Overview

What motivates people to buy guns? To carry them? To use them? The gun violence crisis in the U.S. claims tens of thousands of lives each year. We need a solution more urgently than ever, yet progress is halted from both sides as they fail to understand one another—while some urge for a ban on guns, others are insistent on retaining their firearms. In Shot!, leading psychologist Dr. Janet Shibley Hyde shows that in order to understand the challenges posed by sensible gun reform legislation, we must first understand the psychology of gun ownership, gun violence, and gun culture in America. Drawing on her research as a developmental psychologist, Hyde investigates the motivations behind gun use and misuse to transform readers’ understanding of American gun violence and ultimately provide solutions rooted in scientific research. Why is it that more than 98% of mass shooters are boys or men? How do race and racism play a role in shootings and homicides? Is it really true that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people?” Psychology would suggest otherwise, showing that it is both the person and the environment that contribute to violent behaviors despite the implications of this manipulative slogan from the Gun Lobby. Through scientific evidence, psychological research, and cogent analysis, Shot! shows that the key to effective action lies in understanding the motivations behind gun violence and the divide in our culture. Beyond the psychology of offenders themselves, Hyde delves into the psychology behind the Gun Lobby’s tactics in influencing Americans, provides a more accurate understanding of the Second Amendment to explain what kinds of regulations are possible, and offers strategies and interventions rooted in scientific knowledge. Shot! provides sound psychological insights that will empower readers to take action to reduce gun violence and bolster public health, both in their community and their country.

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9781493089970

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Reviews

""Janet Shibley Hyde is one of the greatest psychologists of her generation. In The Psychology of Gun Violence she provides a scintillating analysis of one of the most pressing issues our times. Urgent, lucid and science-based, this book should be required reading for anyone who is motivated to eradicate gun violence from society."" --Ethan Kross, international bestselling author of Shift and Chatter ""This is an outstanding contribution to the gun debate. Writing with grace, elegance, and the unique authority of a psychologist, Hyde brings hope and light to America's enduring problem of gun violence. It is rare that a book can speak to both sides of such an impassioned question. The Psychology of Gun Violence is the best I have seen."" --Dominic Erdozain, author of One Nation Under Guns: How Gun Culture Distorts our History and Threatens our Democracy. ""This is the book I have been waiting for. Hyde addresses the gendered nature and roots of the gun violence scourge in America and offers practical solutions that blend psychology with public health policy. The Psychology of Gun Violence is a must-read for every citizen who is concerned about what our nation is turning into."" --Ronald F. Levant, former president of the American Psychological Association and author of The Problem with Men ""This timely work examines critical questions, such as why the vast majority of mass shooters are male, how race and racism influence shootings, and the validity of common pro-gun slogans. By applying scientific evidence and cogent analysis, Hyde challenges readers to reconsider their understanding of gun violence and its cultural context. The Psychology of Gun Violence not only illuminates the psychological underpinnings of the issue but also offers science-based strategies for reducing gun violence and improving public health. Hyde's expertise, honed through years of studying human development and socialization, provides a fresh perspective on this urgent societal problem. As gun violence continues to claim thousands of lives annually in the United States, this arrives at a critical juncture, offering a path forward rooted in psychological research and understanding. For anyone seeking to comprehend and address the gun violence epidemic, Dr. Hyde's work promises to be an invaluable resource in fostering informed dialogue and effective action."" --Shannon Watts, founder emerita of Moms Demand Action and author of Fired Up ""Using her expertise in psychology and with riveting examples of history, Dr. Hyde describes the development of the U.S. public health epidemic of firearm violence over the last several decades. She includes the important, but uncommonly described psychology of religious beliefs and firearms. Importantly, she is also able to highlight areas of 'Good News' for effective interventions for firearm violence to chart a possible path forward to re-thinking about firearm violence in the U.S. with the right to freedom from gun violence."" --Lois K. Lee, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Author Information

Dr. Janet Shibley Hyde is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, where she has been a faculty member since 1986. A developmental psychologist, she has studied human development and socialization in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. She is the winner of the Association for Psychological Science’s prestigious James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award, for lifetime achievements in research addressing a critical problem in society. An invited participant in Congressional briefings, Dr. Hyde has been interviewed on The Today Show, Good Morning America, National Public Radio,ABC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, CBC (Canada), and BBC Radio: Science in Action. She is the author of two highly successful undergraduate textbooks, The Psychology of Women and Genderand Understanding Human Sexuality.

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