The example of former communist Eastern Europe shows that there are many individual and sociopsychological consequences that still have effects today. This chapter summarizes concepts and findings on ‘historical traumas’ that describe such long-lasting effects. The focus is on the side of the victims and their family descendants and thus also on the moral heirs of the dissidents (e.g., the Russian NGO Memorial). Analogous to developments in psychotraumatology, increasing knowledge in this area can explain psychosocial pathologies but also help develop effective remedies. This includes the development of a culture of remembrance, sociotherapeutic interventions, and increased sensitivity towards those patients and clients who have such a personal legacy. Unlike in other regions of the world with historical trauma, there were no ‘truth and reconciliation commissions’ in which victims and perpetrators interacted directly. A principle of these commissions was that victims could speak out about their politically inflicted suffering and that former perpetrators would face up to their responsibility.

Does power trigger hubris? We consider the effects of having power and the role of dispositions of power-holders on hubris and self-serving behaviour. Drawing on field and experimental research, we demonstrate that having power biases people’s self-concept in a hubristic manner. Power elevates confidence in oneself, one’s perceived competence and heightens self-esteem. Consequently, people in power communicate in a decisive and assertive manner, and so they are influential and have advantages in negotiations. Many feel entitled, take less advice from others, and neglect others’ perspectives. Crucially, the ways power affects people depends on power-holders’ dispositions and goals. People with dominant and hubristic inclinations are more likely to strive for, and reach positions of power. Such self-selection processes enable bad apples to emerge at the top, exuberating the dark side of hubristic behaviour often seen in the high echelons.

Life can take curious turns. I (CC) would have never thought I would do a PhD. Some years later, I would have never thought I would edit a book. In fact, I did not deem myself able to do either. Tilmann Habermas inspired me to do both. His teaching and mentoring guided me toward the professional path I took and transformed me into the researcher I am today.

This shorter chapter focuses on one groundbreaking bio-psycho-social network meta-study related to historical trauma in the virtual absence of social science studies. It centers on studies on health and associated health disparities in diaspora populations with migrants from India and Pakistan of the second and third generations. Topics are suicide rates of South Asian women, somatoform symptoms and disorders, and physical health conditions like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In addition, an anthology is included on psychiatric, historical, and literary science case studies in which one chapter analyzes the metaphorical use of ‘madness’ as a description of the historical events. It presents small-scale studies from microeconomics on the impact of education, the autoethnography of cultural mourning, and a psychological experiment that examines social identity theory in relation to mutual rejection between Hindus and Muslims. As potential remedies, various forms of commemoration are examined, as they have evolved in India and in the diaspora over the last decade.

Children’s autobiographical memories and life stories are shaped in early interactions with parents. I integrate findings from two longitudinal cohorts of New Zealand children from toddlerhood (age 1.5 years) to young adulthood (age 21 years): Origins of Memory, a longitudinal correlational study (N = 58), and Growing Memories, a longitudinal intervention study (N = 115). Findings show that mothers’ elaborative reminiscing with young children, especially open-ended elaborative questions and confirmations, is critical for children’s later autobiographical memory and narrative skills. In adolescence and young adulthood, children with highly elaborative mothers reported earlier memories. Building on their richer memory bank, they also told turning-point narratives with stronger causal links between past and present selves. Moreover, they reported better well-being. Based on these findings and those from Habermas’ MainLife study, I propose an integrative theory of life story development that details how and why mothers’ elaborative reminiscing leads to causally coherent life stories and better well-being for their young adult children through enriching their autobiographical memories.

Chapter 1, the introductory chapter, outlines the development of psychotraumatology or traumatic stress studies, in which the author was also partly involved. It traces how it came about that the author Brave Heart and others have been presenting concepts on historical trauma since the early 2000s. An operationalized definition with two basic criteria and five consecutive criteria is presented. The following eight contexts from all parts of the world are presented and their selection justified. The first four are typical configurations of historical trauma because they fulfil all the criteria without exception. The last four historical traumas fulfil only some of the criteria, but are each particularly revealing, for example when it comes to the minimization of the victim narrative for political reasons. The method of the coupled scoping review for the book is explained and the target groups of readership are described.

In contemporary discourse hubris is usually adduced as a dangerous state of mind, a form of pride or over-confidence which leads to downfall. This has its origins in the view once conventional among classicists that for ancient Greeks hybris was an arrogant disposition, offending the gods by exceeding mortal limits. This did not accommodate the fact that in many Greek states hybris was the term for a serious criminal offence, usually involving violence or sexual abuse. My Hybris (1992) successfully located the concept within the category of ‘honour’, and it is now widely agreed that hybris involved both arrogance and dishonouring behaviour towards others. Disagreement, however, persists over the balance to be struck between the two. This chapter reviews the debate, partially revises my earlier account (which underplayed the dispositional element) and insists that other-directed behaviour is equally essential to the concept. Using case studies from Sophocles and Herodotus, it concludes by restating the crucial distinction between hybris and related, but not necessarily pejorative, expressions such as pride or ‘thinking big/unmortal’ thoughts.

The final chapter of the book offers a reflection on the overarching dimensions that guided the selection of the eight Historical Trauma contexts. Here, the emphasis is placed on the concept of multi-directional memory, a notion derived from memory studies that can be employed to circumvent victimhood competition. Selected concepts related to the HT definition criteria are compared across the different contexts. To this end, a series of flowcharts were developed to illustrate the historical trajectories of the concepts discussed in the book, including conspiracy of silence, victim identity, and value compilations. The comparison of social pathologies and reconciliation is given a broad scope. The concept of healing is addressed, and it is noted that the social and cultural science literature has been reticent to engage in discussions about the reasoned use of the concept that is consistent with evidence-based health interventions and comprehensive psychological and holistic approaches. The outlook addresses the prolificacy of the concept of historical trauma, and the potential dangers associated with its overuse.