Human Behavior in Extreme Situations (Psych 4135) Koff 

Buchenwald Prisoners (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

This course will familiarize students with psychological theory and research that attempts to answer the question: What are the protective factors that help people who find themselves in an extreme situation respond constructively to the stress they must cope with?  Extreme situations are characterized by conditions that force individuals and groups to adapt themselves involuntarily, entirely, and with the greatest of speed. 

Readings are drawn from two sources (a) literature that describes extreme situations and human response to the trauma they cause (e.g., prisoner behavior in Nazi concentration camps, brainwashing of American soldiers during the Korean War, and response to a natural disaster and an airliner crash), and (b) research on potentially protective psychological variables such as coping and resilience.

This is the library course guide for Dr. Robert Koff's Psych 4135: Human Behavior in Extreme Situations course. Use the tabs above to help you locate articles, reference sources, books and websites for this class. Please note: This guide is not comprehensive and is meant as a starting point for your research.

Other, related guides you might find helpful are:

• Psychology
• Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology

I hope you find this guide easy to use. Please email Melissa Vetter, subject librarian for psychology, if you have any questions about this guide or anything related to the Libraries' services or resources.