Brad J Bushman, PH.D.

Brad J. Bushman is a professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University, where he holds the Margaret Hall and Robert Randal Rinehart Chair of Mass Communication. He is also a professor of communication science at the VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands in the summer. For about 30 years he has conducted research on the causes, consequences, and solutions to the problem of human aggression and violence. He co-chaired the National Science Foundation youth violence advisory...See more

Brad J. Bushman is a professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University, where he holds the Margaret Hall and Robert Randal Rinehart Chair of Mass Communication. He is also a professor of communication science at the VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands in the summer. For about 30 years he has conducted research on the causes, consequences, and solutions to the problem of human aggression and violence. He co-chaired the National Science Foundation youth violence advisory committee that was formed in the wake of the Newtown school shooting. He also is a member of President Obama's committee on gun violence. He has published over 170 peer-reviewed journal articles. According to Google Scholar, his articles have been cited over 25,000 times. He is ranked #2 in citations among communication scholars. In 2013 he received the 2013 Ig Nobel Psychology Prize (signed by three Nobel Laureates) for research with French colleagues titled "'Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder': People who think they are drunk also think they are attractive." In 2014 he received the Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to Media Psychology and Technology, American Psychological Association. His research has challenged several myths (e.g., 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, warning labels reduce audience size). One colleague calls him the "myth buster." His research has been published in the top scientific journals (e.g., Science, PNAS), and has been featured extensively in the mass media (e.g., BBC, New York Times, NPR). See less