Rethinking conflict through a psychological lens

A major new exhibition is to present a unique perspective on how humans start, experience and make sense of the conflicts that have shaped and shattered our world. Opening at Imperial War Museum London, War and the Mind (27 September 2024 - 27 April 2025) features over 150 objects from IWM's collections, offering unique psychological insights into conflicts spanning more than 100 years. 

Newly acquired objects, photographs, artworks, personal documents, official reports and archive films enhance the research projects and curatorial insights that underpin the exhibition's exploration of psychology and its importance to war.

Laura Clouting, Lead Curator of War and the Mind, said: 'War is often thought of in physical terms - its violence and destruction. But arguably, its most significant impacts are psychological. Group identity - 'us' versus 'them' - shapes the hatred and hostilities that cause and sustain conflict. Each person's emotional experience of conflict is unique, from fears to thrills, from endurance to despair. Human thought, emotion, and behaviour are critical to why humans start, fight, endure, and end wars. War and the Mind asks visitors to rethink conflict through this psychological lens.'

IWM expanded on some of the items in the exhibition, in relation to those stages of war…

Starting wars

War and the Mind explores the psychological dimensions that lead to conflict. Perceived differences create a sense of 'us' versus 'them'. Leaders legitimise and justify conflicts to mobilise their populations. People are persuaded, pressured, or forced to fight - and support - wars.

Even dedicated pacifists have changed their mind in the face of direct threat, as described in a letter from Winnie the Pooh author A.A. Milne. Recruitment posters have been used to inspire people to 'join up' based on hatred of the enemy for their perceived barbarity. Protest posters illustrate the fragility of public support for war, while testimony reveals some of the deeply-personal beliefs that drive people to risk their lives in conflict.

Fighting wars

War is an assault upon the senses. First-person testimony shows how going into battle can feel terrifying, or even thrilling. Camaraderie can buoy the will to 'keep going' in the most extreme environments, but battle causes severe stress. The psychological importance of morale and discipline is recognised by the armed forces. Objects on display include amphetamine tablets issued to Allied soldiers to help them overcome the debilitating psychological effects of fatigue, a sketch by Charles Thrale reflecting the mental strain endured by prisoners of war, and a newly-acquired mitten belonging to the baby son of an Avro Lancaster bomber rear gunner who carried it for comfort while carrying out dangerous operations during the Second World War.

Enduring wars

Civilians caught up in conflict must psychologically adjust to a brutal 'new normal' - violence, uncertainty, and separation from loved ones. Parents worry how war impacts upon their children's minds, and fear the dangers that threaten their lives - as reflected by this toy issued to children as part of NATO 'hearts and minds' operations in northern Afghanistan. A letter shows how some children were able to remain surprisingly stoic when separated from parents. Living in a state of threat and uncertainty can breed distrust and suspicion, as this poster alludes to. A Protect and Survive booklet issued in Britain in 1980 indicates how the government responded to the widespread terror caused by much-feared nuclear weapons and geopolitical tensions during the Cold War.

Ending wars

When war ends and the firing stops, it may prove difficult - if not impossible - to forgive or forget. War and the Mind's final section examines the psychological aftermath of conflict. For individuals who have lived through it, war's mental consequences can prove devastating. 

Although medical and societal understanding of war's role in psychiatric illness has gradually improved, stigma has complicated this process. This section will also look at the collective impact of mass bereavement in large conflicts, including the remembrance rituals and monuments  that have helped to soothe and console, and the ways psychologists like Stanley Milgram have sought to understand human complicity in mass murder.

A programme of activity

Throughout War and the Mind, cutting-edge UKRI research projects delve deeper into the psychology of conflict - from the use of drones in conflict and the front-line experiences of British armed forces in the Falklands War, to relationships with the enemy and the role of dreams, senses and memory during war.

Interrogating the many and varied psychological dimensions to war and conflict, War and the Mind invites visitors to question – Why do we go to war? How do we cope? And how do we make sense of the violence of war?

War and the Mind will be accompanied by a programme of activity at IWM London. A choir performance developed by veterans from Soldier Arts Academy and soprano Laura Wright in response to the exhibition's themes will be performed on Saturday 28 September to coincide with the exhibition's opening weekend. This will be alongside a 'Conflict Café', where museum visitors can spend time talking to veterans, civilian survivors of conflict and mental health practitioners who work with veterans. Throughout its run, War and the Mind will also be accompanied by expert talks, including a lecture day.

An immersive video installation exploring the psychological impact of drone warfare, will open on Thursday 7 November 2024, developed with Dr Beryl Pong, UKRI and Human Studios.

We hope to hear from Laura Clouting, and Edgar Jones, Professor in the History of Medicine & Psychiatry and a member of the exhibition's advisory panel, in a future edition.

War and the Mind is a free exhibition running 27 September 2024 – 27 April 2025. It is supported by UK Research and Innovation through the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Image: © The artist's estate (Art.IWM ART 15417 101) Watercolour, Executed for No Apparent Reason; a Study of the Mind or Something, Charles Thrale. On display in War and the Mind at IWM London.