( a dogs life is considered less valuable than a soldiers)

5. After 1960s • Change of direction- power of psychology realized by military • Think Guantanamo Bay and rendition (focus on terrorist prisoners) • Change of direction-psychological operations (psy ops) used to fight guerrilla fighters, terrorists • Interested in the effects of captivity interrogation techniques and brain washing • It is all very secret! Most information comes out of USA but by no means the only country using psy ops or the worst country • Watson (1980) - reviewed 7,500 studies

6. Japanese Prisoners of War Study • Japanese not prepared for numbers so guards left to develop own strategies/control • POW camps were crowded, dirty; there was no food and they were worked until died • Torture was common- beatings/stand in sun/pull out nails/prop eyelids open in sun • Afterwards former POWs showed a lack of emotional response, were depressed, and had impaired memory and poor concentration • A study of the effects of captivity, of physical hardship/brutality. • Interesting for psychologists from both points of view- the guards and the prisoners.

7. Zimbardo (1970) Stanford Prison Study • Linked to brutality of Japanese guards in WW2-not civilian prisons • Prison simulation/ abandoned • Funded by US navy • Surprise arrest like POW/hostage • Depersonalisation-hoods • Creativity of guards • Numbers not names (POW)

8. Interrogation • In some armies, military offense to collaborate- not going to tell the enemy their secrets • Torture not that effective • Soldiers trained to withstand pain and die before they divulge anything • Military now more interested in psychological techniques

9. Brain Washing • Korean War 1950s • 7,000 US POWs- about 1/3 collaborated and made propaganda films for Koreans • Harsh prison conditions- indoctrination sessions • Many Americans died but none of Turkish did • Why was this? Interesting to psychologists

10. PY3 Ethical Issues Military Applications Propaganda • Research into the process is difficult as hard to detect- the best propaganda is undetectable • Includes mild distortions of already held views and persuasive stories. Psychological processes are important here such as perception, attention and attribution. • Conducting cultural analysis- makes it more powerful -hit right buttons. Often psychologists do this in anthropological studies. • Power lies in control of media-e.g.. Gulf War Hometown News Program • The USA in Iraq avoid estimates of Iraqi casualties • Nazis and Jews- Jews were to blame for Germany’s economic problems • British propaganda Germans ate babies, boiled enemies for soap, raped women

11. Reflect • Write down your thoughts so far on this topic. • How should psychologists be involved in warfare? • Are psychological explanations of warfare meaningful and useful? • What ethical issues are there with psychologists involvement in war?