Pop Psychology: What Is It & How Does It Affect Us?
With an increasing amount of pop psychology content out there, can we trust all information we come across to be accurate?
Whether you are a psychology major or someone with an avid interest in the discipline, you may have come across a range of fascinating facts about our behaviour that simply blew your mind. But are we critical of the information we consume, or do we take it at face value? The answer is not too often, unfortunately. This is a cause for concern because, in recent years, psychology has been going through a ‘replication crisis’, referring to research findings that cannot be replicated by other research studies.
With increasing curiosity towards the discipline, there has been an increase in the amount of psychological information. It is imperative that the information being made available is accurate. However, this has proven to be increasingly challenging with an increasing amount of attention being paid to popular psychology. Often TV series, podcasts, music, books, stories, or any other information about psychology have become ever-present in our daily lives.
This is because there is an overlap between popular psychology and scientific psychology, the difference between which may not be easily distinguished by someone with no prior insight into the discipline. In this article, we consider some examples of pop psychology, the impact it has on us as a society, and how we can be more aware of the information we consume.
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What is Pop Psychology?
Popular psychology, otherwise commonly known as pop psychology, refers to information about human behaviour and mental well-being as perceived by the general public, often arising due to oversimplification, misunderstandings, or outdated viewpoints. It is a broad phrase that encompasses a variety of psychological concepts, including theories and therapeutic procedures that have gained infamy through popular media such as self-help books, TV shows, or blog posts.
While there is no tried and tested method of classifying pop psychology, three common genres seem to stand out the most:
1. Popular Media like books and movies, whose primary aim is to shed light on the recent developments within the field of scientific psychology, are commonly authored by experts or academics within the discipline. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth are all examples of this genre.
2. Resources that offer individuals the guidance to overcome the challenges of daily living in a more practical manner. For example, they provide advice on a range of topics, from being effective leaders to how one can prepare for parenthood. These are often authored by practitioners rather than academics and are often not that rooted in scientific research.
3. Resources similar to the previous genre in terms of offering guidance, it focuses on a more niche target audience; individuals with mental health issues. Content such as these aims to offer some form of self-therapy techniques as a means to reduce the debilitating effects of compromised mental well-being.
An issue with pop psychology is that, regardless of the fact the information is not substantiated by scientific data, it has still managed to gain popularity among those who seek to protect and maintain their well-being.
In fact, there are a few common pop psychology facts that we have certainly come across without thinking too much about whether they are true or not.
The following section considers some popular beliefs held by the general public that are not supported by scientific evidence.
What Are Common Examples of Pop Psychology?
1. Left Brain vs. Right Brain
Have you come across statements that suggest that if you are a creative individual, you are more likely to make use of the right side of your brain?
This stems from the fact that the two sides of our brain function independently which feeds into the assumption that we tend to have a dominant side of the brain, which not only controls important parts of our functioning but also predicts how creative or analytical we turn out to be.
However, the fact of the matter is that we make use of both sides of our brain equally. MRI studies have shown that our brains are not partial to a particular hemisphere. Though either hemisphere has separate functions from the other, they work in tandem with one another. Whether we carry out a logical or creative task, both sides of the brain provide input for the task at hand.
2. Smiling Can Make You Happy
Another common misconception is that the mere act of smiling can make us happy, regardless of the actual outcome of the day. Rooted in Charles Darwin’s ‘facial-feedback’ hypothesis that suggests the physical expression of emotions can impact the feelings we currently experience.
However, numerous studies testing this hypothesis have observed either the effects of fake smiling to be very small or have reported inconsistent findings. Furthermore, numerous research studies have found that forcing a smile can have the opposite effect on our well-being. One study even
found that individuals with customer-facing roles who often faked a smile increased the risk of heavy drinking post-working hours.
3. We Use Only 10% Of Our Brain Capacity
This assumption has often been used to justify ‘pseudo psychic’ powers and is often an unspoken belief in various self-help programs that are structured to unleash ‘untapped human potential’.
However, in reality, all areas of the brain are active when taking part in various activities but not at the same time. Each brain region is associated with unique functions, as a result, many regions, like the medulla which regulates our bodily functions such as breathing, are active all day while others, like the frontal lobe, only activate when we are partaking in specific behaviours such as socialising.
That’s another myth disguised as a fact unraveled!
4. Opposites Attract
A belief almost as old as time, particularly in the context of romantic relationships, is the myth that we are often drawn to those who are our polar opposites. This stems from the assumption that we find those who differ from us to be more interesting than those who are similar to us.
However, studies reveal something different altogether: we tend to be attracted to potential partners who exhibit similar traits or share our interests.
Though individuals who are polar opposites have shown to have successful relationships, similarities with our partners are considered to indicate the longevity of a relationship because we are more likely to have more things in common, reducing the number of conflicts that may potentially arise.
You can read more about whether opposites truly attract in our article Opposites Attract: The Secret to Successful Relationships?
