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Star Trek Psychology: The Mental Frontier
*Running Time =>7hrs.*
The next entry in Sterling's pop culture psychology series features 20 chapters and exclusive interviews with cast members and Rod Roddenberry.
In a fun and accessible way, 'STAR TREK PSYCHOLOGY' delves deep into the psyches of the show’s well-known and loved characters. The trailblazing franchise spans five TV series, 13 films, and countless novelizations. It celebrated, as no other form of entertainment had before, a world filled with space-traveling dreams and human diversity. In the process, it became one of the oldest and most popular sci-fi franchises of all time.
'STAR TREK PSYCHOLOGY' uses academic and scientific theories to analyze and answer such questions as why Trek's aliens look so human and how the starship’s holodeck can be used for therapy. This compilation examines alien neurobiology, discusses identity formation for shape shifters, explores the importance of emotion for artificial intelligence, and much more.
©2017 Travis Langley (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
The next entry in Sterling's pop culture psychology series features 20 chapters and exclusive interviews with cast members and Rod Roddenberry.
In a fun and accessible way, 'STAR TREK PSYCHOLOGY' delves deep into the psyches of the show’s well-known and loved characters. The trailblazing franchise spans five TV series, 13 films, and countless novelizations. It celebrated, as no other form of entertainment had before, a world filled with space-traveling dreams and human diversity. In the process, it became one of the oldest and most popular sci-fi franchises of all time.
'STAR TREK PSYCHOLOGY' uses academic and scientific theories to analyze and answer such questions as why Trek's aliens look so human and how the starship’s holodeck can be used for therapy. This compilation examines alien neurobiology, discusses identity formation for shape shifters, explores the importance of emotion for artificial intelligence, and much more.
©2017 Travis Langley (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Audible Audio
First published April 20, 2017
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587 people want to read
About the author
Travis Langley
19 books120 followersDr. Travis Langley, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Henderson State University, is best-known as the author of the acclaimed book BATMAN AND PSYCHOLOGY: A DARK AND STORMY KNIGHT. He is also editor and lead writer for the Popular Culture Psychology series of 12 books looking at the psychology of characters and stories such as THE WALKING DEAD PSYCHOLOGY: PSYCH OF THE LIVING DEAD, CAPTAIN AMERICA VS. IRON MAN: FREEDOM, SECURITY, PSYCHOLOGY, and most recently THE JOKER PSYCHOLOGY: EVIL CLOWNS AND THE WOMEN WHO LOVE THEM. PsychologyToday.com features his blog, “Beyond Heroes and Villains.” A popular speaker internationally, he has given talks at universities and has led or joined hundreds of convention panels (especially at Wizard World shows) and on the Comic Con-Fusion YouTube channel. He also happened to be an undefeated champion on the Wheel of Fortune game show. As Stan Lee described him, “This man is a genius!”
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 22, 2021
4.5 Stars
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
June 15, 2017
Wonderful -- and thoughtful -- book! I recommend it to Trekkies and psych majors both!
June 14, 2017
Such an interesting read! I would definitely recommend this to all fans of Star Trek!
November 7, 2023
A very interesting book that looks at Star Trek from the perspective of psychology. The first part is a bit basic and somewhat predictable, but the book gets more and more interesting as it ventures beyond just psychology and touches upon more philosophical issues as artificial intelligence, identity and personhood, criteria for our representations of divine beings and the fine line between stereotypes and role models. Even though it was probably written before the current renaissance of Star Trek, many of the ideas that define Star Trek remain the same in today's TV series.
One small warning: I read the book while still watching Deep Space Nine for the first time, and there were some major spoilers in the book that I didn't see coming. My fault entirely of course, I should have watched this series years ago!
One small warning: I read the book while still watching Deep Space Nine for the first time, and there were some major spoilers in the book that I didn't see coming. My fault entirely of course, I should have watched this series years ago!
Read
August 27, 2019I received a copy of this book from the Goodreads Giveaways program in exchange for an honest review. Besides the obvious outer-space action, the Star Trek series always had an explicit inner-space aspect (as just a few examples, Mr. Spock’s conflict between logic and emotion, discussion of leadership styles, various kinds of madness). It was a vision of a future time in which humanity had overcome its conflicts of the present and was ready for space exploration. Walter Koenig is quoted in an interview: "Gene Roddenberry - I certainly don't know if he's a genius, but his concept was so innovative and so new and so fresh and groundbreaking that it should always be remembered that he was able to do that. He was able to bring together a multinational, multiracial cast and show them in an environment in which they all got along."
This collection of essays looks at the entire series, especially the original Star Trek and The Next Generation, with various perspectives from modern psychology. It’s an accessible and fun read for fans of the series and/or psychology students.
This collection of essays looks at the entire series, especially the original Star Trek and The Next Generation, with various perspectives from modern psychology. It’s an accessible and fun read for fans of the series and/or psychology students.
August 8, 2022
Disclaimer: I listened to the audiobook, so someone let me know if I've misremembering anything.
As someone who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, I want to talk about the essay "Gene Roddenberry Saw the Future . . . and the Future is Asperger's" by Frank Gaskill, a psychologist who describes himself as having some of its traits. Now I know many of us use the alien metaphor to articulate our experiences as social misfits (in fact "Wrong Planet" is the name of a popular autism support site), but an implication arises when you actually apply this to a science fiction context that Gaskill completely overlooks in his enthusiasm to be seen as a Vulcan or android. Star Trek's image of the "human" contrasted to a Vulcan, AI, or ex-Borg is very much a neurotypical one. If Data effectively has an Aspie personality, then isn't he arguably already very human? When was Spock ever shown interacting with an autistic human crewmember who connects with his logical outlook better than Kirk & Co. ever did? Gaskill never considers this. Even when represented by sympathetic characters, autism is being framed as literally alien or robotic and therefore not human.
Surprisingly, Gaskill never even mentions Seven of Nine. Every example of an autistic person or autistic-adjacent character he points out is male. Considering how often autism is overlooked in women and girls due to gender stereotypes and differences in presentation, and that Gaskill is a mental health professional who works with autistic people, this is disappointing.
The rest of the book was pretty cool, though.
As someone who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, I want to talk about the essay "Gene Roddenberry Saw the Future . . . and the Future is Asperger's" by Frank Gaskill, a psychologist who describes himself as having some of its traits. Now I know many of us use the alien metaphor to articulate our experiences as social misfits (in fact "Wrong Planet" is the name of a popular autism support site), but an implication arises when you actually apply this to a science fiction context that Gaskill completely overlooks in his enthusiasm to be seen as a Vulcan or android. Star Trek's image of the "human" contrasted to a Vulcan, AI, or ex-Borg is very much a neurotypical one. If Data effectively has an Aspie personality, then isn't he arguably already very human? When was Spock ever shown interacting with an autistic human crewmember who connects with his logical outlook better than Kirk & Co. ever did? Gaskill never considers this. Even when represented by sympathetic characters, autism is being framed as literally alien or robotic and therefore not human.
Surprisingly, Gaskill never even mentions Seven of Nine. Every example of an autistic person or autistic-adjacent character he points out is male. Considering how often autism is overlooked in women and girls due to gender stereotypes and differences in presentation, and that Gaskill is a mental health professional who works with autistic people, this is disappointing.
The rest of the book was pretty cool, though.
October 30, 2017
The book takes an interesting look at the in depth psychology of some of the famous episodes. The different contributors delve into topics of why we explore, group dynamics and leadership to name a few. Great insights and an enjoyable read.
May 3, 2018
This book is for Trekies and it is for psychology lovers; preferably both, for you will be the ones getting the most out of this collection. I am both.
Whenever I study psychology, I make sure to use it introspectively. I was taught in my first psych class to use psychology as a tool for unlocking my own potential. From that perspective, I gained so very much by reading this book.
