The psychology of superheroes : an unauthorized exploration

265 Pages·2008·2.69 MB·English

by  Rosenberg, Robin S., Canzoneri, Jennifer

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oTher TiTles in The Psychology of PoPular culTure series
The Psychology of The Simpsons: D’oh!
The Psychology of Harry Potter:
An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived
The Psychology of Survivor:
Leading Psychologists Take an Unauthorized Look at the Most
Elaborate Psychological Experiment Ever Conducted … Survivor!
The Psychology of Joss Whedon:
An Unauthorized Exploration of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly
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edited by
Robin S. Rosenberg, Ph.D.
with Jennifer Canzoneri
an unauThorized exPloraTion
BENBELLA BOOKS, iNc .
Dallas, Texas
ThiS puBLicATiON hAS NOT BEEN prEpArEd, ApprOvEd, Or LicENSEd By ANy ENTi-
Ty ThAT crEATEd Or prOducEd ThE BATMAN, SpidEr-MAN, SupErMAN, ANd X-MEN
prOpErTiES.
“The positive psychology of Superheroes” © 2008 by christopher peterson and Nansook park
“The Social psychology of the Justice League of America” © 2008 by Wind Goodfriend, ph.d.
“Superman’s personality” © 2008 by robin S. rosenberg, ph.d.
“Anti-heroism in the continuum of Good and Evil” © 2008 by Michael Spivey, ph.d., and Steven
Knowlton
“positive psychology of peter parker” © 2008 by robert Biswas-diener
“prejudice Lessons from the Xavier institute” © 2008 by Mikhail Lyubansky, ph.d.
“When i Grow up i Want to Be a Superhero” © 2008 by Bryan J. dik, ph.d.
“is There a Superhero in All of us?” © 2008 by peter A. hancock and Gabriella M. hancock
“Mind-reading Superheroes” © 2008 by William J. ickes, ph.d.
“An Appetite for destruction” © 2008 by chuck Tate, ph.d.
“The Stereotypical (Wonder) Woman” © 2008 by chuck Tate, ph.d.
“What Would Freud Say?” © 2008 by Andrew r. Getzfeld, ph.d.
“coming to Terms with Bizarro” © 2008 by Siamak Tundra Naficy
“coping with Stress . . . the Superhero Way” © 2008 by Stephanie r. deLusé, ph.d.
“Arkham Asylum” © 2008 by Bradley J. daniels
“The incredible hulk” © 2008 by christopher J. patrick, ph.d., and Sarah K. patrick
“Gender Typicality and Extremity in popular culture” © 2008 by Kerri L. Johnson, Leah E. Lurye,
and Jonathan B. Freeman
“cracking the Superhero’s Moral code” © 2008 by peter deScioli and robert Kurzban, ph.d.
Additional Materials © 2008 by robin S. rosenberg, ph.d.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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Library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
The psychology of superheroes : an unauthorized exploration / edited by robin S. rosenberg, with Jen-
nifer canzoneri.
p. cm.
iSBN 1-933771-31-3
1. conduct of life. 2. heroes--psychology. 3. Typology (psychology) 4. Self-actualization (psychol-
ogy) i. rosenberg, robin S. ii. canzoneri, Jennifer.
BF637.c5p83 2008
741.5'9019—dc22
2007041418
proofreading by Kristy d. dennis and Jennifer canzoneri
cover design by Laura Watkins
cover illustration by Big Time Attic
Text design and composition by John reinhardt Book design
printed by Bang printing
distributed by independent publishers Group
To order call [phone]
www.ipgbook.com
For special sales contact robyn White at [email protected]
conTenTs
inTroducTion 1
Robin S. Rosenberg, Ph.D.
The PosiTive Psychology of suPerheroes 5
Christopher Peterson and Nansook Park
The social Psychology of The JusTice league of america 19
Wind Goodfriend, Ph.D.
suPerman’s PersonaliTy 29
Robin S. Rosenberg, Ph.D.
anTi-heroism in The conTinuum of good and evil 51
Michael Spivey, Ph.D., and Steven Knowlton

