What Happens To Our Minds During Pandemics, Natural Disasters, Terrorist Attacks, and Other Extreme Calamities? Whether natural or man-made, local or global, disasters impact our thinking and behavior on both a personal and societal level. Even rather ordinary crises in our personal lives like the loss of a job or the end of a relationship trigger overwhelming feelings. At the societal level, group anxieties coupled with the moral pressure to conform can send us all down the path to ruin. Why does this happen and, through understanding human psychology, how can we prevent this in the future? In this highly original and engagingly written book, Author Christopher J. Ferguson examines how pandemics, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other events of mass hysteria impact our psychology and prevent us from adequately responding to, preventing, or learning from those calamities. From the rush to hoard toilet paper during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, to the disconnect between procedure and practice surrounding massive wildfires, to debates about the science behind climate catastrophes, and shifts after traumatic events like 9/11 and the murder of George Floyd, The Psychology of Catastrophe uses in-depth case studies to reveal how moments of societal upheaval affect the psychology of citizens. Though we have often failed to predict, respond to, and learn from catastrophes, we have nonetheless made remarkable progress. Ferguson concludes by offering strategies to help us make better choices during crises in our own lives and providing solutions for how we as a society can better navigate misfortune in the future.

This book addresses the ongoing scientific debates regarding video games and their effects on players. The book features opposing perspectives and offers point and counterpoint exchanges in which researchers on both sides of a specific topic make their best case for their findings and analysis. Chapters cover both positive and negative effects of video games on players' behavior and cognition, from contributing to violence and alienation to promoting therapeutic outcomes for types of cognitive dysfunction. The contrasting viewpoints model presents respectful scientific debate, encourages open dialogue, and allows readers to come to informed conclusions. Key questions addressed include: * Do violent video games promote violence? * Does video game addiction exist? * Should parents limit children's use of interactive media? * Do action video games promote visual attention? * Does sexist content in video games promote misogyny in real life? * Can video games slow the progress of dementia? * Are video games socially isolating? Video Game Influences on Aggression, Cognition, and Attention is a must-have resource for researchers, clinicians and professionals as well as graduate students in developmental psychology, social work, educational policy and politics, criminology/criminal justice, child and school psychology, sociology, media law, and other related disciplines.

This book addresses the ongoing scientific debates regarding video games and their effects on players. The book features opposing perspectives and offers point and counterpoint exchanges in which researchers on both sides of a specific topic make their best case for their findings and analysis. Chapters cover both positive and negative effects of video games on players' behavior and cognition, from contributing to violence and alienation to promoting therapeutic outcomes for types of cognitive dysfunction. The contrasting viewpoints model presents respectful scientific debate, encourages open dialogue, and allows readers to come to informed conclusions. Key questions addressed include: * Do violent video games promote violence? * Does video game addiction exist? * Should parents limit children's use of interactive media? * Do action video games promote visual attention? * Does sexist content in video games promote misogyny in real life? * Can video games slow the progress of dementia? * Are video games socially isolating? Video Game Influences on Aggression, Cognition, and Attention is a must-have resource for researchers, clinicians and professionals as well as graduate students in developmental psychology, social work, educational policy and politics, criminology/criminal justice, child and school psychology, sociology, media law, and other related disciplines.

A campus shooting. A gang assault. A school bus ambush. With each successive event, fingers are pointed at the usual suspects: violent films, bloody video games, explicit web sites. But to what extent can-or should-the media be implicated in youth crime? And are today's sophisticated young people really that susceptible to their influence? Adolescents, Crime, and the Media critically examines perceptions of these phenomena through the lens of the ongoing relationship between generations of adults and youth. A wealth of research findings transcends the standard nature/nurture debate, analyzing media effects on young people's behavior, brain development in adolescence, ways adults can be misled about youth's participation in criminal acts, and how science can be manipulated by prevailing attitudes toward youth. The author strikes a necessary balance between the viewpoints of media providers and those seeking to restrict media or young people's access to them. And the book brings scientific and intellectual rigor to culturally and politically charged issues as it covers: Violence in the media. Media portrayals of crime and youth. Research on violent television programs, video games, and other media as causes of crime. Effects of pornography on behavior. Public policy, censorship, and First Amendment issues. Adolescents, Crime, and the Media is an essential resource for researchers, graduate students, professionals, and clinicians across such interrelated disciplines as developmental psychology, sociology, educational policy, criminology/criminal justice, child and school psychology, and media law.

A campus shooting. A gang assault. A school bus ambush. With each successive event, fingers are pointed at the usual suspects: violent films, bloody video games, explicit web sites. But to what extent can-or should-the media be implicated in youth crime? And are today's sophisticated young people really that susceptible to their influence? Adolescents, Crime, and the Media critically examines perceptions of these phenomena through the lens of the ongoing relationship between generations of adults and youth. A wealth of research findings transcends the standard nature/nurture debate, analyzing media effects on young people's behavior, brain development in adolescence, ways adults can be misled about youth's participation in criminal acts, and how science can be manipulated by prevailing attitudes toward youth. The author strikes a necessary balance between the viewpoints of media providers and those seeking to restrict media or young people's access to them. And the book brings scientific and intellectual rigor to culturally and politically charged issues as it covers: * Violence in the media. * Media portrayals of crime and youth. * Research on violent television programs, video games, and other media as causes of crime. * Effects of pornography on behavior. * Public policy, censorship, and First Amendment issues. Adolescents, Crime, and the Media is an essential resource for researchers, graduate students, professionals, and clinicians across such interrelated disciplines as developmental psychology, sociology, educational policy, criminology/criminal justice, child and school psychology, and media law.