I found it at Barnes & Nobel after my sister gave me a copy of the Star Wars psychology book (which I keep meaning to crack open, but never felt the need to throw other books aside to get to). However, when I read the first few lines of the forward to the Star TREK psychology book in the store, the meme “shut up and take my money” played out over the cafe counter.
This book dug up a lot of healing for me, explained a lot of personal behaviors I exhibit, and shined a light on possible future versions of myself should I choose to walk the paths less traveled.
If you’re a keen explorer of the mind, the galaxies, science fiction, and beyond, then I believe you’ll appreciate this book. There is something in it for many age groups ranging from young adults to parents to old age as they touch on so many topics depicted throughout the many Star Trek series.
Every series is mentioned at some point from TOS to Discovery. And it was exceedingly exciting to experience psychology talks with like minded people from my own fandom culture.
Happy reading my fellow Trekies. LLAP.
Whenever I study psychology, I make sure to use it introspectively. I was taught in my first psych class to use psychology as a tool for unlocking my own potential. From that perspective, I gained so very much by reading this book.
I found it at Barnes & Nobel after my sister gave me a copy of the Star Wars psychology book (which I keep meaning to crack open, but never felt the need to throw other books aside to get to). However, when I read the first few lines of the forward to the Star TREK psychology book in the store, the meme “shut up and take my money” played out over the cafe counter.
This book dug up a lot of healing for me, explained a lot of personal behaviors I exhibit, and shined a light on possible future versions of myself should I choose to walk the paths less traveled.
If you’re a keen explorer of the mind, the galaxies, science fiction, and beyond, then I believe you’ll appreciate this book. There is something in it for many age groups ranging from young adults to parents to old age as they touch on so many topics depicted throughout the many Star Trek series.
Every series is mentioned at some point from TOS to Discovery. And it was exceedingly exciting to experience psychology talks with like minded people from my own fandom culture.
Happy reading my fellow Trekies. LLAP.
March 28, 2021
This was alright, but a bit vague and muddled. It didn't use enough from Trek in my opinion, mostly hanging whatever textbook topic they wanted to talk about on a very faint skeleton of Trek (except the bit which delved into Sisko's parenting style, which I enjoyed). The chapter about Asperger's syndrome was fairly cringe, despite the author being a fan of "aspies"- it felt weirdly objectifying.
I would've liked more imaginative stuff, like examining what it would be like to be Dax and have to adjust to a new set of memories, or how the language of Darmok And Jalad would actually work. Just two examples off the top of my head.
I would've liked more imaginative stuff, like examining what it would be like to be Dax and have to adjust to a new set of memories, or how the language of Darmok And Jalad would actually work. Just two examples off the top of my head.
November 4, 2020
A fun Trekky read, lots of good essays of varying quality. Lovely Trek references across all classic shows, though mostly focuses on TOS which ugh. Would be interested to see more writing on gender and sexual expressions among Trek once Disco and modern Treks start moving past heteronormativity. I would also love to read a book about Trek depictions of race, racism and how we can overcome racial inequality and injustice as societies.
February 4, 2023
Like the “philosophy and” series, this is a series of articles on Star Trek topics and psychology.
Pros
-focus on morality plays of the original series. And appreciation for it, in early chapters.
-big five personality elements considered in terms of characters on the show
-ericksonian stages of development in terms of Spock, the long lived and always recurring character throughout the series.
-new to me encapsulations, “mortality salience”/terror management theory (“TMT”), eg. Three needs theory (affiliation, achievement, power, in different admixtures, with some give and take between power and affiliation, eg). Creativity, and how two or three different elements and category violations in a character can be more interesting than more or less violations (but see character 10C in Star Trek Discovery series, built with contributions from my old
pal Dr Moe Noor)
-humorous instances, like concerning the holographic doctor, Bellanna Torres (sp), and her change to the doctor’s holodeck family, introducing real life chaos. This made me laugh.
Cons
-In a book like this, why isn’t there more laughter? See above doctor example. The series and films themselves do a great job of adding humor generally.
