Description
Book SynopsisMethodological Problems with the Academic Sources of Popular Psychology: Context, Inference, and Measurement examines the relationship between academic and popular psychology from a critical perspective with a focus on issues of methodology. The monograph traces the path from ideas in reputable popular psychology back to the original academic research tradition from which the claims were generated. It also addresses the conceptual and methodological controversies with respect to the original research typically ignored or played down in popular writing. This book covers a range of topics including the question of universal biases in judgment, resurgent notions of fast thinking and a cognitive unconscious, the psychology of happiness and other positive psychologies, the effects of parenting on child outcomes, and more general issues related to psychological tests and measures. The methodological problems that emerge include problems with generalizing from specific experimental conditions
Trade ReviewPsychology is both produced and consumed. Robert Ausch brilliantly traces the rise of psychology to being a ‘consumable’ and explores the gap between psychology as understood by its producers and the manner in which, in its ‘pop’ form, it is consumed. In the process he deeply examines problems in both the production and the consumption of psychological ‘insights.’ -- Joseph Glick, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter One: The Past and Present Landscape of Pop Psychology Chapter Two: The Psychology of Cognitive Biases Chapter Three: Fast Systems and Unconscious Cognition Chapter Four: Happiness Psychology and Uncertainty Chapter Five: The Effects of Parenting: Correlations and Causes Chapter Six: Psychological Measurement: IQ, Personality, and Emotional Intelligence Conclusion: How to Read Pop Psychology
