Courses

Our ultimate goal in this course will be to design successful interventions to reduce harmful aggressive behavior in our society. To accomplish this end goal, we will need to develop a thorough understanding of how violence works. Are humans, by nature, a violent species? What causes people to go on violent crime sprees, or abuse their spouse or children, or bully classmates, or fight with strangers at a bar? What kinds of contextual factors (e.g., media exposure, personality type, environment) predict aggressive behavior and why? A great deal of research has been done in an attempt to understand the nature of human aggression, although this research tends to be siloed and not applied. In this course we will use a multidisciplinary approach to examine the topic of human aggression. This journey will take us through psychological, biological, and sociological explanations for the root of aggressive behavior. Through our discussions and assignments, we will attempt to bring this holistic approach to bear on practical solutions.

This course is eligible for honors credit through the Hutton Honors College. 

Catalog Information: COLL-S 104  FRESHMAN SEMINAR IN S&H

Instructor:

Andrew Weaver

Email:

weaveraj@indiana.edu

Department:

The Media School

I am an Associate Professor in the Media School and an affiliate faculty in Cognitive Science. Academic degrees in psychology and communication along with work experience in the media industry have fueled my teaching and research interests. My current program of research includes experiments on moral behavior and aggression and on race and media (click here for more info). I teach a variety of courses on media psychology in the Media School. In my spare time, I try not to do too much research on my two boys (even though there are some REALLY interesting questions about morality and children’s development worth exploring). I love to travel, hike, and play baseball, and through my work as a faculty advisor to the IU Dance Marathon I also enjoy working with students on behalf of Riley Hospital for Children.

GenEd Information: Approved for the Social & Historical Studies requirement of the IU Bloomington General Education program.