The rise of pop-psychology: can it make your life better, or is it all snake-oil?
Curated from: theconversation.com
Ideas, facts & insights covering these topics:
4 ideas
·2.88K reads
12
Explore the World's Best Ideas
Join today and uncover 100+ curated journeys from 50+ topics. Unlock access to our mobile app with extensive features.
Pop psychology
Popular psychology can be described as trying to make psychological ideas accessible, palatable, and usable to the general public.
Pop psychology consists of three main genres.
- Recent developments in scientific psychology. These works focus on mind, brain and behaviour.
- Practical help with everyday challenges. It includes publications that aim to make us better leaders, lovers, parents, smarter, thinner, fitter, etc.
- Help in overcoming mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety or other conditions. The genre seeks to reduce suffering and dysfunction.
79
1.67K reads
The blurry line between psychology and self-help
The vast majority of the self-help industry deals with the two genres of pop psychology: practical help with everyday challenges and overcoming mental health problems.
But not all popular psychology is self-help, and not all self-help literature is based on psychology. Dale Carnegie, How To Win Friends and Influence People, was a salesman, actor and public speaking coach. Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was a religious educator, and M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Travelled, was a psychiatrist.
65
441 reads
The case against pop psychology
It is easy to criticise pop psychology as they often offer simplistic claims, easy answers to complex problems and endless positivity.
Pop psychology often wanders away from any scientific evidence. Even when it is built on research, the foundation may be flimsy. Some research findings that support pop psychology cannot be replicated when studies are redone. Other claims are true to some extent but exaggerated in importance.
60
377 reads
A case for pop psychology
The self-help consumer may devour pop psychology in an attempt to find happiness and success. There is some evidence that the search may be successful and make a positive difference.
Research on bibliotherapy - using books to treat mental health problems - revealed that it could effectively reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and sexual dysfunctions. Even self-administered bibliotherapy may be at least equally effective as the standard care for people with depression.
57
388 reads
IDEAS CURATED BY
BeeAyKay 's ideas are part of this journey:
Learn more about psychology with this collection
How to showcase your skills and experience
How to answer common interview questions
How to make a good first impression
Related collections
Similar ideas
3 ideas
What Is Behind the Psychology of Positive Thinking?
verywellmind.com
3 ideas
4 ideas
Why Is Psychology Such a Popular Major
verywellmind.com
Read & Learn
20x Faster
without
deepstash
with
deepstash
with
deepstash
Personalized microlearning
—
100+ Learning Journeys
—
Access to 200,000+ ideas
—
Access to the mobile app
—
Unlimited idea saving
—
—
Unlimited history
—
—
Unlimited listening to ideas
—
—
Downloading & offline access
—
—
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates