The Psychology of Superheroes: An Unauthorized Exploration (Psychology of Popular Culture)

"The Psychology of Superheroes" by Robin S. Rosenberg (editor) is an outstanding collection of eighteen essays about the insights we can gain in human psychology by studying the behavior of comic book superheroes. Almost all of the authors are college professors or doctoral candidates in psychology who expertly blend their professional knowledge with their love of comics. The result is a clever, witty and intriguing book that should appeal to anyone interested in psychology or pop culture.Several authors dedicate their essays to studing how individual superheroes fit or deviate from standard psychological models and practices. For example, Christopher Patrick and Sarah Patrick contend that the Incredible Hulk suffers from a textbook example of reactive aggression triggered by the extreme physical and emotional maltreatment he suffered as a youth. Robert Biswas-Diener finds that the Spider-Man alter ego allows Peter Parker to gain encouragement through performance and an increase in personal happiness in general accordance with positive psychology theory. On the other hand, Bradley Daniels informs us that the insanity plea seems to be used far more frequently in the comics than in real life; and thankfully, no realworld mental institution exists that is as easily escapable as Gotham's notorious Arkham Asylum.The moral behavior of superheroes is discussed in several pieces. Peter DeScioli and Robert Kurzban compare and contrast the absolutist ethics of Superman with the more complex utilitarian ethics of Batman, who nonetheless retains a consistent sense of purpose to ensure socially just outcomes. Andrew Getzfeld suggests that The Punisher's moral outrage over the murder of his family compels him to engage in an extreme form of vigilantism that, unfortunately, would probably remain intractable even if he was afforded the benefit of intensive clinical treatment.Other articles shed light on the psychology of groups, institutions and society. Mikhail Lyubansky shows how the X-Men embody the ideology of tolerance and diversity within the walls of the Xavier Institute but are unfairly scapegoated for their enviable talents by human society. Chuck Tate studies the history of Wonder Woman to discuss how changing societal attitudes towards women has made the struggle to depict a strong, independent woman to remain a highly problematic task.These are just a few of the many remarkable essays contained in this fun, intelligent book. It is highly recommended to everyone.

I thought this would be like The Law of Superheroes, but it’s actually pretty boring. There’s less about “what makes Superhero X tick” and more about generic psychological phenomena. For example, they don’t talk about the Hulk’s relationship to rage or how to treat him. They talk about rage in general, using Hulk for their case studies and examples. It’s like they took their research and replaced real names with superheroes.They’re always talking about “positive psychology” and I don’t know what that is. At least they avoid any discussion of Freud, except in a satirical “what not to do” sense. Unless you know psychology, you won’t have a fun time with this. But if you were a doctor of psychology, you also wouldn’t learn anything new from this book. Like any collection of short stories or essays by multiple authors, the essays are going to be hit or miss.

I bought this book for a psychology class. There were other choice but my love of superheroes made me choose this one. I read only a few chapters of this but every theory was very interesting. I loved how it got into the mind of each hero and explained things I never even thought about! Very highly recommended.

Other than my enjoyment of watching superhero films, this book gave me so much confidence in my future goal of becoming a college professor. , I, even, found ideas I plan to use for my classes in urban sociology. These writers are, license, psychiatrist and psychologist who've taken a psychological aspect of the superhereos we've grown to love. I, even, found out about Frank Castle, whose story is quite a read. It is refreshing to know there are people, grown adults, who were able to find something more interesting than people fighting crime, or villians who want to create havoc. It was worth the read.

The book balances its knowledge of the comic characters it references along with the psychological theories equally in a fun easy going way. Great way to establish the different personality disorders and psychological prospective using established heroes as the examples

A collection of essays/research papers about various superheroes on psychological levels. That's a simplified version of what this book is but it's a very interesting read.

My husband and I are enjoying this book. However, it is not exactly what I was hoping it would be. I was so excited by the table of contents, lots of concepts into which I would love to dive deeper. It has been great for stimulating conversation but not as clever or intricate as I expected. It is not very well synthesized; it is a serious of essays on different superhero related topics. The essays were clearly written independently. The psychology is somewhat superficial, and the concepts are a bit simplistic. This is great for kids or superhero beginners. I would have enjoyed more in depth, provocative explorations. It just taps on a few psychology buzzwords and good questions without really answering much.

This is just what I was looking for. As the leader of Agile Writers I try to understand what makes a great "Hero". "The Psychology of Superheroes" gives me a look inside the heads of characters. This is going in my writer's utility belt!

A thoughtful approach for A' level Media/Film Studies. The price was good and the service swift.

Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit diesem Produkt. Es erfüllt (wenn nicht sogar übertrifft) meine Erwartungen absolut! Ich möchte es sehr gerne weiterempfehlen!