My research focuses on the causes and consequences of human aggression.
My research has challenged such societal myths as: violent media have a trivial effect on aggression; venting anger reduces aggression; violent people suffer from low self-esteem; violence and sex on TV sell products; and warning labels on TV programs reduce audience size.
I am also interested in meta-analysis -- a quantitative approach to reviewing the scientific literature.
My research has been published in top scientific journals (e.g., Science) and has been featured on television (e.g., ABC News; CBS News; Jim Lehrer NewsHour), on radio (e.g., NPR, BBC, CBC), in magazines (e.g., Newsweek, Sports Illustrated), and in newspapers (e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today).
Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). Media violence and societal violence. Science, 295, 2377-2378.
Anderson, C. A., Shibuya, A., Ihori, N., Swing, E. L., Bushman, B. J., Sakamoto, A., Rothstein, H. R., Saleem, M., & Barlett, C. P. (2010). Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in Eastern and Western countries: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 151-173.
Bushman, B. J., & Anderson, C. A. (2009). Comfortably numb: Desensitizing effects of violent media on helping others. Psychological Science, 21(3), 273-277.
Bushman, B. J., Baumeister, R. F., Thomaes, S., Ryu, E., Begeer, S., & West, S. G. (2009). Looking again, and harder, for a link between low self-esteem and aggression. Journal of Personality, 77(2), 427-446.
Bushman, B. J., & Gibson, B. (2011). Violent video games cause an increase in aggression long after the game has been turned off. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 29-32.
Bushman, B. J., & Huesmann, L. R. (2010). Aggression. In S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (5th ed., Ch. 23, pp. 833-863). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Bushman, B. J., Ridge, R. D., Das, E., Key, C. W., & Busath, G. L. (2007). When God sanctions killing; Effect of scriptural violence on aggression. Psychological Science, 18, 204-207.
Bushman, B. J., Rothstein, H. R., & Anderson, C. A. (2010). Much ado about something: Violent video game effects and a school of red herring — Reply to Ferguson and Kilburn (2010). Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 182-187.
Bushman, B. J., & Whitaker, J. L. (2010). Like a magnet: Catharsis beliefs attract angry people to violent video games. Psychological Science, 21(6), 790-792.
Bègue, L., Bushman, B. J., Giancola, P. R., Subra, B., & Rosset, E. (2010). There is no such thing as an accident, especially when people are drunk. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(10), 1301-1304.
Das, E., Bushman, B. J., Bezemer, M. D., Kerkhof, P., & Vermeulen, I. E. (2009). How terrorism news reports increase prejudice against outgroups: A Terror Management account. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 453-459.
DeWall, C, N., & Bushman, B. J. (2009). Hot under the collar in a lukewarm environment: Hot temperature primes increase aggressive thoughts and hostile perceptions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(4), 1045-1047.
DeWall, C. N., Bushman, B. J., Giancola, P. R., & Webster, G. D. (2010). The big, the bad, and the boozed-up: Weight moderates the effect of alcohol on aggression. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 619
Engelhardt, C. R., Bartholow, B. D., Kerr, G. T.,, & Bushman, B. J. (2011). This is your brain on violent video games: Neural desensitization to violence predicts increased aggression following violent video game exposure. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 1033-1036.
Gentile, D. A., Anderson, C. A., Yukawa, S., Ihori, N., Saleem, M., Ming, L. K., Liau, A. K., Khoo, A., Bushman, B. J., Huesmann, L. R., & Sakamoto, A. (2009). The effects of prosocial video games on prosocial behaviors: International evidence from correlational, longitudinal, and experimental studies. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(6), 752-763.
Thomaes, S., Bushman, B. J., Orobio de Castro, B., Cohen, G. L., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2009). Reducing narcissistic aggression by buttressing self-esteem: An experimental field study. Psychological Science, 20(12), 1536-1542.
Courses Taught:
Communication in Society
Media Effects
Meta-Analysis
Quantitative Research Methods
Research Methods in Social Psychology
Social Psychology
Video Games
Violence in Society and Violence in the Mass Media
Violent Media
Communication in Society
Media Effects
Meta-Analysis
Quantitative Research Methods
Research Methods in Social Psychology
Social Psychology
Video Games
Violence in Society and Violence in the Mass Media
Violent Media
Brad J. Bushman School of Communication
Ohio State University
3127 Derby Hall, 154 North Oval Mall
Columbus, OH 43210-1339
United States