Christopher Ferguson (psychologist)

Christopher J. Ferguson is an American psychologist who serves as a professor and co-chair of psychology at Stetson University in Florida.[1] He previously served as an associate professor of psychology and criminal justice at Texas A&M International University.[2] In 2014, he was named a fellow of the American Psychological Association.[1] Ferguson is also a published author who has written both fiction and nonfiction.

Christopher J. Ferguson
NationalityAmerican
EducationStetson University
Florida International University
University of Central Florida
AwardsDistinguished Early Career Professional Award from Division 46 of the American Psychological Association (2013)
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
InstitutionsStetson University
ThesisDevelopment and validation of a defendant and offender screening tool for psychopathology in inmate populations (2003)
Doctoral advisorCharles Negy
Websitechristopherjferguson.com

Education

Ferguson received his B.A. in psychology from Stetson University, his M.S. in developmental psychology from Florida International University, and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Central Florida.[1]

Research and views

Ferguson is known for publishing studies disputing the link between video games and violent behavior.[2] He has argued that violent video games have remained popular even while youth violence has fallen to a 40-year low.[3] In 2008, Ferguson criticized a study published by Craig A. Anderson that found a link between violent video games and aggression. Ferguson stated, in a letter to the editor of Pediatrics, that the study suffered from "weak results" and "misleading conclusions".[4] Ferguson published a study in 2014 that found that although there was a correlation between media violence and homicide rates for the mid-20th century, this correlation broke down after the 1950s.[5][6] He was recently an author in several papers, including two meta-analyses, arguing that the evidence against the use of physical punishment is exaggerated, and cautioning against the potential dangers of this.[7][8][9][10]

Publications

In 2014, Ferguson published the novel Suicide Kings.[11] His first nonfiction book, Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong, coauthored with Patrick M. Markey and published in 2017 by BenBella Books, addresses his views on the link between video games and violent behavior.[12] In 2020, Ferguson published How Madness Shaped History: An Eccentric Array of Maniacal Rulers, Raving Narcissists, and Psychotic Visionaries, which focuses on the way madness, or personality disorders, have affected a variety of global leaders and influential people throughout human history.[13] He has also written a number of short stories, some of which have been published in magazines or anthology collections.[14]

References
  1. "Christopher Ferguson". Stetson University. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  2. Carey, Benedict (February 11, 2013). "Shooting in the Dark". New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  3. Jaslow, Ryan (February 18, 2013). "Violent video games and mass violence: A complex link". CBS News. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  4. Peckham, Matt (November 6, 2008). "Violence in Games: A Conversation with Christopher Ferguson, Part One". Washington Post. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  5. Ferguson, Christopher J. (February 2015). "Does Movie or Video Game Violence Predict Societal Violence? It Depends on What You Look at and When". Journal of Communication. 65 (1): 193–212. doi:10.1111/jcom.12142.
  6. Stuart, Keith (November 10, 2014). "Video games are not making us more violent, study shows". The Guardian. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  7. Larzelere, Robert E.; Gunnoe, Marjorie L.; Roberts, Mark W; Ferguson, Christopher J. (2017). "Children and Parents Deserve Better Parental Discipline Research: Critiquing the Evidence for Exclusively "Positive" Parenting". Marriage & Family Review. 53 (1): 24–35. doi:10.1080/01494929.2016.1145613.
  8. Larzelere, Robert E.; Gunnoe, Marjorie L.; Ferguson, Christopher J. (November 2018). "Improving Causal Inferences in Meta‐analyses of Longitudinal Studies: Spanking as an Illustration". Child Development. 89 (6): 2038–2050. doi:10.1111/cdev.13097. PMID 29797703.
  9. Larzelere, Robert E.; Gunnoe, Marjorie L.; Roberts, Mark W; Ferguson, Christopher J. (2019). "The insufficiency of the evidence used to categorically oppose spanking and its implications for families and psychological science: Comment on Gershoff et al. (2018)". American Psychologist. 74 (4): 497–499. doi:10.1037/amp0000461. PMID 31070404. S2CID 148569003.
  10. Ferguson, Christopher J. (February 2013). "Spanking, corporal punishment and negative long-term outcomes: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal studies". Clinical Psychology Review. 33 (1): 196–208. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2012.11.002. PMID 23274727.
  11. Suicide Kings. ASIN 1628300701.
  12. Moral Combat. ASIN 1942952988.
  13. How Madness Shaped History. ASIN 1633885747.
  14. "Christopher J. Ferguson". bewilderingstories.com. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
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