5. The Power Stance
In an infamous TED talk, Amy Cuddy, a professor at Harvard University, shared the findings of her iconic research. Her study found that adopting a power poses, her research findings that power posing, which involves the use of expansive and open postures, effectively reduces the levels of stress hormones whilst simultaneously boosting testosterone levels, often referred to as the ‘power’ hormone resulting in a heightened sense of confidence.
However, a 2015 research that replicated Cuddy’s study did not observe the same results, suggesting that power posing has no significant impact on our confidence levels. While recent research has found that certain kinds of power posing boost confidence levels when compared to neutral poses, it is unclear whether the increase in confidence is due to physiological responses or psychological responses.
As you can see, some of the information from pop psychology can be inconsistent which can often be misleading, emphasising the importance of exercising caution when determining the authenticity of such content.
Let us consider the ways pop psychology can lead us astray from the facts.
What Are the Hidden Traps of Pop Psychology?
Like in many cases with popular topics, the truth can be distorted by various perspectives and/or opinions. This dilutes the information to be packaged in such a way that it is simple, concise, and easy to comprehend. Not only does this prioritise comprehension over accuracy, but it also diminishes, or even dismisses to an extent, the experiences of individuals who truly require help.
For example, clinical terms have made their way into our daily vocabulary. The colleague who keeps their workspace quite tidy is considered to ‘be OCD’. Or that friend who happened to feel blue is ‘feeling depressed’. This off-handed way of integrating clinical illnesses often leads individuals who are experiencing symptoms of either OCD or depression to ‘keep it together’ and ultimately avoid seeking the help they need.
On the other hand, it also leads to an increase in negative stereotypes. If you ask the general population about the symptoms of mental health illnesses such as anxiety or schizophrenia, you will find that their response, more often than not, is shaped by the information they receive from popular media. Various media platforms portraying individuals with mental health illnesses as ‘unstable’ or ‘crazy’, further perpetuate the stigma around mental health that we try so hard to break.
Another issue that arises from the consumption of pop psychology, particularly in the context of self-help resources, is that it commonly leads to individuals misdiagnosing themselves. For instance, you could get a brain tumour diagnosis merely by Googling the cause of your persistent headaches or could be diagnosed with agoraphobia (an extreme fear of open or crowded spaces) simply because you prefer to stay at home rather than go out. This can lead to individuals who do not need medical attention to seek help, reducing the resources available for those who genuinely need it. Moreover, unlike physical health, mental health illnesses have a lot of stigma, and a misdiagnosis can have severe repercussions in their day-to-day lives.
But not all pop psychology is bad. The next section looks at the ways in which pop psychology has had a positive impact on society.
Are There Any Benefits of Pop Psychology?
Pop psychology has helped increase the general population’s interest in psychological concepts by making them more accessible. This encourages a completely new group of individuals to use pop psychology as a stepping stone into the field of psychology. This, in turn, can help break down the various prejudices and/or misconceptions people, or society as a whole, tend to have about mental health.
Challenging these biases also proves to be helpful for individuals with mental health illnesses, who up until now may have been hesitant to seek help owing to the stigma. This allows individuals to seek help without any feelings of shame and even share their experiences with others to raise awareness. For example, men are far less likely to seek out mental health services due to the stigma associated with seeking such support. Thus, when men in popular culture speak about mental health and well-being, individuals may be more open to seeking help themselves.
So how do we ensure we avoid the misconceptions perpetuated by pop psychology while consuming it?
How to Consume Pop Psychology Responsibly?
Let us consider the ways in which we can try to maintain a balanced and informed perspective when navigating the ins and outs of pop psychology.
1. Consider Various Perspectives
Pop psychology can be seen as a gateway that introduces you to the many interesting concepts of psychology, but it is essential that you recognise that it does not provide all the information. If there is a particular topic that catches your interest, explore it further by reading academic articles, well-referenced books, or recognised websites to gain a better understanding. Considering various resources will equip you with the relevant information to make an informed decision.
2. Say No to Overgeneralizing
The simplified nature of information in pop psychology increases the risk of overgeneralization, like in the case of the assumption that all creative minds are right-brained individuals. We all come from various walks of life, so to consider that we can all be neatly labelled would be a grave faux pas. Be cautious when applying pop psychology concepts to your lives; what worked for one person may not necessarily work for you.
3. Bring Out your Inner Critic
Do not always take pop psychology at face value. If it sounds outlandish, be willing to challenge it and consider various resources or perspectives. You can also check if the source of the information is credible. For example, information about a major depressive episode can be considered credible if it is shared by a clinical psychologist rather than someone who has no experience or understanding of the subject.
4. Be Responsible
You may often find yourself tempted to share interesting tidbits with your friends or family. Though conversations about psychology or its concepts can be valuable, be careful of what you share as facts. After all, we do not want to spread incorrect information to others. Ensure that you have at least a little deeper understanding of that information before you share it.
Pop psychology can be seen as a helpful platform to shed light on the importance of psychology and mental well-being while also giving voice to those experiencing mental health illnesses, subsequently reducing the ever-present stigma associated with the field. Yet, with the growing number of resources on pop psychology, we have to be cautious of how and what we consume as information. Thus, cautiously treading the depths of pop psychology can prevent us from falling into its traps.
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