STAR WARS PSYCHOLOGY: Dark Side of the Mind (Sterling, October 27, 2015) sheds new light on the Star Wars saga for fans of the series and for fans of psychology!
Evil, tyrannical oppression rules this world and heroes must rise to battle the darkness. According to Psychiatrist Carl Jung and mythologist Joseph Campbell, people in every place and time tell tales of heroes who face darkness, win victories, and return transformed. This archetypal Hero’s Journey underlies the Star Wars story, and demonstrates the role of psychology in shaping this beloved saga.
In STAR WARS PSYCHOLOGY, a group of expert contributors, led by Travis Langley, explore the “Big Five” personality factors and the characters who embody each major trait.
By exploring psychology, fans can better grasp the motivation and mental states of their favorite characters leading up to the new movie coming out this December. How does anxiety disorder explain the transformation of a character’s psyche from good to evil and back to good? Can robots feel pain and suffering? How does limb amputation and neuro-prosthetics impact the brain? Does music influence our emotional reading of the entire saga?
Travis Langley is a professor of psychology at Henderson State University and author of Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight (Wiley, 2012) and The Walking Dead Psychology: Psych of the Living Dead (Sterling, August 2015). He’s a regular speaker on the subjects of heroism and pop culture at psychology conferences and fan conventions, including San Diego Comic Con, New York Comic Con, and the Comics Art Conference. He writes an online column “Beyond Heroes and Villains” for PsychologyToday.com. Travis lives in Arkadelphia, AR, and is available for interview. Follow him on twitter along with his other 90,990+ fans at @superherologist!
