Wonder Woman Psychology: Lassoing the Truth

by Travis Langley (Editor), Mara Wood (Editor), Trina Robbins (Foreword by)

Overview

A fascinating analysis of the psychology behind Wonder Woman
For 75 years, Wonder Woman has served as an inspiration to people everywhere. Wonder Woman Psychology examines this powerful superhero—who was created by famous psychologist William Moulton Marston—through 20 essays. This collection will analyze:

• Marston’s important role in the history of forensic psychology
• How Diana’s relationship with her mother and Amazonian sisters shapes her to become a leader and the heroine called Wonder Woman
• The ways differences in culture and gender can contribute to alienation but also to personal empowerment 
• What roles emotion, strengths, virtues, and culture shock play in heroic behavior

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454923435
Publisher:	Sterling
Publication date:	04/04/2017
Series:	Popular Culture Psychology , #6
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	694,196
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Travis Langley, PhD, is a psychology professor at Henderson State University, the author of Batman and Psychology (Wiley), and the volume editor of The Walking Dead Psychology and Star Wars Psychology (both Sterling). He speaks regularly on media and heroism at universities, conferences, and popular-culture conventions including San Diego Comic-Con, New York Comic Con, and Wizard World conventions throughout the world. Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics and other films have featured him as an expert interviewee, and the documentary Legends of the Knight spotlighted how he uses fiction to teach real psychology. Psychology Today carries his blog “Beyond Heroes and Villains,” and he is one of the 10 most popular psychologists on Twitter with over 100,000 followers: @superherologist.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments: Our Sensations Travis Langley Mara Wood vii

Foreword: The Lasso and the Pendulum Trina Robbins xv

Introduction: Truth Travis Langley 1

Part I Creator's World 13

1 Psychology on Trial: The Other Legacy of William Moulton Marston Martin Lloyd 15

2 Dominance, Inducement, Submission, Compliance: Throwing the DISC in Fact and Fiction Mara Wood 27

3 Marston, Wertham, and the Psychological Potential of Comic Books Tim Hanley Travis Langley 41

4 The Tale of a Manx Cat (A Memoir from the Woman Who Gave Us Wonder) Elizabeth Holloway Marston 61

Virtue File I Justice Travis Langley 71

Part II Old World 77

5 A Perfect Place: Paradise Island and Utopian Communities Mara Wood 79

6 Individuation and the Psychology of Rebirth Chris Yogerst Caitlin Yogerst 91

7 The Heroine and the Hero's journey Laura Vecchiolla 103

Virtue File II Wisdom and Knowledge Mara Wood 117

Part III Woman's World 123

8 A Mother's Magic: Parenting Issues in Paradise Mike Madrid Rebecca M. Langley 125

9 Multiple Identities, Multiple Selves? Diana's Actual, Ideal, and Ought Selves Wind Goodfriend Annamaria Formichella-Elsden 139

10 Growing a Goddess: Child Development and Wonder Woman Mara Wood 151

11 Compassion is My Superpower Jenna Busch Janina Scarlet 163

12 Feminist Psychology: Teaching How to Be Wonderful Mara Wood 173

Virtue File III Temperance Travis Langley 187

Part IV Man's World 195

13 An Amazon in a World of Men Lara Taylor Kester Nina Taylor Keister 197

14 It's a Man's World: Wonder Woman and Attitudes Toward Gender Roles Erin Currie 213

15 From Wing Chun to Wonder Woman: Empowerment through Martial Skill E. Paul Zehr Jeff Pisciotta 227

Virtue File IV Courage Mara Wood 239

Part V Modern World 245

16 Snapping Necks and Wearing Pants: Symbols. Schemas, and Stress Over Change Travis Langley 247

17 First of Her Name: Wonder Woman, the Role Model Mara Wood 259

18 Balancing the Warrior and the Peace Ambassador: Self-Concepts and Moral Complexity Eric D.Wesselman Emilio J.C. Lobato J. Scott Jordan 273

19 Coffee with Your Hero: The Benefits of Parasocial Relationships Janina Scarlet Alan Kistler 287

20 Truth in Treatment: Who Wields the Magic? Travis Langley Mara Wood 299

Virtue File V Transcendence Travis Langley 313

Final word: Humanity Mara Wood 317

About the Editors 320

About the Contributors 323

Special Contributors 329

Index 331