-did not explore enough individual character examples from specific story lines. In other words, where this was done, it was a strength (eg, Spock). However it tended toward dull theory,
And too little interaction with specific plot anc character points.
I mean, the far and away value of looking at a long lived entertaining body of work, like over 50 years of Star Trek episodes, books, and films, is to read for examples as the theoretical psychology is practically illustrated.
While the authors gave many quick examples, overall I found these static and dull, compared to the possibilities.
This seems really odd considering it is the very title and topic of the book. I could be asking too much. But as some chapters do better than others, and so some authors do, I think they demonstrate the point. I rate these chapters higher, and others lower. So it comes out to about a high 2 or low 3. And probably three based on the pros which I enjoyed, and the opportunity at least to think again over basic psych.
Maybe it was overall just too basic and too general. Or where it branches out beyond say Spock (which the book did more with) — say in the character of Barkley, or Cisco—who sounds great with his Spock-like(?) sacrifice—with whom I was far less familiar.
I’m not sure. But this is just way too dullllll for its title.
Or maybe it was, as David once pointed out to me, like the problem with TED talks (that everyone once loved), or the teaching company courses. They are all mostly on a survey level. A 101 or at best 201 level.
In contrast, having a graduate level look would be a good thing. One that drilled down far more deeply into the morality tensions, and character tensions, and psychological tensions over a series, inter, and intra characters.
Pros
-focus on morality plays of the original series. And appreciation for it, in early chapters.
-big five personality elements considered in terms of characters on the show
-ericksonian stages of development in terms of Spock, the long lived and always recurring character throughout the series.
-new to me encapsulations, “mortality salience”/terror management theory (“TMT”), eg. Three needs theory (affiliation, achievement, power, in different admixtures, with some give and take between power and affiliation, eg). Creativity, and how two or three different elements and category violations in a character can be more interesting than more or less violations (but see character 10C in Star Trek Discovery series, built with contributions from my old
pal Dr Moe Noor)
-humorous instances, like concerning the holographic doctor, Bellanna Torres (sp), and her change to the doctor’s holodeck family, introducing real life chaos. This made me laugh.
Cons
-In a book like this, why isn’t there more laughter? See above doctor example. The series and films themselves do a great job of adding humor generally.
-did not explore enough individual character examples from specific story lines. In other words, where this was done, it was a strength (eg, Spock). However it tended toward dull theory,
And too little interaction with specific plot anc character points.
I mean, the far and away value of looking at a long lived entertaining body of work, like over 50 years of Star Trek episodes, books, and films, is to read for examples as the theoretical psychology is practically illustrated.
While the authors gave many quick examples, overall I found these static and dull, compared to the possibilities.
This seems really odd considering it is the very title and topic of the book. I could be asking too much. But as some chapters do better than others, and so some authors do, I think they demonstrate the point. I rate these chapters higher, and others lower. So it comes out to about a high 2 or low 3. And probably three based on the pros which I enjoyed, and the opportunity at least to think again over basic psych.
Maybe it was overall just too basic and too general. Or where it branches out beyond say Spock (which the book did more with) — say in the character of Barkley, or Cisco—who sounds great with his Spock-like(?) sacrifice—with whom I was far less familiar.
I’m not sure. But this is just way too dullllll for its title.
Or maybe it was, as David once pointed out to me, like the problem with TED talks (that everyone once loved), or the teaching company courses. They are all mostly on a survey level. A 101 or at best 201 level.
In contrast, having a graduate level look would be a good thing. One that drilled down far more deeply into the morality tensions, and character tensions, and psychological tensions over a series, inter, and intra characters.
October 10, 2023
This is a pleasant read that takes some of the solid character developments from the Star Trek franchise and shows how they apply to everyday psychology: from parenthood to friendships. I'm not sure that there are any earthshattering revelations here, but it is a well researched look into series of shows that, while uneven, can really knock your socks off when it's at its best. Taking a look at the mental health of the characters provides a good way for Trek fans to associate the characters' interactions with pop psych. Not a bad read. I wouldn't read it twice, but not bad for a diversion.
