Banned Books: Past, Present, and Future

This chapter examines book banning from a psychological perspective. The chapter provides some introductory context about present-day debates over book banning in the USA. Next, the chapter describes some historical examples of book banning around the globe, including a discussion of who initiated the bannings, and why, as well as the results and implications of their actions. Examples from a range of sociopolitical positions are included. The chapter then provides some descriptions of book banning past and present in the USA, outlining some of the diverse viewpoints. Though there is some psychological research on the impact of exposure to other media use (such as violent video games or films), there is a true paucity of psychological research on book banning. Relevant research from psychology and related disciplines is presented, and the relevance of psychology perspectives to the topic is described, and directions for future research are suggested.