Calm review of the popular psychology boom
May 12, 2021 08:45 Source: "China Social Sciences" May 12, 2021, Issue 2163, May 12, 2021 Author: Wang Youran

In recent years,Scientific research of popular psychology and behavior is popular all over the world,Related research results have been widely infiltrated into various institutions of public sector and private sectors and personal lives of citizens。April 2021,American investigation journalist Jesse Singal in the new book "The Measures of Optima: Why Can Popular Psychology cannot Solve our Social Issues" reminds,Popular psychology many research lacks a solid scientific foundation,At the same time, it is not enough to truly solve social injustice。

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The 1960s,Popular psychology accompanied by the rise of human potential movements in Western countries。Broadly speaking,The psychological concept and theory of the audience with non -professionals can be regarded as popular psychology。1969,One of the founders of cognitive psychology、George A. Miller, chairman of the American Psychological Society, talked about,The "secret" of psychology does not need to be conservative by trained internal lines,The public must be their own psychologists,Use the principle of psychology by yourself。The responsibility of psychologists is more about providing psychological knowledge for people who really need,instead of playing the role of an expert and trying to use psychology on yourself。

Subsequent half a century,Psychology circles actively respond to Miller's call,Psychological publication for ordinary people、Radio and TV show、Online media products are explosive growth。According to the introduction of Nick Haslam, a professor of psychology at the University of Melbourne, Bet365 lotto review Australia,Popular psychology does not have a strict classification standard,But three types of products are more prominent。The first category is a book and media program based on introducing the latest progress of psychology research to the public,The creators are usually academic staff。This kind of work is similar to other scientific communication works,The theme focuses on psychology、Brain、Behavior。The second type of product is stronger,Not based on the science of psychology,Instead, it provides a practical guide for people to deal with challenges in daily life。Common topics include how to become better leaders,Improve intimacy,Improve work and learning efficiency,Benefumerically、More attractive、Smart、Rich, so on, etc.。The author of such works is usually a psychologist rather than an academic personnel,The content is usually a certain distance with the scientific research involved in the topic of the topic。The third category of products for patients with psychological diseases,Provide them with actual guidance to reduce pain。It can be said,The second type of popular psychology is like a virtual coach,The third category provides self -management therapy。

Haslam thinks,The above -mentioned second and third categories can be regarded as part of the large -scale self -help industry。Self -help refers to the body、Spirit、Economy、Self -improvement of intelligence and other aspects,Diverse products,Including books、Audiovisual Products、Lecture、Workshop、Network Forum、Network Forum、Online course、Private coach、Training Project, etc.。According to a report released by an investigation company in Ireland in 2019,Self -help industry has a high market value,The main topics include weight loss/exercise、Commercial/Sales Tips、Business opportunities/investment、bet365 live casino games Relations improvement、Driving force。Self -help often learn from psychology,but not exactly equivalent to popular psychology。Many popular self -help writers have no psychological professional background,but the sales master、Religious people、Speaker, etc.。Popular psychology,Especially the popular psychology of self -help themes, although it continues to be popular,but also questioned from time to time,For example, the scientific evidence is not enough、The conclusion is too simplified、Solution floats on the surface, etc.。

Professor Christopher Ferguson, a professor of psychology at Streon University in the United States, told this reporter,Generally speaking,Professional psychologists tend to not regard popular psychology as real psychology,or a negative attitude towards it,Because this kind of content usually lacks sufficient empirical science basis。As a psychological teacher,They often warn students in popular psychological readings, not scientific truth。Ordinary people may be difficult to distinguish the authentic psychology and popular psychology、The difference between pseudo -psychology,But they want to know how to reduce stress、Relieve anxiety、Harmony with your partner。So,Those works that seem to give simple answers are easy to sell。On the contrary,Most of the real scientific research is complicated,No absolute conclusion,Not easily accepted by the public。

