The Psychology of The Simpsons
The Psychology of The Simpsons: D'oh! is a non-fiction book analyzing psychology themes in the television series The Simpsons. It contains content from several contributors, including psychologists, counselors and school therapists. The book was edited by Alan S. Brown, Ph.D., and Chris Logan, and was published on March 1, 2006, by BenBella Books. It has praise from reviewers.
Background
The book was published on March 1, 2006, by BenBella Books, and is part of their "Psychology of Popular Culture Series," or "Smart Pop" for short. Other books in the series include works which analyze psychology and pop culture themes as related to Superman, the X-Men, and The Matrix. The BenBella psychology series was inspired by a similar pop philosophy series from publisher Open Court Publishing Company. The editors of the book were Alan S. Brown, Ph.D., and Chris Logan. Brown is a professor of psychology, and Logan is a lecturer in the field. The book is meant to appeal both to fans of The Simpsons, and academic students of psychology.Content
The book contains content from twenty-nine contributors, including psychologists, counselors, teachers and school therapists. It also includes content from Brown and Logan. General topics discussed in the work include family, alcohol abuse, relationships, self-esteem, sex and gender, and personality. Specific topics in the field of psychology include clinical psychology, cognition, abnormal psychology, evolutionary psychology, gambling addiction, Pavlovian conditioning and family therapy. Contributor Denis M. McCarthy, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Missouri, analyzes risk factors for alcoholism presented in The Simpsons. McCarthy cites Bart's passive-avoidance learning as a risk factor, and notes that Maggie is at a high risk for substance abuse due to violent tendencies.Though each chapter contains material comparing The Simpsons episodes to academic psychology themes, the chapter titles are less serious, including "Which One of Us is Truly Crazy" and "Looking For Mr. Smarty Pants." Editor Chris Logan explained: "The book's content is very serious, but it's not presented in an overly serious way." The Simpsons Archive also described the balance between humor and academia in the book, noting: "Fortunately, despite numerous references to various psychological theories and academic studies, the essays steer clear of becoming too serious, and manage to stay entertaining throughout the book."