Popular psychology

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Popular psychology (sometimes shortened as pop psychology or pop psych) refers to the concepts and theories about human mental life and behavior that are supposedly based on psychology and are considered credible and accepted by the wider populace. The concept is cognate with the human potential movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Contents

The term pop psychologist can be used to describe authors, consultants, lecturers, and entertainers who are widely perceived as being psychologists, not because of their academic credentials, but because they have projected that image or have been perceived in that way in response to their work.

The term popular psychology can also be used when referring to the popular psychology industry, a sprawling network of everyday sources of information about human behavior.

The term is often used in a pejorative fashion to describe psychological concepts that appear oversimplified, out of date, unproven, misunderstood or misinterpreted; however, the term may also be used to describe professionally produced psychological knowledge, regarded by most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. [1]

Types

Popular psychology commonly takes the form of:

Self-help

Popular psychology is an essential ingredient of the self-help industry. [5]

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 author's credentials and professional experience, and the inclusion of a bibliography." [6]

Three potential dangers of self-help books are: [7]

Psychobabble

The misuse and overuse of technical psychological terms is called psychobabble .

Sometimes psychological jargon is used to dress up sales pitches, self-help programs, and New Age ideas to lend these endeavors a respectable scientific appearance. Other times, people use psychological terminology to describe everyday, normal experiences in a way that pathologize a normal behavior, such as feeling sad after a loss, by suggesting that unpleasant emotions are a type of psychopathology, like major depressive disorder. People may use psychobabble because they believe that complex, descriptive or special esoteric terms more clearly or more dramatically communicate their experiences of social and personal situations, or because they believe that it makes them sound more educated.

Some terms that have an origin in psychological terminology and are typically misused include co-dependent, dysfunctional, meaningful relationship, narcissistic, antisocial, traumatic bonding, synergy, and gaslighting .

History

Early movements in the history of American psychology can explain the importance our culture places on the field at large.

Rise of psychology in the United States

Beginning late in the 19th century, and largely influenced by German scholar Wilhelm Wundt, Americans including James Mckeen Cattell, G. Stanley Hall, William James, and others helped to formalize psychology as an academic discipline in the United States. Popularity in psychology grew as the public became more aware of the field. In 1890, James published The Principles of Psychology , which produced a surge of public interest. In 1892, James wrote Psychology: The Briefer Course as an opportunity for the public to read and understand psychological literature. In a similar attempt in 1895, E. W. Scripture, another American psychologist, published a book, called Thinking, Feeling, Doing, that was adapted for the average reader.

Despite the various publications, the general public had minimal understanding of what psychologists did and what psychology was all about. Many believed psychology was "mind reading and spiritualism" [8] : 941  and that it had no real application in everyday life, whereas in reality, psychology was more about studying normal human behaviors and experiences that could very well have strong applications to everyday life.

Thus, regardless of the mass interest in psychology, an accurate account of psychology for the layman was rare. Many psychologists became concerned that their profession was failing appropriately to reach the public.

In 1893, Joseph Jastrow and Hugo Münsterberg led a public exhibit on psychology in the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago as an effort to celebrate psychology, offer information to the public, and correct popular misconceptions. The exhibit provided catalogs of information on equipment, research topics, and purposes of psychology. [9] [10] [11] In a similar attempt to inform the public, the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis included (among others) presentations from G. Stanley Hall, Edward B. Titchener, Mary Whiton Calkins, John B. Watson, and Adolph Meyer. The exhibits also included public testing and experimentation.

Although admirable, the attempt to seek public approval failed to make a significant impact and psychologists became more concerned about their public image. In 1900, Jastrow wrote a book entitled Fact and Fable in Psychology that aimed to resolve popular psychological misconceptions by clearly discerning fact from fable. In preface to his book, Jastrow states, "It is a matter of serious concern that the methods of genuine psychology, that the conditions of advance in psychology, that the scope and nature of its problems should be properly understood." (vii) [12]

Popularization of psychology

It was not until the more powerful movement of applied psychology that popularity in psychology grew to affect people's everyday lives. The work of G. Stanley Hall in educational psychology led changes in the approaches of teaching and the Child-Study movement, supported in experimental psychology, and guided educational reform.

