Thanks for visiting my website! Over the past forty years, I’ve been a practicing clinical, research, and political psychologist. My current work focuses on applying psychological knowledge to issues of social justice and social change.
I am a member of the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology, a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, and the former executive director of the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania.
My new book — Doing Harm: How the World’s Largest Psychological Association Lost Its Way in the War on Terror — from McGill-Queen’s University Press is now available in hardcover or as an ebook from McGill-Queen’s University Press, Bookshop.org, Amazon, and other outlets. In Doing Harm, I recount the struggle that has pitted leaders of the American Psychological Association, set on preserving strong ties to the U.S. military-intelligence establishment, against dissident psychologists committed to prioritizing do-no-harm principles. More broadly, I examine the challenges that professional organizations face whenever powerful government agencies turn to them for contributions to ethically fraught endeavors. More HERE!
My 2018 book — POLITICAL MIND GAMES: How the 1% Manipulate Our Understanding of What’s Happening, What’s Right, and What’s Possible — examines how members of the “billionaire class” use self-serving psychological appeals to maintain their wealth and power at the expense of the rest of us. It’s available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, other online outlets, and neighborhood bookstores. Recently, I’ve also made a free PDF version available for download here.
Over my career, I’ve also written dozens of scholarly articles published in a variety of leading academic journals. In more recent years, my efforts have turned toward writing for a broader audience. In addition to my popular Psychology Today blog, my writing has appeared in outlets such as the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and Counterpunch.
I received my undergraduate degree from Princeton University and my doctorate in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I hope you find my work of interest!