PosiTive Psychology of PeTer Parker 65
Robert Biswas-Diener
PreJudice lessons from The xavier insTiTuTe 75
Mikhail Lyubansky, Ph.D.
When i groW uP i WanT To Be a suPerhero 91
Bryan J. Dik, Ph.D.
is There a suPerhero in all of us? 105
Peter A. Hancock and Gabriella M. Hancock
mind-reading suPerheroes 119
William J. Ickes, Ph.D.
vi the psychology of superheroes
an aPPeTiTe for desTrucTion 135
Chuck Tate, Ph.D.
The sTereoTyPical (Wonder) Woman 147
Chuck Tate, Ph.D.
WhaT Would freud say? 163
Andrew R. Getzfeld, Ph.D.
coming To Terms WiTh Bizarro 175
Siamak Tundra Naficy
coPing WiTh sTress. . . The suPerhero Way 187
Stephanie R. deLusé, Ph.D.
arkham asylum 201
Bradley J. Daniels
The incrediBle hulk 213
Christopher J. Patrick, Ph.D., and Sarah K. Patrick
gender TyPicaliTy and exTremiTy in PoPular culTure 229
Kerri L. Johnson, Leah E. Lurye, and Jonathan B. Freeman
cracking The suPerhero’s moral code 245
Peter DeScioli and Robert Kurzban, Ph.D.
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Robin S. Rosenberg, Ph.D.
inTroducTion
WhEN i WAS GrOWiNG up in New york city in the 1960s and
1970s, i read the comics of lots of different superheroes—whatever i
could borrow. But i reserved my allowance money for Superman and
Batman comics. As i got older i stopped reading comics, although
my admiration for superheroes continued into adulthood—i avidly
and repeatedly watched their films.
Time passed, and i had children; as they began to read i introduced
them to comics—Batman and Superman, naturally. in turn, they intro-
duced me to the X-Men, which they heard about from their friends.
We would read the comics together. Between reading comic books dur-
ing my childhood and reading them with my children, something hap-
pened that altered how i viewed them, something more than becoming
an adult—i became a clinical psychologist. in reading the superhero sto-
ries with my children, i read the stories not only through adult lenses,
but also through psychologist lenses. And what i saw was a surprise.
As an adult, i saw that superhero stories are about morality and
loyalty, about self-doubt and conviction of beliefs. i also saw that, like
1
2 the psychology of superheroes
any good fiction, the sagas of superheroes bring us out of ourselves
and connect us with something larger than ourselves, something
more universal. Moreover, in our superheroes’ foibles, struggles, and
triumphs, we can see elements of our own foibles and struggles, and
hope for our triumphs.
As a psychologist, i spotted the ways in which their stories reflect
psychological theories and research findings. For instance, in the wake
of witnessing his parents’ brutal murder, Bruce Wayne decides to dedi-
cate his life to protecting innocent lives. Thus was Batman born. psy-
chological research suggests that the underlying process of the birth of
Batman isn’t farfetched and is, in fact, common: After people have ex-
perienced a traumatic event, they often struggle to make meaning of
the experience, and one such path is through social action.
Superheroes also serve as models of moral behavior. They try to fig-
ure out the “right” path to take in a given situation: When—if ever—is
it okay to lie in the service of a greater good? When should violence
or the threat of violence be used as a punishment? When should it be
used as a deterrent? how much force is “too much?” how can a small
band of people fight against the never-ending parade of criminals? And
how can people maintain hope in the face of such adversity?
These are questions that most of us have grappled with and tried
to answer at various points in our lives; i did as a child, and i still do.
As a child, i found it illuminating that Batman and Superman often
had different answers to these moral questions. But from each su-
perhero’s struggles and actions, i had the opportunity to learn some-
thing about myself, as you may have learned about yourself through
your favorite superhero’s struggles. Their moral journeys serve as
models for our own journeys. We get to “try on” a view of morality
or style of leadership by immersing ourselves in a superhero’s story;
in trying it on, we get to see how well it fits or doesn’t fit. psycholo-
gists call this process of learning through observing others observa-
tional learning. Through observing others, we learn something that
we can apply to ourselves.
The essays in this volume help to illuminate how superheroes re-
flect—or don’t reflect—what we have learned from psychology. As
you read these essays, i hope you discover, as i did, that learning
about relevant psychological research and theories and applying
introduction 3
them to superheroes can enrich your experiences with the comic
book characters.
This book investigates psychological theories and research results
as applied to superhero phenomena large and small. On the “small”
scale, this volume includes essays that focus on the psychology of
the person, or in this case, the superhero. Many of these essays ex-
amine the psychological implications of having superpowers:
• What it is like to live with super-senses, super-abilities, and su-
perpowers (“is There a Superhero in All of us?”; “Mind-read-
ing Superheroes”; “The incredible hulk”);
• Living and coping with Superstresses (“The Positive Psycholo-
gy of Superheroes”; positive psychology of peter parker”; “cop-
ing with Stress . . . the Superhero Way”);
• Ways that the environment shapes and motivates superheroes
(“Superman’s personality”; “An Appetite for destruction”; “com-
ing to Terms with Bizarro”; “cracking the Superhero’s Moral
code”);
• Ways that super-abilities and superpowers influence the superhe-
ro’s mission in life (“When i Grow up i Want to Be a Superhero”)
and the moral dilemmas faced (“Anti-heroism in the continuum
of Good and Evil”).
in fact, in our own way, each of us experiences a version of these
same qualities and experiences, as these essays point out.
Other essays in this volume focus on larger elements—on the psy-
chology of groups, institutions, and societies:
• How groups, such as the Justice League of America, function
(“The Social psychology of the Justice League of America”);
• Issues of discrimination (“Prejudice Lessons from the Xavier In-
stitute”);
• Issues related to gender (“The Stereotypical [Wonder] Woman”;
“Gender Typicality and Extremity in popular culture”);
• Issues related to mental illness and its treatment (“What Would Freud
Say?”; “Arkham Asylum”).
4 the psychology of superheroes
in terms of specific superheroes, this book has something for ev-
eryone. The psychologist authors cast a wide net and included many
different characters. Within these essays are discussed (in alphabeti-
cal order): Aquaman, the Avengers, Batman, Blade, captain Marvel,
daredevil, Fantastic Four, the Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern,
hellboy, the hulk, the incredibles, Justice League of America, Mys-
tery Men, plasticman, the punisher, Spider-Man, Star Trek and Star
Wars characters, Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman, and the X-Men.
Enjoy!