The rise of pop-psychology: can it make your life better, or is it all snake-oil?
The popularisation of psychology has been strikingly successful. Books written for the public are published at an accelerating rate, bolstered by countless blogs, podcasts, magazines, TED talks and videos. So will popular psychology change your life? Or does it rest on junk science and make us self-obsessed and miserable?
What is pop psychology?
Popular psychology can be defined as any attempt to present psychological ideas to a general audience.
- There are three main genres of pop psychology: First, books and media whose primary aim is to inform the public about recent developments in scientific psychology, commonly authored by academics or science journalists
- Second, advice for people who want practical help with the challenges of everyday living, written by psychology practitioners rather than academics
- Third, a form of self-administered therapy, offers help in overcoming or coping better with mental health problems
The case for pop psychology
Some resistance to pop psychology is unjustified. There can be an element of snobbery in imagining that it is only suited for people weaker, simpler, and stupider than we are.
- There is some evidence that the search may not be so vain after all.
- Research on bibliotherapy – the use of books to treat a mental health problem – provides some grounds for hope.
The blurry line between psychology and self-help
Dale Carnegie, of How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936) was a salesman, actor and public speaking coach with no psychology background.
- Norman Vincent Peale published “The Power of Positive Thinking” in 1952
- It was a huge success and sold over 2.5 million copies by 1956
- Brené Brown, of The Gifts of Imperfection (2010-2013), is a popular author who does have a psychology background
The case against pop psychology
It can stray far from any scientific evidence base while marketing itself as the work of a PhD-credentialed scholar
- Even when it is built on a foundation of research evidence, that foundation may be flimsy
- Pop psychology can also be faulted for discounting the social, cultural, and economic factors that constrain our lives
- By focusing on the individual, pop psychology authors deflect attention and will away from the need for structural change in society
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