NOTE:
Edit: Hi guys, this is a heads-up. I have decided to redo a debate
regarding psychology being an exact science. After reflection and
review, I feel while not inaccurate this debate wasn't done in a good
way and was also somewhat non-transparent.
I
still feel however that this site is currently lacking in spectator
size. Hence why I have been hesitant to debate much on here lately.
After all, the debate is and always has been a spectator sport. And I
also argue much better with a much larger audience base. Nontheless, I
will post it anyway. And I guess there are other sites with a larger
audience where I can engage in more fruitful discussions if the debate
degenerates.
So, what do we mean by pop psychology myths? These are widespread beliefs about psychology that have nothing to do with psychology or they are distorted versions of actual psychological research. And there are literally hundreds of these myths, however, I would like to explore some of the most common ones as I have seen some of them appear online lately. The two myths we will look at first are that psychology is not a real science and is nothing more than just a collection of interesting theories (this is in the top 10), and secondly the idea that inheritable traits cannot be changed.
Myth: Psychology is not a real science
If you are like most people when you think of psychology you probably think of guys like Sigmund Freud or Carl Jung. Some of you may even envision a client lying down on a sofa being asked some personal questions by some guy with a beard in a chair that is trying to establish how you came to have your issues. Now, whilst this is part of psychology it's what many would call the softer side, and some would even say this is more of an art than a science and that is completely fair, even though a lot has changed significantly since the times of Freud and Jung. And just if not all then definitely most scientific disciplines contain both soft and hard aspects psychology is no different. For example, even in medicine, there is that "real-world data" aspect.
I guess we could argue that the harder aspect of psychology is the stuff that is going on behind the scenes; that is proper scientific research being conducted, and this is happening the majority of the time. This research consists of three main methods that are classed as descriptive, correlational, and experimental. Now, I don't want to get too bogged down in scientific jargon here and so I will try to represent a basic summary of what this means - Observations are made, predictions are made, and then those predictions are tested in highly controlled experiments. Then research findings are published that then in turn go through a phase known as critical appraisal, and thus the cycle continues. This is exactly how other scientific research is conducted like medical research for instance. Albeit psychologists are not usually medically qualified (some are) the research methodology is exactly the same. Not to mention that many psychologists also work closely with medical practitioners and are also under the same obligation to critically appraise the literature regarding Evidence-Based Health Care (EBHC).
I guess one of the reasons why this myth prevails is in part due to the way in which psychology was being studied in its infancy which was rather sloppy. I read someone saying recently that the way in which it is studied now is sloppy which is completely untrue, and hopefully, by now I have shown you how indeed it is the opposite that is true. In addition to that tons of other pop-psychology myths get thrown around constantly such as opposites attract, people have different learning styles, some people are clairvoyant, and a whole host of other ludicrous things that are constantly being shoved down the public's throats as if they are to do psychology when in fact nothing could be further from the truth.
To summarize, Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. Just like most sciences, it consists of both hard and soft scientific elements. Additionally, the research methodology that is conducted is the same as most other sciences such as medical science for instance. Nontheless, the myth that it isn't a real science prevails due to several factors such as other pseudoscientific nonsense being pushed as if it were psychology when it isn't, media and political influence (this also includes the entertainment industry), and sometimes, unfortunately, a few frauds within the scientific community that even though they were spotted among their peers they still manage to spread their nonsense into the public hemisphere; these guys are the ones that were accredited that later got strike off or those that were non-accredited all along that somehow still managed to slip right through into the public eye. But it should be noted that these are the kinds of factors that surround not only this and other pop-psychology myths but a whole plethora of other science myths.
Myth: Heritable traits cannot be changed
First, I would like to explain to you what heritability in the language of
scientific vocabulary actually means, and I will try to explain this as
simply as I can to the best of my ability. Basically,
this is to do with the percentages of individual differences due to
genetic differences across people, and despite the popular psychology
belief myth it actually turns out this does not concern what's within
people. To think it does is also a bit
silly. for example, you cannot say that 90% of your IQ is from your
genes and 10% is from your environment. Instead, this statistic
means that across people in a population 90% of their differences in IQ
are due to variations within their genes, and the other 10% down to
differing factors within their environments. So,
the idea that inherited traits cannot be changed is a popular
psychological myth. They definitely can be changed and there is plenty
of research and examples of this. And I will demonstrate here an example
- Phenylketonuria is a 100% inheritable condition:
Overview
Phenylketonuria
(fen-ul-key-toe-NU-ree-uh), also called PKU, is a rare inherited
disorder that causes an amino acid called phenylalanine to build up in
the body. PKU is caused by a change in the phenylalanine hydroxylase
(PAH) gene. This gene helps create the enzyme needed to break down
phenylalanine.Without the enzyme necessary to break down phenylalanine, a
dangerous buildup can develop when a person with PKU eats foods that contain protein or eats aspartame, an artificial sweetener. This can eventually lead to serious health problems.For the rest of their lives, people with PKU — babies, children and adults — need to follow a diet that limits phenylalanine, which is found mostly in foods that contain protein. Newer medications
may allow some people with PKU to eat a diet that has a higher or an
unrestricted amount of phenylalanine.Babies in the United States and
many other countries are screened for PKU soon after birth. Although there is no cure for PKU, recognizing PKU and starting treatment right away can help prevent limitations in areas of thinking, understanding and communicating (intellectual disability) and major health problems.https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/phenylketonuria/symptoms-causes/syc-20376302#:~:text=Phenylketonuria (fen%2Dul%2Dkey,needed%20to%20break%20down%20phenylalanine.
Also,
note that the above is a 100% heritable condition that can and has been
modified using the right treatment plan. And this also brings me to the
other point which is that not all traits are 100% heritable as some people mistakenly believe they are. Some also like to talk about traits as if they are
being measured within someone and that is not how it works. In
conclusion, all heritable traits can be modified and there are plenty of examples of them that have
been. And I guess the prevalence of these myths continues due in part
because they were once in the academic literature. Despite the fact that
these findings were later retracted after critical appraisal they still
continue. This is probably to do in large part again with the media and the
entertainment industry - and that includes even reality T.V and
Documentaries.
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