Directors: Peter T. Coleman and Claudia Cohen
PETER T. COLEMAN, Ph.D.Director
Associate Professor of Psychology and Education
Program in Social-Organizational Psychology
Department of Organization and Leadership
Teachers College, Columbia University, Box 53
525 West 120th Street
New York, NY 10027
And
The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Tel.: (212) 678-3112; Fax: (212) 678-4048; Email: pc84@columbia.edu
Dr. Peter T. Coleman holds a Ph.D. in Social/Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. He is currently Associate Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University where he holds a joint-appointment at Teachers College and The Earth Institute and teaches courses in Conflict Resolution, Social Psychology, and Social Science Research. Dr. Coleman is Director of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) at Teachers College, Columbia University, Chair of Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (ACCCC), and a research affiliate of the International Center for Complexity and Conflict (ICCC) at The Warsaw School for Social Psychology in Warsaw, Poland. He has conducted research on ingroup/outgroup formation, the mediation of inter-ethnic conflict, intractable conflict, complexity theory and conflict, identity formation, moral emotions, ripeness and conflict, and on the conditions and processes which foster the constructive use of social power. In 2003, he became the first recipient of the Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association, Division 48: Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence. Dr. Coleman co-edits The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (2000; 2nd edition 2006), and has authored over 60 journal articles and chapters. He is also a New York State certified mediator and experienced consultant.
Selected Publications:
Nowak, A., Bui-Wrzosinska, L., Coleman, P. T., Vallacher, R., Borkovsky, W., and Jochemczyk, L. (forthcoming). Seeking sustainable solutions: Using an attractor simulation platform for teaching multi-stakeholder negotiation. Negotiation Journal.
Vallacher, R., Coleman, P. Nowak, A., Bui-Wrzosinska, L. (forthcoming). Dynamical foundations of intractable conflict: Introduction to the special issue. Peace and Conflict: The Journal of Peace Psychology.
Praszkier, R., Nowak, A., and Coleman, P. T. (forthcoming). Social entrepreneurs and constructive change: The wisdom of circumventing conflict. Peace and Conflict: The Journal of Peace Psychology.
Musallam, N., Coleman, P.T., and Nowak, A. (forthcoming). Understanding the spread of malignant conflict: A dynamical-systems perspective. Peace and Conflict: The Journal of Peace Psychology.
Coleman, P. T., Goldman, J., and Kugler, K. (2009). Emotional intractability: Gender, anger, aggression, and rumination in conflict. International Journal of Conflict Management, 20, 113-131.
Coleman, P. T., Hacking, A., Stover, M., Fisher-Yoshida, B, and Nowak, A. (2008). Reconstructing ripeness I: A study of constructive engagement in protracted social conflicts. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 26(1).
Coleman, P. T., Fisher-Yoshida, B., Stover, M., Hacking, A., and Bartoli, A. (2008). Reconstructing ripeness II: Models and methods for fostering constructive stakeholder engagement across protracted divides. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 26(1).
Liebovitch, L. S., Vallacher, R., Nowak, A., Bui-Wrzosinska, and Coleman, Peter, T. (2008). Dynamics of two-actor cooperation-competition conflict models. Physica A.
View Dr. Coleman's full CV here
CLAUDIA E. COHEN, Ph.D.
ICCCR Associate Director
Program in Social-Organizational Psychology
Department of Organization and Leadership
Teachers College,
525 West 120th Street
New York, NY 10027
Tel.: (212) 678-3112 | Fax: (212) 678-4048 | Email: ccohen@tc.edu
Dr. Claudia E. Cohen began her tenure as the Associate Director of the ICCCR in 2008. Dr. Cohen has spent her career exploring how to help overcome obstacles to interpersonal and inter-group cooperation and collaboration; this has included research into the cognitive processes underlying stereotyping, and the development of training to promote self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, leadership skills and team development. Her extensive experience as a conflict resolution practitioner (ombudsperson, mediator, conflict consultant and coach) has refined her understanding of the conditions and skills that lead to cooperation, collaboration and conflict transformation.
