Harvard students may know Assistant Professor of Psychology Jordan B. Peterson as the entertaining lecturer with the Canadian accent who taught Psychology 17, "Introduction to personality."

But few may know that Peterson studies aggression arising from drug and alcohol abuse and first got interested in psychology by reflecting on the Cold War.

Peterson--who now teaches Psychology 2435, "Social identity, Social Conflict, and Information Processing Theory"--has developed a reputation for being an engaging and enthusiastic teacher.

"Anyone who's taking his class can immediately recognize that he's teaching beyond the level of anyone else," psychology concentrator Hassan H. Lopez '95 says.

Naom: L. Reid '97, a psychology concentrator, says that the most notable thing she noticed about Peterson was "the way he synthesized information. he didn't just talk about the theories, but he talked about some of his own ideas and different sources of information."

Aside from calling Peterson "the perfect thesis advisor," Lopez says the professor is always throwing out interesting ideas for students to work on.

Students, including Alisa N. Kendrick '97 say Peterson's wide breadth of knowledge allows him to create "beautiful" theories linking together ideas from mythology, religion, philosophy and psychology.

"Philosophy students even go to him for advice on these," Lopez says.

The multi-disciplinary approach Peterson takes in the classroom apparently extends to the undergraduate theses he oversees, which have included studies on body piercing and the borderline pathology associated with Kurt Cobain, the late lead singer of the rock band Nirvana.

Lopez notes that Peterson is willing to take on any research project, no matter how unconventional. His lab examines everything from pain sensitivity to loneliness to aggression among adolescents.

"If you have a strange project, [the department] will immediately send you to [Peterson] because they know he'll take them," Lopez says.

Peterson seems to pride himself on being able to integrate psychology with the humanities.

"The connection between psychology, mythology and literature is as important as the connection between psychology and biology and the hard sciences," Peterson says.

An Early Interest in Politics

Much of Peterson's current research stems from his early interest in politics and international affairs.