Tag: Misinformation

Psychological Misinformation and Conferences

Conferences: Who is psychological science for? I recent got back from a psychology conference, for the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, of which I am a member. For the first time, I presented material of my own (outside of a poster way back in 2008). It was exciting, and nerve-wracking. And the convention got… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation and Conferences

Psychological Misinformation: Normal

Psychological Misinformation and the search for the normal When I was perhaps 8 or 9 years old, I asked my mother, “Is anyone actually normal?” It was one of those moments where child innocence cuts through the massive weight of worldviews drilled into us by adulthood, to identify something simple but profound. It was also,… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation: Normal

Psychological Misinformation: Individual psychopathology

Are we programmed to certain individually-located mental illness? There are a few assumptions that underly the concept of mental illness in western medicine. One of these is that there is a specific process of illness that is contained within an individual person. This can seem obvious for many medical issues. If I have high blood… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation: Individual psychopathology

Psychological Misinformation: “Authentic Self”?

Be Your “Authentic Self”? I don’t know if you have the same experience, but I hear all the time now people extolling the need to show their “authentic self.” A quick Google search came up with 209 results, most of them exuberant sounding, some of those unfortunately from fellow psychologists. Almost all of them promising… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation: “Authentic Self”?

Assumptions in Psychology Reporting (2)

Recap: Assumptions about science that filter into Psychological Reporting Last time, we started our exploration of assumptions in psychology reporting by understanding a bit about how science works. We discussed the difference between science as a whole, and the data it relies on. We discussed how science is ultimately storytelling about who we are, how… Continue reading Assumptions in Psychology Reporting (2)

Assumptions in Psychology Reporting (1)

Prejudice Shapes Interpretation When I read psychology articles, whether in scientific journals or in the news, I always keep my ear tuned for bias. Although generally (probably) unintentional, biases often creep into how we interpret data. There are many books about the misuse of data (examples: How to Lie with Statistics, How to Use (and… Continue reading Assumptions in Psychology Reporting (1)

Psychological Misinformation: “Traditional” Masculinity

What is masculinity? It is a strange time to be male. Are people who identify as male (such as myself) under threat from emasculating policies? Or, conversely, are people who are born male and continue to endorse maleness given privileges no one else has, inheriting unearned power over everyone else? Both? Neither? What I will… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation: “Traditional” Masculinity

Psychological Misinformation: Emotions

Emotions: Hero or villain? Emotions have often been the turf for a pitched battle over control. This battle is connected to a variety of psychological misinformation. In one camp, people who glorify emotions as the promised land. “If it feels good, it is good,” they say. Willing, or rather eager, to jump into any experience… Continue reading Psychological Misinformation: Emotions