A Look at PsySR Programs

Robert Fettgather, PhD, joined Mission College in 1983 and continues to teach psychology courses as an associate faculty member. In addition to his academic work, Robert Fettgather, PhD, is a member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility.

As an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR) operates with a mission of promoting the ethical application of psychological knowledge and research in pursuit of peace and social justice. The group has established a wide range of programs to fulfill this mission.

The organization’s Human Rights and Psychology program has been designed to address human rights violations around the world, which range from mass killings to ethnic and gender-based violence, as well as the suppression of various personal freedoms and civil liberties. Programs explore not only the psychological processes associated with initiating and maintaining these human violations, but the surrounding psychologies that legitimize these behaviors and transgressions.

The PsySR program for Violence, War, and Their Alternatives is similar to the Human Rights and Psychology program, but focuses on how the violence and destruction of war impacts nations and communities, as well as individual citizens. The program is centered around the concept of developing alternative strategies for large scale conflict resolution.

Additional PsySR programs include Peace-Building and Reconciliation, Social Health, Justice, and Well-Being, as well as Climate Change, Sustainability, and Psychology. To learn more about programs or membership, please visit the organization online at psysr.net.