Dr. Cohen holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from UC San Diego, and has served on the faculties of Rutgers University and Stevens Institute of Technology (Adjunct Professor.) She has worked in Fortune 50 companies as an internal organization and leadership consultant, and as an ombudsman addressing employee conflicts. She has also delivered extensive training in communication, leadership and conflict resolution for small and mid-sized companies through grants from the State of NJ. Dr. Cohen is an experienced mediator, having worked with the EEOC and with the courts on both municipal and civil cases. She has consulted to nonprofits and NGOs, including educational institutions, religious communities, the ACLU and the UN.
She is thrilled to be leading a team embarking on a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project, with The Fortune Society. The Fortune Society a highly regarded, 40+ year old nonprofit organization that provides formerly incarcerated women and men with wraparound, “one-stop” services and supportive, “phased-permanent” housing. The PAR project team comprises ICCCR- affiliated scholars and practitioners and clients and staff from the Fortune Society. The purpose of the PAR is two-fold: 1) to embody the ICCCR’s commitment to social justice through using a research paradigm that is democratic and gives voice to disenfranchised individuals; 2) to create knowledge about how individuals choose alternatives to violence for resolving conflict and the roles of individual readiness, cultural immersion and culturally-appropriate pedagogy. This project is supported by AC4 – the Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity. Another research program ( in collaboration with Ken Kressel, Rutgers University- Newark) is on the impact of mediator style on mediator competency and disputant satisfaction and the role of various tensions resulting from rigid vs. flexible stylistic identity.
Dr. Cohen teaches ICCCR courses including Managing Conflict in Organizations and the Advanced Practicum II – Consultation on Conflict Management System Design. She is developing a pilot workshop on Conflict-Sensitive Pedagogy.
Selected Presentations & Publications:
Cohen, C.E., Kressel, K., (2010) “An Observational Study of Mediator Stylistic Orientation: Mediator Style Meets “Reality.” International Association of Conflict Management, Conference, June 24- 27, Boston, MA.
Cohen, C.E. (2010) “Be the Peace You Want to See in The World” (With Gratitude to Mahatma Gandhi): Five Practices for Strengthening Your Personal Peace-Building Capacity” Invited Presentation, UN Interagency Framework Team for Preventive Action. Hosted by: UNDP. April 23. United Nations, New York, NY.
Cohen, C.E. (2010) “Conflict in the Classroom – Parts I & II. A Framework for Conflict-Sensitive Pedagogy.” Invited Workshop, Diversity Series. February & March. Columbia University School of Social Work, New York, NY.
Cohen, C.E., Butts, T.S. (2009) “Mediator Style Inventory.” 46th Annual AFCC Conference. May 30. New Orleans, LA
Cohen, C.E. (2009) “Emotional Aspects of Peacebuilding and Reconciliation.” Invited Address. La Guardia Community College, Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Conference. May 11. Queens, NY.
Cohen, C.E. (2009) “You Can Get There from Here: Some Principles of Career Development that I Wish I had Know Then.” Invited Presentation, Psychology Department Symposium. April 21. Rutgers University – Newark. Newark, N.J.
Cohen, C.E. , Kahn, D., McGallicher, T., and Bigbie, C. (2008) Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding within the Department of State and USAID: Is There a Role for a U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence? (Draft)
Cohen, C.E. (2007) An Interesting ACR-GNY/NYSDRA Conference. New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators Newsletter. (ACRGNY is the Greater NY Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution and NYSDRA is the NY State Dispute Resolution Association.)
Cohen, C. E. (2004) When My Organization was the Client: Lessons Learned from Project-Managing a Future Search from the Inside.Future Searching, 28, 1- 12.
Cohen, C.E. and Tyson, D.L. (2001) Teaching Blind Men to See the Elephant. Knowledge Directions: Journal of the Institute for Knowledge Management 3 (2).
Cohen, C. E. (1981) Person categories and social perception: Testing some boundaries of the processing effects of prior knowledge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40. 441-451.
Cohen, C.E. (1981) Goals and schemata in person perception: Making sense from the stream of behavior. In Cantor, N. and Kihlstrom, J. (Eds.) Personality, Cognition and Social Interaction. Hillsdale, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Cohen, C. E. & Ebbesen, E.B. (1979) Observational goals and schema activation: A theoretical framework for behavior perception. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,15, 305– 329.
View Dr. Cohen's full CV here