Several critics warned that applying experimental psychology to education may be problematic. In 1898, Münsterberg wrote a controversial article entitled "The Danger from Experimental Psychology" in which he claims the impossible transfer of experimental results into successful teaching practices. [13]

Despite the disagreements, popular culture grasped onto the implications in the field of applied psychology with the hope that the research could improve their lives. Early applications included clinical psychology, business, industrial psychology, and the psychology of advertising. Furthermore, the onset of World War I led to advances in psychology brought about by its application in military psychology.

The media provided the public more accessible psychological information through the publication of countless books and popular magazines including Harpers, Forum, Atlantic Monthly, and Colliers. After WWI, demand grew for a more frequent source of popular psychology and newspapers became a primary source of public information. In fact, newspaper columns were so well-received that professional psychologist Jastrow had a column entitled Keeping Mentally Fit that appeared in more than 150 newspapers in the 1920s. [8] : 943 

Soon, public demand for psychological services and information grew so fierce that the availability of legitimate research and real psychologists became insufficient. Consequently, nonprofessionals began to offer their services under the guise of psychologists.

The American Psychological Association (APA) responded with an effort to establish official certifications for trained psychologists. However, popular interest overlooked the qualifications and eagerly sought to apply popular psychological science regardless of its validity. [8] : 943 

Short-lived, the excitement over useful psychology was curbed by articles warning of the exaggerated and false claims made by popular psychology. Stephen Leacock described the changing popularity in psychology in 1924, stating,

As part of the new researches, it was found that psychology can be used... for almost everything in life. There is now not only psychology in the academic or college sense, but also a Psychology of Business, Psychology of Education, a Psychology of Salesmanship, a Psychology of Religion... and a Psychology of Playing the Banjo. In short, everybody has his. [14]

Others authored similar cautions to the public and, among the most recursive, was that of Grace Adams (psychologist) who, in her 1928 article, wrote

a vociferous attack on applied psychology [and] argued that psychology had forsaken its scientific roots so that individual psychologists might achieve popularity and prosperity. [15]

After the Depression hit in 1929, popular literature began to decline while scientific publications in periodicals increased. This discrepancy between the public sector and academia supported the popular belief that professional psychologists were not interested in solving America's problems. The lack of professional participation provided pseudoscientific and unprofessional psychological literature to become very popular. In the 1930s, self-help books and the publication of three magazines ( Modern Psychologist , Practical Psychology Monthly , and Psychology Digest ) became part of a popular psychology movement. [8] : 944 

World War II gave professional psychology another chance to prove its value as a science with an increase in professional opportunities. In the article "Don't They Understand Us? A history of Psychology's Public Image", Benjamin describes the direction of psychology at the time:

The praise psychologists received from government, industry, and the military provided a tremendous boost for the public image of psychology... Yet many contemporary psychologists are concerned that the current image is far from acceptable and that the science and profession of psychology continues to suffer because of that image. [8] : 945 

In his Presidential Address to the APA in 1969, George Armitage Miller was hopeful for psychology's future stating, "that the real impact of psychology will be felt, ... through its effects on the public at large, through a new and different public conception of what is humanly possible and what is humanly desirable." [16]

Current events influence the popularity of areas in psychology. During 2020 and 2021 many of the most popular psychology articles were about COVID-19 and even Zoom fatigue. [17] The APA's most downloaded journal articles frequently include research about social media. [18] Social media frequently spreads misinformation about health, [19] [20] and this could extend to mental health misinformation. Psychobabble can be used on social media to spread this misinformation. However, social media can be a place where pop psychology is used to spread mental health awareness. [21]

Limits and criticism

A June 2023 article by Vox Media explored the limits of pop psychology terms ("therapy speak") saying "people become attached to terms that encapsulate certain events and people, to varying degrees, in order to bolster an argument or justify an experience. Having common language to describe a difficult situation can help people more effectively communicate their concerns and garner support, but these terms can just as easily be weaponized." [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both conscious and unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feelings, and motives. Psychology is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between the natural and social sciences. Biological psychologists seek an understanding of the emergent properties of brains, linking the discipline to neuroscience. As social scientists, psychologists aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups.

Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the relationship between mental states and social situations, studying the social conditions under which thoughts, feelings, and behaviors occur, and how these variables influence social interactions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Psychological Association</span> Scientific and professional organization

The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 157,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It has 54 divisions, which function as interest groups for different subspecialties of psychology or topical areas. The APA has an annual budget of around $125 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychologist</span> Professional who evaluates, diagnoses, treats and studies behavior and mental processes

A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how individuals relate to each other and to their environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-help</span> Self-guided improvement

Self-help or self-improvement is "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems" —economically, physically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis.

Applied psychology is the use of psychological methods and findings of scientific psychology to solve practical problems of human and animal behavior and experience. Educational and organizational psychology, business management, law, health, product design, ergonomics, behavioural psychology, psychology of motivation, psychoanalysis, neuropsychology, psychiatry and mental health are just a few of the areas that have been influenced by the application of psychological principles and scientific findings. Some of the areas of applied psychology include counseling psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, engineering psychology, occupational health psychology, legal psychology, school psychology, sports psychology, community psychology, neuropsychology, medical psychology and clinical psychology, evolutionary psychology, human factors, forensic psychology and traffic psychology. In addition, a number of specialized areas in the general area of psychology have applied branches. However, the lines between sub-branch specializations and major applied psychology categories are often mixed or in some cases blurred.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">APA style</span> Academic style and writing format

APA style is a writing style and format for academic documents such as scholarly journal articles and books. It is commonly used for citing sources within the field of behavioral and social sciences, including sociology, education, nursing, criminal justice, anthropology, and psychology. It is described in the style guide of the American Psychological Association (APA), titled the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The guidelines were developed to aid reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences, for clarity of communication, and for "word choice that best reduces bias in language". APA style is widely used, either entirely or with modifications, by hundreds of other scientific journals, in many textbooks, and in academia. The current edition is its seventh revision.

Forensic psychology is the application of scientific knowledge and methods to assist in answering legal questions that may arise in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes research on various psychology-law topics, such as: jury selection, reducing systemic racism in criminal law, eyewitness testimony, evaluating competency to stand trial, or assessing military veterans for service-connected disability compensation. The American Psychological Association's Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists reference several psychology sub-disciplines, such as: social, clinical, experimental, counseling, and neuropsychology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor of Psychology</span> Doctoral degree

The Doctor of Psychology is a professional doctoral degree intended to prepare graduates for careers that apply scientific knowledge of psychology and deliver empirically based service to individuals, groups and organizations. Earning the degree was originally completed through one of two established training models for clinical psychology. However, Psy.D. programs are no longer limited to Clinical Psychology as several universities and professional schools have begun to award professional doctorates in Business Psychology, Organizational Development, Forensic Psychology, Counseling Psychology, and School Psychology.

Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. Central to its practice are psychological assessment, clinical formulation, and psychotherapy, although clinical psychologists also engage in research, teaching, consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and administration. In many countries, clinical psychology is a regulated mental health profession.

Counseling psychology is a psychological specialty that began with a focus on vocational counseling, but later moved its emphasis to adjustment counseling, and then expanded to cover all normal psychology and psychotherapy. There are many subcategories for counseling psychology, such as marriage and family counseling, rehabilitation counseling, clinical mental health counseling, educational counseling, etc. In each setting, they are all required to follow the same guidelines.

Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare. The discipline is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and illness. Psychological factors can affect health directly. For example, chronically occurring environmental stressors affecting the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, cumulatively, can harm health. Behavioral factors can also affect a person's health. For example, certain behaviors can, over time, harm or enhance health. Health psychologists take a biopsychosocial approach. In other words, health psychologists understand health to be the product not only of biological processes but also of psychological, behavioral, and social processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Jastrow</span> American psychologist

Joseph Jastrow was a Polish-born American psychologist renowned for his contributions to experimental psychology, design of experiments, and psychophysics. He also worked on the phenomena of optical illusions, and a number of well-known optical illusions that were either first reported in or popularized by his work. Jastrow believed that everyone had their own, often incorrect, preconceptions about psychology. One of his ultimate goals was to use the scientific method to identify truth from error, and educate the general public, which Jastrow accomplished through speaking tours, popular print media, and the radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahzarin Banaji</span> Indian social psychologist (born 1956)

Mahzarin Rustum Banaji FBA is an American psychologist of Indian origin at Harvard University, known for her work popularizing the concept of implicit bias in regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, and other factors.

