Popular psychology
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2008-05-30T12:10:21Z
Cgingold
2013997
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The term '''popular psychology''' (frequently called '''pop psychology''' or '''pop psych'''), refers to concepts and theories about human mental life and behaviour that are purportedly based on [[psychology]] and that attain popularity amongst the general population.
The term is often derogatory, used to describe psychological concepts that are oversimplified, out of date, unproven, misunderstood or misinterpreted; however, the term may also be used to describe professionally-produced psychological knowledge, regarded by most experts as valid and effective, that is intended for use by the general public.<ref>''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.</ref>
==Types of popular psychology==
Popular psychology commonly takes the form of:
* [[self help]] books, for example ''The Road Less Travelled,'' by [[M. Scott Peck]];
* [[Advice column|advice]] dispensed through radio, TV, and print; for example [[Dear Abby]] and [[Dr. Phil (TV series)|Dr. Phil]];
* [[Mythology|myths]] such as "People use only about 10% of their brain's capacity"<ref>Standing, Lionel G., and Huber, Herman. (2003) "Do Psychology Courses Reduce Belief in Psychological Myths?" ''Social Behaviour and Personality'', 31(6), 585-592</ref>;
* concepts that may or may not have a basis in psychology, such as [[inner child]], [[Lateralization of brain function|left brain/right brain]], [[emotional intelligence]], [[freudian slip]], [[fight-or-flight response]], and [[Enneagram of Personality|enneagram]];
* public perceptions about psychological methodologies that have not been fully scientifically validated, such as [[neuro-linguistic programming]];<ref name="Devilly 2005">Grant J. Devilly (2005) [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1440-1614.2005.01601.x Power Therapies and possible threats to the science of psychology and psychiatry] Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry Vol.39 p.437</ref>
* [[urban legend]]s such as "Psychologist [[B. F. Skinner]] raised his own daughter in a '[[Operant conditioning chamber|Skinner box]]' "<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/science/skinner.asp "One Man and a Baby Box"], [[Snopes|snopes.com]], retrieved [[2006-03-13]].</ref>
==Popular psychology and self-help==
Popular psychology is an essential ingredient of the gigantic [[self help]] industry. <ref>Cushman, P. (1990) "Why the self is empty: Toward a historically situated psychology. ''American Psychologist'', 45, 599-611. Cited in Fried, Stephen. (1998) "An Undergraduate Course in American Popular Psychology." ''Teaching of Psychology'' Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 38-39.</ref>
According to Fried and Schultis, criteria for a good self-help book include "claims made by the author as to the book's efficacy, the presentation of problem-solving strategies based on scientific evidence and professional experience, the clarity of the writing, the author's credentials and professional experience, and the inclusion of a bibliography." <ref> Fried, S.B., and Shultis, G.A. (1995) "The best self-help and self-awareness books: A topic-by-topic guide to quality information." Chicago: American Library Association Editions. Cited in Fried, Stephen. (1998) "An Undergraduate Course in American Popular Psychology." ''Teaching of Psychology'' Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 38-39.</ref>
Three potential dangers of self-help books are: <ref>Craighead, L., McNamara, K., and Horan, J. (1984) "Perspectives on self-help and bibliotherapy: You are what you read." In S. Brown and R. Lent (eds.), ''Handbook of counselling psychology.'' New York: Wiley.
Pp 878 – 929. Cited in Fried, Stephen. (1998) "An Undergraduate Course in American Popular Psychology." ''Teaching of Psychology'' Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 38-39.</ref>
*people may falsely label themselves as psychologically disturbed;
*people may misdiagnose themselves and use material that deals with the wrong problem;
*people may not be able to evaluate a program and may select an ineffective one;
==Pop psychologists==
Some figures/movements characterized at varying times as exponents of pop psychology include:
* [[Lucinda Bassett]]
* [[Melody Beattie]]
* [[John Bradshaw (author)|John Bradshaw]]
* [[Tony Buzan]]
* [[Edward De Bono]]
* [[Wayne Dyer]]
* [[Werner Erhard]] <ref>Robitscher, Jonas B.: ''The powers of psychiatry''. Boston: Houghton Mifflen. 1980, page 455.</ref>
* [[L. Ron Hubbard]]/[[Scientology]] <ref>Linn, Virginia. "L. Ron Hubbard, founder" [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05205/542267.stm ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''], [[24 July]] 2005. Retrieved on [[2006-08-26]]</ref>
* [[David Icke]]
* [[Phil McGraw]] ("Dr Phil") <ref>Dembling, Sophia and Lisa Gutierrez: ''The Making of Dr. Phil''. John Wiley, 2003. ISBN 0-471-46726-X</ref>
* [[Anthony Robbins]]
* [[Steven Pinker]]
== See also==
* [[New Age]]
* [[Folk psychology]]
* [[Psychobabble]]
* [[Self-help]]
==Further reading ==
* [[Mark Jarzombek]], ''The Psychologizing of Modernity''. Cambridge University Press, 2000.
*Justman, Stewart. ''Fool's paradise : the unreal world of pop psychology.'' Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2005. ISBN 1566636280.
:''Stewart argues that influential self-help gurus misuse the rhetoric of civil rights and 1960s dissent in preaching liberation from guilt, "artificial distinctions," and virtually everything else in the pursuit of self-realization.''
*Cordón, Luis A. ''Popular psychology : an encyclopedia.'' Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2005. ISBN 0313324573.
:''The goal is "to try to counteract the tide of misleading information about the field of psychology with a concise guide to some things that the well-informed student of psychology and the interested general public ought to know."'' <ref>American Library Association [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0313324573 cited] at Amazon.com.</ref>
== References ==
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{{Psychology}}
[[Category:Popular psychology| ]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Types of scientific fallacy]]
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