Cheryl Koopman

Publication Details

• The psychology of denial in the political context: The case of torture.

  Reicherter, D., Aylward, A., Student, A.,, Koopman, C.. The psychology of denial.. 2010: 1-40

  The psychology of denial is examined within the political context. We use the issue of state-sanctioned torture to expand the psychological concept of denial beyond cognitive and psychoanalytic psychology to include factors drawn from social and political psychology. Historical and political perspectives are also incorporated, as are intra-psychic perspectives. The political issue of torture is an interesting focus for expanding the psychological understanding of denial because although torture is not legal in any country, it is practiced in two-thirds of the world’s nations (Amnesty International, 2001). State-sanctioned torture is conducted with the implicit (if not explicit) support of each nation’s government. However, no countries publicly acknowledge that their governments sanction torture, and its occurrence is often rigorously denied. This chapter focuses on three manifestations of the denial of torture: 1) denial that torture is sanctioned; 2) denial of self-serving political motivations for sanctioning torture; and 3) denial of the humanity of the victims of torture. An analysis of these manifestations suggests a complex model is needed for understanding the psychology of denial in the political context. Several components of this model are drawn from psychoanalytic and information-processing perspectives. Constructs from cognitive psychology also include schema, e.g., the enemy image, and scripts, e.g., “the ticking time bomb scenario.” Additional components merit inclusion for understanding how denial operates in relation to torture, e.g., deindividuation; and social norms. Therefore, a consideration of the psychology of denial in relation to torture highlights a number of social psychological and societal factors that should be included in a model of the psychology of denial in the political context.