One important recurring finding in these studies supports Suedfeld's general philosophy that human beings are far more resilient than is typically believed. Contrary to widespread misconceptions, Suedfeld's research shows that survivors on the whole have adapted very well in terms of mental health, family and social relations, occupational success, and contributions to society as a whole. These findings are typified by, but not exclusive to, the following publications:

Suedfeld, P. (2002) Life after the ashes: The postwar pain, and resilience, of young Holocaust survivors. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Center for Advanced Studies (pp. 1-24). Washington, D. C.

Suedfeld, P. (Ed.) (2001). Light from the ashes: Social science careers of young Holocaust refugees and survivors. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Suedfeld, P. (1997). Reactions to societal trauma: Distress and/or Eustress. Political Psychology, 18, 849-861.

Suedfeld, P., Krell, R., Wiebe, R., & Steel, G. D. (1997). Coping strategies in the narratives of Holocaust survivors. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 10, 153-179.

Current Projects

• Attributional Style of Holocaust Survivors

  Attributional style is just one of many psychological variables that have been addressed in Suedfeld's past and present Holocaust survivor questionnaire studies. In general, these studies examine whether having survived the Holocaust has long-lasting effects on attributional style, coping strategies, affiliation, self and social definition, etc. In the specific case of attributional style, this past study examined survivors' rationalizations of the causes of post-Holocaust life events. Some of this research has been done using the videotaped interview (archival) data as well (see the CAVE research description below).

• Perceptions of Ethnopolitical Conflict

  Still in the planning stage, this project may involve one or more studies, using scenarios (role-playing) dealing with conflict, prejudice, persecution, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and civil war within nations that contain several ethnic/religious/language groups. The current plan is to look at the variables that people consider relevant in the avoidance or occurrence, course, and termination of violent or nonviolent confrontations, the role of governments in escalating or defusing conflict, the role of third-party intervention (e.g., by the UN), etc.

• Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

  Though already completed, this study is a good example of the type of archival research that is conducted in Suedfeld's laboratory. Newly-recorded video interviews with 30 survivors and 10 reliability videos were scored for Erik Erikson's 8 stages of psychosocial development. The goal was to assess whether or not survivors successfully dealt with the eight stages. Survivors were divided into three groups by age: Child, Adolescent, and Adult, with analyses conducted to see if they had different ways of dealing with the 8 stages.

• Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations: CAVE

  Also newly completed, this study scored the Holocaust survivor interview tapes for survivors' attributional styles. That is, how survivors explain the causes of certain events that they mention during the tapes. For more information about CAVE, see the work of Dr. Martin Seligman, the creator of the scoring system.

• Holocaust Rescuers

  This study is designed to look at different psychological aspects of people who rescued or hid Jewish people during the Holocaust.

• Women's Narratives

  This study looks at five different psychological aspects of women who have lived through tumultuous and dangerous times (e.g., women Holocaust survivors, women slaves, women during wartime, etc.). The study examines integrative complexity, attributional style, motive imagery, self and social definition, and psychological stances toward the environment. Other variables may be incorporated as the research progresses.