  Uncostable is harmful to society

Singh talked about it in the work,He has conducted research on the famous Inner Hidden Federation Test (IAT)。IAT was first proposed by American psychologist Anthony G. Greenwald and others for the first time in 1998,Usually used to evaluate the impression of the internal hidden board of the subject。This test is regarded by many Bet365 lotto review psychologists to detect and reduce the race、Gender、Age、Important tools for group prejudice related to religious beliefs,School、Enterprise、This test is added to the training of the police department and various institutions。but,This test is added to the training of the police department and various institutions、The method is unreliable。After a lot of reading and interviews,Singh discovered that IAT's reference for the real world is very low,People believe that some of its reasons are that it provides problems such as racial relationships and other issues that seem to be optimistic、Easy to implement solution。This has prompted Singh to inspect the most influential psychological perspectives in recent decades,and from this to realize the dark side of popular psychology that make everyone "reverse": Many widely wide views are not 100%lies,but being severely speculated、Excessive tout,Insufficient evidence。

The popularity of "Immature Watch" and the media、Commercial institutions、Universities' publicity and marketing are not harmless。This will cause improper resource allocation,Researchers who have exaggerated their words profit,and the shortage of scientific research expenses of others。and,The reputation of the boundary between science and pseudo -science is blurred and damaged the reputation of psychology。Another,In the second ten years of the 21st century,A crisis in multiple disciplines represented by psychology and medicine,A large number of studies have not been successfully reproduced。The current evidence shows,A considerable part of the published psychology research may be wrong。In this background,People should be more alert to those novel、Psychological perspective that sounds Bet365 lotto review exciting。Singh proposed,Why is it very tempting to understand the psychology、Psychological and behavioral scientific information how to spread in the public domain is very important。We cannot rely on the saying of semi -true and half fakes to solve today's society in the climate、Environment、Public Health、Race and Economic Equality、Education and other aspects a series of urgent problems。

  Popular psychology ignore structural factors

Haslam said,Popular psychology focuses on individual,This may cause the economy that hinders people to live a better life、Society、Cultural factors are ignored,The necessity of the need to develop structural social changes is weakened。The vigorous self -help movement may cause self -confidence,drives people to pursue unrealized perfection。From the perspective of Singh,The success of popular psychology is related to the current status of the American political and spiritual life。In recent decades,The degree of inequality of the United States intensified、Political failure、The legitimate decline of the system,Pay attention to individuals is becoming more and more intense。Daniel T. Rodgers, a historian at Princeton University, talked about,Now,The concept of human nature emphasizes choice、Energy、Performance、Desire,The community imagined community constantly shrinks,Structure and power concept fade。In this environment,People are like discrete individuals floating in the market,On the one hand, I have greater responsibility for my happiness,On the other hand with large groups、System、The common concept is increasingly isolated。

At the same time,Americans also experience the "risk transfer" of Jacob S. Hacker, a professor of political science in Yale University in the United States: As the social security network is destroyed,Bet365 app download More risks transferred from enterprises and governments to citizens,Economy is unsafe and continuously spreads to higher positions on income and wealth ladder。This makes everyone feel that they must strongly defend their gains,The possibility of alerting to the decline of the class。The combination of "Fracture Age" and "Risk Movement" makes popular psychology win in the ideological market。The focus of attention to the optimization and improvement of individuals,instead of understanding how the individual is influenced by the grand power that is not controlled by yourself。

Inside psychology,The above trend has created such a view: Human behavior is generally driven by subtle power,and can be changed by subtle power; the grand social structure and system are invisible、Not important、It is easier to be improved; subconscious and prejudice have a great impact on the social structure,But can be corrected through behavioral intervention measures,produce a significant good effect。Singh refers to this view as "prosperous world view",Its supporters believe that psychologists and behavioral scientists are lightweight、The cost -effective method can significantly improve or solve complex problems。For example,They will emphasize,Optimize individual participation in the system,Can reduce the education gap。But when facing the same problem,Sociologists will take into account racial inequality、Early life experience and other reasons for many reasons。

"Prosperous World View" does not deny that there is a broader world outside the subconscious and prejudice,But its settings are very specific、Refined priority,Almost everything else is retreating for the second time。Due to deeper structural factors, it cannot be easily corrected through psychological Bet365 app download intervention,"Prosperous World View" and popular psychology only provides expedient measures。Ferguson emphasized,Overall,Simple interpretation of complex problems or eighty -nine of the simple solutions is wrong。We need to think about,When facing the view that only attracts me emotionally and has sufficient evidence support, but not completely satisfied me,Which view is more doubtful。

Editor in charge: Zong Yue
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