Why Are Fanboys and Fangirls So Ready to Fight?

Upon completion of this training, the individual is awarded one (1) APA/NBCC/ACE/APT CE Hour of Completion. 

About This Event

Fandom of one kind or another is at the core of geek communities, but it has a downside in the form of rivalries and warring communities. It’s always odd when the Star Trek people start throwing verbal bombs at the Star Wars fans, but there’s a wealth of psychological research that can help explain this behavior. Better yet, we can also use that knowledge to encourage more harmony and focus on the preferred side of the signal/noise ratio.

Disability Accommodations

It is the responsibility of the Individual to contact Geek Therapeutics to request disability accommodations at Hello@geektherapeutics.com.

Geek Therapeutics is committed to helping each student reach his/her academic potential and to providing every student equal opportunity to participate in and engage with the course. In keeping with this commitment, effort has been made to develop accessible learning materials that provide equal access. Please contact Geek Therapeutics immediately if access to course materials is restricted due to a disability so the issue(s) can be resolved in a timely manner.

Learning Objectives

1. Apply social learning theory to create environments and interactions where people are less likely to fall back on ingroup vs. outgroup behaviors.
2. Identify how choice-supportive biases can create mental ruts along which people’s thoughts about how their preferred product or fandom is better than others.
3. Identify how the psychology of consumer choice and regret can lead people to conflate their identity with that of a product or fandom.

Course Instructor

Jamie Madigan Ph.D. has become an expert on the psychology of video games and seeks to popularize an understanding of how various aspects of psychology can be used to understand why games are made how they are and why their players behave as they do. Dr. Madigan has written extensively on the subject for magazines, websites, his own site at http://www.psychologyofgames.com, and in two books: Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People Who Play Them and The Engagement Game: Why Your WorkPlace Culture Should Look More Like A Video Game. He has also appeared as an expert on the psychology of video games in outlets such as Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Wired Magazine, The Atlantic, and others.

Continuing Education Credits

Psychologists: Geek Therapeutics is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Geek Therapeutics maintains responsibility for this program and its content. 

Counselors: Geek Therapeutics has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7042. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Geek Therapeutics is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. 

Social Workers: Geek Therapeutics, #1769, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Geek Therapeutics maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 05/19/2022 – 05/19/2025. Social workers completing this course receive 1 continuing education credits. 

Play Therapists: Geek Therapeutics has been approved by APT as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, No. 21-649. Programs that do not qualify for APT credit are clearly identified. Geek Therapeutics is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. 

Other Professions: This activity qualifies for the specified number of hours of instructional content as required by many licensing boards and professional organizations. Save your course outline and certificate of completion, and contact your board or organization for