How can the study and field of Psychology be rescued from the Pop Psychologists & Talk show hosts?

Question

I use to bash it because I didn't understand it, Now I understand it a little better. I am going to be majoring in Psychology in the Fall Semster of '07.
The Pop Psychologists, Talk Show Hosts and the occiasional "psychics" are really marring this great academic subject.

Answer 1

Great field, I hope you enjoy it and contribute to it!

My wife was double soc/psych and I bus/econ. All are social sciences and your answer can be summed up with simple supply & demand economics.

People turn to pop psych, palm readers or Oprah because of this simple reason: their needs are not being met by traditional psychologists. Traditional sources are not helping people, they are medicating them.

How many sports fans turn to alternate teams when their main team loses year after year. Nobody likes to lose and traditional psychology is losing and letting people down.

I have never understood long-term counseling patients. I mean, if you had to take your car back to the same mechanic for the same problem month after month, year after year, wouldn't you consider a different solution? Yet, I've counseled and coached many people from long-term care and counseling who I was able to help find their productive, healthy self and move on with success. Psychologists should have a high turnover rate, but they do not.

People need to find belief in themselves and to find a reason to sustain themselves in a world that offers quick fixes, numbness and armageddon.

So, in answer, I think it is the people who need to be rescued from disorders, medications and lobbyists. And I hope that traditional psychology will step up to the plate with new studies about coping mechanisms and parenting. That's where the problems are. I am working to fund new studies in neuropsychology to learn more about the brain in relationship to those with 'disorders'. People need better information about what is really happening in their minds and bodies.

People are tired and distrusting of pharmaceuticals heavy advertising directly to the public and pill pushing and popping. The pharmaceuticals are psychology's enemy - not pop psych. Pop psych will always have a niche market and follow the trends, but it will never sway/help people en-mass.

Best wishes at school. :)

Answer 2

Though these pop psychologists and talk show hosts are a danger to the field, the field sort of protects itself. The American Psychological Association and the American Counseling Association both have codes of ethics that psychologists and counselors must follow. Included in these codes of ethics are standards for public speaking as an expert in the field. Though the APA and ACA are not governmental organizations, they are highly respected private organizations. Being a member of one of these organizations shows a level of credibility. If psychologists or counselors are irresponsible, in private or in public, then they can be reprimanded or even expelled from these organizations. The pop psychologists you see on television are often not members of these organizations, or often not even psychologists or counselors. The "Dr." in Dr. Laura Slessinger is not for psychology. Dr. Phil, if I understand correctly, is no longer a member of the APA, ACA, or any other respected psychological organization. Check out Dr. Drew on loveline. He is a psychiatrist and is probably a member of the American Psychiatric Association (the other APA). He is a good example of what psychology should look like in the media. At any rate, educated people know these organizations and use them to avoid fraudulent and entertainment-oriented advice.

So to answer your question, psychology can be rescued from these pop psychologists by better educating the public on how the field works.

Answer 3

I know what you mean. Everybody wants to be Dr. Phil! (Well, that probably isn't true... but a lot of people listen to him!)

What if the academic psychologists all got together and put out some really accessable piece of literature? People would understand it and it'd give the really credible people a little publicity. Is there a collegiate organization for psychology students? I bet if anybody had answers to your questions they would.

Good luck in the fall!!

Answer 4

1) don't watch popular shows on tv- focus on scientific shows like PBS
2) learn how to interpret scientific studies- PubMed and National Library of Medicine is a good start
3)Psychic has nothing to do with science or psychology. None of those peol have degrees or training- most of them are really good at making inferences about people based on cues most people miss on a conscious level.
If you plan to major in Psych, plan on a master's or doctorate degree; a bachelor's won't get you a good job in this field.

Answer 5

I think that good science can survive a few talk show hosts.

What people ought to do, though, is get their psychology from legitimate sources - and that's what too many people don't do. That doesn't mean, however, that psychology, itself, needs rescuing.

Answer 6

Hopefully the craze will die down and people will lose interest in the uneducated people doling out advice.

Answer 7

I don't' know but I do think Dr. Phil is a pretty straight shooter.