Ervin Staub

Who is Ervin Staub?

Ervin Staub is a Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is the Founding Director of the Doctoral program on the Psychology of Peace and Violence. He is most known for his works on helping behavior and altruism, and on the psychology of mass violence and genocide. He was born in Hungary and received his Ph.D. from Stanford. He later taught at Harvard University. He worked in many settings both conducting research and applying his research and theory. He worked in schools to raise caring and non-violent children, and to promote active bystandership by students in response to bullying, in the Netherlands to improve Dutch-Muslim relations, in Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo to promote healing and reconciliation. He has served as an expert witness, for example, at the Abu Ghraib trials, lectured widely on topics related to his work in academic, public, and government settings in the U.S. and other countries, and is the recipient of numerous honors.

His most recent book is Overcoming evil: Genocide, violent conflict and terrorism. 2011. New York: Oxford University Press.