This book compares the influence of the period leading up to World War II and of the war itself on the discipline of psychology in two major, but very different countries. During the 1930s, Soviet psychologists were formally isolated from developments in Western psychology by the ideological requirements of the Communist Party; in the United States, a vast variety of topics was being researched. When the war began, the discipline in the Soviet Union turned increasingly toward specialized topics, such as the rehabilitation of the wounded, ways to improve morale, and the psychological basis of color-camouflage. American psychologists, on the other hand, applied their psychometric and clinical skills to military needs. With the coming of "glasnost," American and Russian psychologists were able to collaborate to create the first thorough examinations of the state of wartime psychology in these countries. Of interest to all students and researchers of the history of psychology, psychological theory, and the history of World War II.

The study of psychology for the uses of the state, for industrial/labor purposes, for dealing with individual and ethnic tensions has a long history in Russia. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian psychologists and scholars of the discipline from outside Russia have had the opportunity to reexamine the directions the discipline took as well as the directions likely to result from the new academic and political environments. This volume brings together many of the leading figures in contemporary Russian psychology, who show how the discipline got to where it is and examine what may result in the future.

The volume begins with essays examining historical background; next the writers look at the period from 1985-1994 and its impact on research opportunities. This discussion is followed by a review of the major theoretical viewpoints and issues in contemporary Russian psychology. By bringing together many of the leading figures in Russian psychology, readers and researchers in psychology have a unique insight into the state of the discipline and its likely future directions.