Offering a unique and interdisciplinary focus on the roots of violence, Violent Crime: Clinical and Social Implications explores cutting-edge research on the etiology, nature, assessment, and treatment of individuals who commit violent crimes. This edited volume covers the foundations of criminal behavior, offers a balanced discussion of both environmental and biological research, and includes articles written by top researchers and scholars in the field. In Part I, Violent Crime examines the origins of violence, including family and other social factors, media violence, genetics, biochemistry, and head injuries. Part II delves into research on specific subgroups of offenders, including sex offenders, domestic violence perpetrators, murderers, and serial murderers. Part III focuses on issues related to victimology, prevention, and the treatment of violent offenders. Key Features Draws from a wide range of disciplines, including criminology, sociology, biology, medical science, genetics, clinical psychology, and psychiatry Introduces students to cutting-edge research on genetic, biochemical, and traumatic brain injury-related causes and correlates of violent crime Presents a systematic introduction to the current state of the field (and its likely future) through articles from leading researchers in the various subfields of violent crime Includes case studies with salient, fascinating examples of actual crimes and criminals to help students understand key points Offers an international focus, with authors from Canada, England, Greece, and Spain, as well as from the United States Provides end-of-chapter learning aids, including summaries, discussion questions, Internet resources, and suggestions for further reading A must-read for any student of criminological research, Violent Crime: Clinical and Social Implications can be used as a core or supplementary text in undergraduate and graduate courses on Violent Crime, Interpersonal Violence, and Social Deviance.

There are few areas of modern social science that are as fiercely debated as media psychology. Written by one of the foremost experts on the topic, this is a concise overview of what is known and not known about how individuals are affected by and interact with various forms of mass media. The book critically examines research from cognitive, social, developmental, biological, and evolutionary approaches to psychology and addresses the interplay between media consumption and viewer behavior in such realms as advertising, body image, sex, and violence. Distinguished by its examination of research from a scientifically objective position, the book offers students not only current knowledge of media psychology but also the tools to challenge commonly held assumptions from popular advocacy and ideology. This text cuts across different psychological approaches to studying how individuals are affected by mass media and includes research from criminal justice and sociology. It considers critical debates in media psychology and how debates in science themselves can be influenced by processes such as ""moral panic."" Written in a lively, accessible manner, the book draws upon engaging examples such as Photoshopped model controversies, dubious advertising practices, and attempts to blame violent crimes on media to illustrate scholarly principles. Throughout, data from research studies are related back to real-world phenomena such as violence rates, advertising dollars spent, or changes in the news media. Written for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students studying media psychology, the text will also be of value to professionals in psychology, sociology, and criminal justice as well as individuals involved in public policy as it relates to media effects. Key Features Offers an objective, interdisciplinary approach to understanding media and behavior Draws from cognitive, social, developmental, and biological psychology, as well as criminal justice research and sociology Challenges the conclusions drawn from research to foster critical thinking Written in a lively, accessible writing style with engaging examples

Offering a unique and interdisciplinary focus on the roots of violence, Violent Crime: Clinical and Social Implications explores cutting-edge research on the etiology, nature, assessment, and treatment of individuals who commit violent crimes. This edited volume covers the foundations of criminal behavior, offers a balanced discussion of both environmental and biological research, and includes articles written by top researchers and scholars in the field. In Part I, Violent Crime examines the origins of violence, including family and other social factors, media violence, genetics, biochemistry, and head injuries. Part II delves into research on specific subgroups of offenders, including sex offenders, domestic violence perpetrators, murderers, and serial murderers. Part III focuses on issues related to victimology, prevention, and the treatment of violent offenders. Key Features Draws from a wide range of disciplines, including criminology, sociology, biology, medical science, genetics, clinical psychology, and psychiatry Introduces students to cutting-edge research on genetic, biochemical, and traumatic brain injury-related causes and correlates of violent crime Presents a systematic introduction to the current state of the field (and its likely future) through articles from leading researchers in the various subfields of violent crime Includes case studies with salient, fascinating examples of actual crimes and criminals to help students understand key points Offers an international focus, with authors from Canada, England, Greece, and Spain, as well as from the United States Provides end-of-chapter learning aids, including summaries, discussion questions, Internet resources, and suggestions for further reading A must-read for any student of criminological research, Violent Crime: Clinical and Social Implications can be used as a core or supplementary text in undergraduate and graduate courses on Violent Crime, Interpersonal Violence, and Social Deviance.