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Psychology is a discipline with global influence, but continues to neglect disadvantaged minorities and continues to adopt an incorrect model of science. This volume explains what has gone wrong, and what steps should be taken for psychology to become a constructive international force. Historically, psychologists have focused only on causal explanations of behavior, neglecting normatively regulated behavior and intentionality. By giving greater importance to context and collective processes, moving from 'societies to cells,' psychologists can better understand and explain individual behavior. Poverty is an extremely powerful context that shapes cognitions and actions, with destructive consequences for disadvantaged individuals. The advocation of 'be happy psychology' and 'resilience' as solutions to problems faced by the disadvantaged leads to entrenched group-based inequalities, with the poor stuck at the bottom. Moving forwards, this volume proposes that psychologists should focus on normative systems to ultimately foster a more balanced field of study for the future.
List of contents
Acknowledgements; Preface; 1. Why we must rethink psychology; Part I. Psychological Processes: 2. Cognition and decision-making in societal context; 3. Mis-measuring intelligence and justifying educational inequalities; 4. Personality and the power of context; 5. Consciousness: Decontextualized and contextualized approaches; 6. Motivation and resilience: Self-help myths and the reality of invisibility; 7. Group life and diversity; Part II. Rethinking Behavior in the Larger World: 8. Mental health and 'be happy' psychology; 9. Looking through the wrong side of prison bars: The psychology of injustice; 10. Psychology for the masses in non-Western societies; Part III. Looking Ahead; 11. Rethinking research methods; 12. Revolution and psychology; Afterword; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
About the author
Fathali M. Moghaddam is Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University, where he served as Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Cognitive Science (2016-2021). He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the APA journal Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology (2014-2021). His extensive publications include about 30 books and 300 papers, and he has won a number of prestigious academic awards.
Summary
Psychology has become a discipline with global influence, but continues to neglect the poor and minorities, and continues to adopt an incorrect model of science. This book explains what has gone wrong in psychology, and what steps need to be taken for psychology to become a constructive global force.
