Research & Theory

Professor Peter Coleman's workgroup

Our scholarship and research focus primarily on the intractability of two related problems: 1) systems of violent, enduring conflict and, 2) systems of dominance and oppression. These phenomena can manifest themselves in families, schools and other organizations, communities, and nations. They tend to be extremely complex, long-lasting, and difficult to work with, and thus are relatively understudied by contemporary social scientists. Our approach to this research is to develop basic conceptual models that address gaps in existing theory, often through eliciting insights from informed participants (local stakeholders and practitioners), and then to empirically test the models using a variety of methods. Our applied scholarship bridges the theory-practice gap by bringing new insights from research to bear on important technical and social problems. This scholarship is primarily oriented to scholar-practitioners, leaders, and policy makers working to ameliorate protracted problems such as ethnopolitical conflicts within and between nations, polarized community conflicts over race relations, and ongoing patterns of violence and discrimination in schools. Our work on such problems has required us to integrate theory and research from different disciplines, and to employ multiple methods in our scholarship.

PETER T. COLEMAN, Ph.D.
ICCCR Director; Associate Professor
Dr. Peter T. Coleman holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Social/Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BA in Communications from The University of Iowa. He is currently Associate Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and teaches courses in Conflict Resolution, Social Psychology, and Social Science Research. Dr. Coleman is Director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) at Teachers College, Columbia University, and an affiliate scholar of the International Center for Complexity and Conflict (ICCC) at The Warsaw School for Social Psychology in Warsaw, Poland. He has conducted research on ingroup/outgroup formation, the mediation of inter-ethnic conflict, intractable conflict, identity formation, moral emotions, and on the conditions and processes which foster the constructive use of social power. In 2003, he became the first recipient of the Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association, Division 48: Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence. Dr. Coleman co-edited The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (2000; 2nd edition 2006), and has authored over forty journal articles and chapters. He is also a New York State certified mediator and experienced consultant.

CHRISTINE T. CHUNG, B.A.
Currently at Teachers College, Columbia University, Christine Chung is a masters student in the Social-Organizational Psychology Program.  She began her studies in psychology by earning her B.A. at Dartmouth College, following which she went on to participate in various research projects in clinical and organizational psychology.  These experiences helped to clarify her interests in conflict resolution and the intercultural issues that influence these dynamics.  To study such themes further, she engaged in the conflict resolution concentration at Teachers College.  She also worked as an intern at the Intercultural Communications Institute, where she trained in the use of the Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory and is working towards a Certificate in Intercultural Foundations.

LUKASZ JOCHECZYK , M.A.
Lukasz Jochemczyk received his M.A. in Economic Psychology at Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw. Currently he is developing his PhD under supervision of Prof. Andrzej Nowak at University of Warsaw. His scientific interests involve dynamical aspects of social psychology. In his research he particularly focuses on communication process in negotiation. He applies the paradigm of dynamically constructed semantic networks. He has considerable didactic experience. He teaches or has taught: negotiation, environmental negotiation, assertiveness, time management, computer skills and a couple of courses devoted to teaching skills. Currently he holds a Fellowship in Complexity and Conflict from the ICCCR to study at Teachers College. Privately he flies gliders.

JOSIE L. KAYE, M.A.
Josie Lianna Kaye graduated in Political Science from the University of Nottingham and recently obtained a Masters in International Affairs from Sciences Po, Paris. She is currently undertaking a second Masters at Columbia in order to concentrate more specifically on International Conflict Resolution and African Studies. Her field work experience, working mainly with grass-roots NGOs, has been concentrated in Ghana, Togo, and Mali. While her main geographic area of interest is Africa, she recently returned from Tajikistan where she was making a documentary film on the peace process, and Afghanistan where she was working with the UNDP on border security issues. Her main research interests are centered around analyzing peace processes through the lens of reconciliation in order to construct models which give insight into both the content and processes that can help sustainable peace and reconciliation to emerge. She also has a strong research interest in United Nations peacekeeping operations and the way in which decisions are made through the Security Council. As Program Assistant at CICR she is responsible for helping to coordinate and elaborate the three core elements of CICR activities: field programs, research and teaching. She also runs small association that helps orphans in Togo to obtain an education.

KATHARINA KUGLER, Dipl.-Psych. (M.A.)
Katharina Kugler is a doctoral student in psychology at the University of Munich, Germany. Currently she holds a Fellowship in Complexity and Conflict from the ICCCR to study at Teachers College and to work as a Research Assistant for Professor Coleman at the ICCCR. Katharina Kugler received her “Diplom” (combined B.A. and M.A.) in Psychology of the University of Munich, Germany. During her graduate studies she studied for one year at Teachers College, holding a Fulbright Scholarship. Her main research interest is in the role of emotions in conflicts. She contributed previously to a series of studies, which elaborated on how the experience of humiliation fuels intractable conflicts. Currently her research concentrates on conflicts within organizations, employing the dynamical systems theory approach.

ADAM MITCHISON, B.A.
Adam holds a BA in Psychology from Hartwick College, New York, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2007. At Hartwick Adam was named a faculty scholar and was the recipient of the Outstanding Scholar/Athlete award after captaining Hartwick’s soccer program for 2 years. He is a first year Doctoral student in the Social/Organizational Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. As an undergraduate Adam received funding to complete his thesis research on the roles self efficacy and outcome expectancy play in mediating performance. Adam’s interests are mainly applied in nature and he is interested in using his training in a variety of areas ranging from organizational consulting, sports psychology and conflict resolution.

NAIRA MUSALLAM, M.A.
Naira Musallam received her B.A. in Psychology and Journalism from Tel Aviv University in 2000. She has held various positions in Israel/Palestine including working with the Adler Research Center for Child Welfare and Protection, where she conducted research assessing the psychological impact of ethnopolitical conflict on various sects of the Palestinian and Israeli populations, has worked with the Mar Elias Educational Institutions dedicated to building peace through education, and has worked with Amnesty International. She was awarded by the U.S. State Department the Israeli-Arab Scholarship to earn her Master’s degree in the United States. Ms. Musallam has completed her M.A. in Psychology and Education with a concentration in Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University. Ms. Musallam served as the Vice President of the Educational Society for Middle East and North Africa at Columbia University and has interned with the International Center for Transitional Justice and the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution.

RAFI NETS-ZEHNGUT, Ph.D
Rafi Nets-Zehngut is a Ph.D. candidate (final year) in the Political Science department at Tel Aviv University. His research interests focus on conflicts: mostly collective memory of conflicts and also reconciliation and healing. He has been and is involved in various local and international activities and research projects that deal with peace and co-existence. He has authored or edited about 15 publications and is also an Israeli certified lawyer.

WOUTER DE RAAD, M.A.
Wouter is a PhD student at the faculty of psychology of the University of Warsaw where he is part of Andrzej Nowak’s research team. He received his MA from Maastricht University in the Netherlands. During his studies in the Netherlands he got intrigued by Nowak’s dynamical systems approach to social psychology and got in contact with him. Currently he is working on a dynamic model of cross-cultural interaction. He employs computer simulations to analyze the dynamic properties of interacting groups. Currently she holds a Fellowship in Complexity and Conflict from the ICCCR to study at Teachers College.