About Ervin Staub
Ervin Staub
I am a Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the Founding Director of its Ph.D. concentration in the Psychology of Peace and Violence. My work has been driven by my journey—born in Hungary, I lived through Nazism and communism, experiencing firsthand the devastation of oppressive systems. At 18, after the defeat of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, I escaped to Vienna, and later to the United States, where I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Minnesota and earned my Ph.D. at Stanford University. I have had the privilege of teaching at Harvard, Stanford, the University of Hawaii, and the London School of Economics.
My research explores the factors that lead individuals and societies toward helping, altruism, and moral courage, as well as those that drive people into violence, genocide, and terrorism. I have studied how violence progressively unfolds, the role of passive bystanders, and the pathways to prevention and reconciliation. In my efforts to foster active bystandership, I have sought ways to empower people to intervene in harmful situations, whether in communities, schools, or policing systems.
I have authored several books that encapsulate my research and fieldwork, including:
- Positive Social Behavior and Morality (Volumes 1 & 2, 1978–79)
- The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence (1989)
- The Psychology of Good and Evil: Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others (2003)
- Overcoming Evil: Genocide, Violent Conflict, and Terrorism (2011)
- The Roots of Goodness: Inclusive Caring, Moral Courage, Altruism Born of Suffering, Active Bystandership, and Heroism (2015)
- A California police training initiative after the Rodney King incident, aimed at reducing unnecessary force.
- A New Orleans police department program that has received national attention and led my associates to create ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement) https://www.law.georgetown.edu/cics/able/. To date, our group has trained over 420 police departments across the country, with some other countries introducing the training as well.
- Teacher programs fostering caring and non-violent classrooms.
- In Amsterdam, working with the city government to improve ethnic Dutch and Muslim Dutch relations after violence between the two groups.
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A Training Active Bystanders program in Western Massachusetts equips students to address peer mistreatment.
- Starting in 1999, I worked extensively in Rwanda and Burundi, in collaboration with Laurie Anne Pearlman, conducting workshops and trainings to promote healing, reconciliation, and violence prevention. In collaboration with Radio La Benevolencija (https://www.labenevolencija.org/), we produced long-running educational radio dramas, broadcast for over 20 years in Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The programs received the UN Human Rights and Accountability award.
- I have also served as an expert witness, including at the Abu Ghraib trials, and lectured widely in academic, governmental, and international forums.
My contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including:
Award for the book Overcoming Evil: Genocide, Violent Conflict and Terrorism
2012
Kurt Lewin Award
2019
Chancellor’s Medal
Psychologists for Social Responsibility Anthony J. Marsella Prize for the Psychology of Peace and Social Justice
(2011)
Max Hayward Award
Lifetime Contributions to Peace Psychology Award
August 2002
My work has been widely featured in media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Oprah Magazine, NPR, BBC, Discovery Channel, and PBS, as well as many local radio programs. The Roots of Evil inspired a three-part television series, which aired internationally.
