Star Trek Psychology: The Mental Frontier

The next entry in Sterling’s pop culture psychology series features 20 essays and an exclusive interview with Rod Roddenberry—son ofStar Trek creator Gene 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 Psychologyuses academic and scientific theories to analyze and answer such questions asWhy do Trek’s aliens look so human? and How can the starship’s holodeck 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.