Psychology of Gun Violence

What motivates people to buy guns? To carry them? To use them? In this urgent and necessary call for action, Janet Shibley Hyde combines incisive cultural analysis with cutting-edge psychological research to offer science-based strategies and practical solutions of reform for the problem of gun violence in America

Gun violence 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 The Psychology of Gun Violence, Dr. Janet Shibley Hyde shows that in order to bring the epidemic of gun violence under control, we must first understand the psychology of gun ownership, mass shootings, 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. Through psychological research, actionable strategies and real-world ‘good news’ stories that show progress is not only possible, but happening, The Psychology of Gun Violence will empower readers to take action to reduce gun violence and bolster public health both in their community and their country.