January 3, 2025
If you've never had a fast and furious conversation about the detailed ins and outs of Star Trek, then you will probably like this work. As someone who was raised watching Star Trek with near-religious fervour from the cradle (literally), most of the essays felt disappointingly surface level, especially compared to Langley's work on Batman and Psychology. Thankfully, reviews on Goodreads said the second half of the anthology improves, and I found this to be true. The wealth of sources alone makes it worth holding onto my copy and have the potential to be useful for anyone anticipating writing academics essays of their own in regards to human nature.
March 16, 2025
This is a collection of short papers on common subjects in psychology. It uses Star Treck characters and events to provide examples and explain concepts. Each paper is written by different experts in the field paired with someone more experienced in writing to the common man. Editing is done well, as each paper has a similar style, making the collection feel coherent.
I found the book both interesting and easy to read. The use of Star Trek to drive ideas home makes it easy to understand and (hopefully) remember.
The book is part of a series, Psychology of Popular Culture. I plan to read more of this series.
I found the book both interesting and easy to read. The use of Star Trek to drive ideas home makes it easy to understand and (hopefully) remember.
The book is part of a series, Psychology of Popular Culture. I plan to read more of this series.
May 5, 2025
I liked it! However it does feel a bit truncated and list-like.
I would have liked to have each idea flushed out a bit more rather than moving on so quickly to the next one . The section on aspergers syndrome was extremely interesting. I think that was my favorite part as it was a bit more story like and gave some history and some insight on Roddenberry and how he thought..
I would love to see a new addition of this with a more story like style and depth and time taken to describe the personalities and scenarios.
I’m not even sure what to think about the praise for “authoritarian” rulers and parenting styles.
I would have liked to have each idea flushed out a bit more rather than moving on so quickly to the next one . The section on aspergers syndrome was extremely interesting. I think that was my favorite part as it was a bit more story like and gave some history and some insight on Roddenberry and how he thought..
I would love to see a new addition of this with a more story like style and depth and time taken to describe the personalities and scenarios.
I’m not even sure what to think about the praise for “authoritarian” rulers and parenting styles.
May 23, 2017
I received Star Trek Psychology as a part of the Goodreads giveaway program. The book was well researched and descriptive in its Star Trek background which was imperative as I am familiar with the series but not a die hard fan. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in psychology particularly those who have military experience. There are quite a few examples that explain the similarities of Starfleet to the US Military.
February 14, 2023
Amazing essays about the human psyche and how each element of the Star Trek universe symbolizes the psychological mechanisms. I enjoyed other works by Langley and wasn't disappointed. I binched the book in one sitting and was mesmerized by the details and analysis that went into it - Trek fan or not (I am not, but enjoy the fictional world occasionally). Recommended for all who are onto psychology and deep-diving in fictional story universes (sci fi or not).
November 8, 2023
From my "the audiobook was available on Hoopla and I needed something to listen to late at night I didn't have to think about too hard" collection, a good assortment of essays on concepts in modern psychology and how the various Treks have explored them. I even came across new concepts I hadn't yet read about in popular psychology.
September 18, 2022
4.5 really but surprisingly good
- professional medical analyze on fundamental psychology
- fictional characters and scenarios from Star Trek provide relevant examples
- anecdotal interviews with Star Trek alumni are also relevant
This is well-edited and well-researched, and FUN
- professional medical analyze on fundamental psychology
- fictional characters and scenarios from Star Trek provide relevant examples
- anecdotal interviews with Star Trek alumni are also relevant
This is well-edited and well-researched, and FUN
June 24, 2018
I won this book through Goodreads. Interesting and informative. So much information..it's amazing.
October 4, 2024
some of the information felt irrelevant, some was interesting, overall the idea was cool.
October 5, 2022
Heard on audiobook. An interesting look at the psychology behind the characters and plots of the Star Trek universe.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews