Robin S. Rosenberg - Our Superheroes, Ourselves

Our Superheroes, Ourselves

Edited by Robin S. Rosenberg

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Robin Rosenberg 2013

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Our superheroes, ourselves / edited by Robin S. Rosenberg.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 9780199765812 (acid-free paper) 1. Comic books, strips, etc.Psychological aspects. 2. SuperheroesPsychological aspects. 3. Psychology in literature. 4. Archetype (Psychology) I. Rosenberg, Robin S.
PN6714.O89 2013
741.59dc23 2012035088

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper

To Stephen, with whom anything is possible

Robin S. Rosenberg

ONE
Our Fascination with Superheroes

Robin S. Rosenberg

TWO
Superhero Comics as Moral Pornography

David A. Pizarro and Roy Baumeister

THREE
Are Superhero Stories Good for Us?
Reflections from Clinical Practice

Lawrence C. Rubin

FOUR
Emotions in Comics: Why the Silver Age of Comics Made a Difference

Peter J. Jordan

FIVE
The Effects of Superhero Sagas on Our Gendered Selves

Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz and Hillary Pennell

SIX
Our Superheroes, Our Supervillains: Are They All That Different?

Travis Langley

SEVEN
Are Superheroes Just SuperGifted?

Robin S. Rosenberg and Ellen Winner

EIGHT
The Very Real Work Lives of Superheroes:
Illustrations of Work Psychology

Gary N. Burns and Megan B. Morris

NINE
How Super Are Superheroes?

Robert J. Sternberg

TEN
Seven Roads to Justice for Superheroes and Humans

Mikhail Lyubansky

This book, like every book, is a result of teamwork. The teams whose work has led to this book are numerous and varied.

Many thanks to the psychologists who contributed to this bookfor being willing to go a bit far afield from the usual type of chapters you write, and for doing it so well. Without you, there would be no book.

Thanks also go to the teams of comic book creators, interpreters, and storytellers, whose stories have intrigued and inspired so many of us.

The team at Oxford University Press deserves thanks both for their interest in publishing not just one book on superheroes, but a series, and for their faith in me to be series editor. Specifically, thanks to editor Abby Gross, and Director of Publicity (and superhero fan) Purdy, as well as Suzanne Walker, Justyna Zajac, Joan Bossert, and Tracy OHara.

Thanks to Catherine Carlin Alexander and Angelique Rondeau for their enthusiastic support in the early stages of bringing this book to life.

And of course, thanks to my family. To my brother, Steven, foramong many other thingsturning me on to superheroes when I was young. To my mother, Bunny, for supporting me always, in every way. To the other Stephen, for whom there are no words. And to David, Justin, and Neil, who got me interested in superheroes again, and to Rebecca. You are all my team, for which I am grateful.

Roy Baumeister

Department of Psychology

Florida State University

Tallahassee, Florida

Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz

Department of
Communication

University of Missouri

Columbia, Missouri

Gary N. Burns

Department of Psychology

Wright State University

Dayton, Ohio

Peter J. Jordan

Griffith Business School

Griffith University

Nathan, Australia

Travis Langley

Department of Psychology

Henderson State University

Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Mikhail Lyubansky

Department of Psychology

University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign

Urbana, Illinois

Megan B. Morris

Department of Psychology

Wright State University

Dayton, Ohio

Hillary Pennell

Department of
Communication

University of Missouri

Columbia, Missouri

David A. Pizarro

Department of Psychology

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York

Robin S. Rosenberg

Department of Psychiatry

University of California

San Francisco, California

Lawrence C. Rubin

Department of Social Sciences
and Counseling

St. Thomas University

Miami, Florida

Robert J. Sternberg

Department of Psychology

Oklahoma State University

Stillwater, Oklahoma

Ellen Winner

Department of Psychology

Boston College

Boston, Massachusetts

Y oud have to live in a cave to escape the current superhero craze. Most peoplefrom hardcore superhero fans to those with a less passionate interestfind themselves wondering about superheroes crossover into mainstream culture. Why are super-heroes so popular? we ask. We wonder what the popularity of superheroes says about us as a society. In essence, this curiosity is about our relationship with superheroes.

Beyond this meta-awareness of superheroes impact on our culture, even casual fans of superheroes are intrigued by some of the issues raised in superhero storiesissues of morality and justice, of personality and identity. As with any good fiction that endures, we resonate with the superhero characters, and their stories spark our imaginations. The power of these stories entices each of us to wonder: What would I do if I were in the superheros position? How realistic are the superheroes actions? What might it be like to live in their world or have their powers? In essence, these questions reflect a curiosity about superheroes as if superheroes were real. How they are similar to and different from us.

Both sets of issues ultimately are about psychological matters that relate superheroes to ourselves. Who better to discuss such psychological matters than psychologists? Thats the idea behind this book, which is a collection of essays by noted psychologists in which the authors apply their knowledge of psychology to our relationship with superheroes, and the extent to which superheroes psychological nature reflects human nature.