Shelley Elizabeth Taylor is an American psychologist. She serves as a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University, and was formerly on the faculty at Harvard University. A prolific author of books and scholarly journal articles, Taylor has long been a leading figure in two subfields related to her primary discipline of social psychology: social cognition and health psychology. Her books include The Tending Instinct and Social Cognition, the latter by Susan Fiske and Shelley Taylor.

Psychobabble is a derogatory name for therapy speech or writing that uses psychological jargon, buzzwords, and esoteric language to create an impression of truth or plausibility. The term implies that the speaker or writer lacks the experience and understanding necessary for the proper use of psychological terms. Additionally, it may imply that the content of speech deviates markedly from common sense and good judgement.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology</span>

The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) is a professional organization that promotes the "science, practice, and teaching" of industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology. SIOP is also known as Division 14 of the American Psychological Association (APA). The society publishes I/O-related journals, provides its members with resources, and organizes an annual conference.

Wendy Wood is a UK-born psychologist who is the Provost Professor Emerita of Psychology and Business at University of Southern California, where she has been a faculty member since 2009. She previously served as vice dean of social sciences at the Dornsife College of the University of Southern California. Her primary research contributions are in habits and behavior change along with the psychology of gender.

References

  1. ↑ APA Dictionary of Psychology, 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.
  2. ↑ Standing, Lionel G., and Huber, Herman. (2003) "Do Psychology Courses Reduce Belief in Psychological Myths?" Social Behaviour and Personality, 31(6), 585-592
  3. ↑ Grant J. Devilly (2005) Power Therapies and possible threats to the science of psychology and psychiatry Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry Vol.39 p.437
  4. ↑ "One Man and a Baby Box", snopes.com, retrieved 2006-03-13.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Benjamin, Ludy T. (1986). "Why don't they understand us? A history of psychology's public image" . American Psychologist . 41 (9). doi:10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.941. ISSN   1935-990X.
  9. ↑ Perloff, Robert; Perloff, Linda S. (March 1977). "The fair: An opportunity for depicting psychology and for conducting behavioral research" . American Psychologist . 32 (3): 222. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.32.3.220. ISSN   1935-990X.
  10. ↑ Joseph Jastrow catalog online
  11. ↑ Hugo Münsterberg catalog online
  12. ↑ Jastrow, 1900
  13. ↑ Benjamin, 2006
  14. ↑ Leacock, 1924, pp.471-472
  15. ↑ p.944 (as cited in Benjamin, 1986)
  16. ↑ Miller, G.A. (1969). "Psychology as a means of promoting human welfare". American Psychologist. 24 (12): 1066. doi:10.1037/h0028988.
  17. ↑ Palmer, C (January 1, 2022). "The top 10 journal articles". American Psychological Association. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  18. ↑ Shackleford, Karen (April 2022). "Psychology of Popular Media is, well, popular". Psychology of Popular Media. 11 (2): 109–110. doi:10.1037/ppm0000406. ISSN   2689-6575. S2CID   248196930.
  19. ↑ Suarez-Lledo, Victor; Alvarez-Galvez, Javier (2021-01-20). "Prevalence of Health Misinformation on Social Media: Systematic Review". Journal of Medical Internet Research. 23 (1): e17187. doi: 10.2196/17187 . PMC   7857950 . PMID   33470931.
  20. ↑ Puri, Neha; Coomes, Eric A.; Haghbayan, Hourmazd; Gunaratne, Keith (2020-11-01). "Social media and vaccine hesitancy: new updates for the era of COVID-19 and globalized infectious diseases". Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. 16 (11): 2586–2593. doi:10.1080/21645515.2020.1780846. ISSN   2164-5515. PMC   7733887 . PMID   32693678.
  21. ↑ Latha, K.; Meena, K. S.; Pravitha, M. R.; Dasgupta, Madhuporna; Chaturvedi, S. K. (2020-01-01). "Effective use of social media platforms for promotion of mental health awareness". Journal of Education and Health Promotion. 9 (1): 124. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_90_20 . ISSN   2277-9531. PMC   7325786 . PMID   32642480.
  22. ↑ Volpe, Allie (2023-06-25). "Why we use therapy-speak — and when to stop". Vox. Retrieved 2023-07-11.

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