| The
Bluffer's Guide to Psychology |
| By
Warren Mansell |
| |
| Extracts
from the book | |
| |
| Babble
and Squawk
|
|
'Hard' scientists (such as those researching physics and the biochemistry of the
nematode worm) often question the status of psychology as a science. Most sensible
people, who have managed to escape science as a profession, regard psychology
as common sense dressed up in obscure terminology ('psychobabble'). |
| |
| I
oink therefore I am |
| Psychology
seems to progress using colourful analogies. Over the period of a hundred years,
the science of human behaviour has been based on the behaviour of a dog, a rat,
a pigeon, a thermostat, a computer and, no doubt soon, a coffee percolator. Only
the philosophers can be credited with the original (and somehow more sensible)
idea that the study of the human should be based on the mind of a human. |
| |
| An
indefinite article |
| Psychologists
are obsessed with pointing out that the definition of any concept within psychology,
such as intelligence, memory or emotion, is not precise. This also applies to
psychology itself. |
| |
| Broadly
speaking |
| In
the 1940s, the British psychologist Donald Broadbent heralded the arrival of Cognitive
Psychology with his work on selective attention. He described it as a Ômental
filterÕ, claiming that from the wealth of things going on all around them, people
only focus on the important things, like today's football results or whether Julia
Roberts is going to risk another wave at the crowd. Psychologists have called
this issue the 'cocktail party problem': how you filter out a tedious conversation
about mortgage rates when you are trying to eavesdrop on a nearby conversation
about the surprising uses of a sink plunger. |
| |
|
Simply happy |
| Positive
Psychotherapy is about how to improve people's happiness and well-being in the
long term. Most of the exercises can be boiled down to regularly being nice to
yourself and other people, but on no account let on that it is quite that simple.
|
| |
| |
| Reviews |
|
| Psycho-babbling
for beginners |
| For
anyone with an interest in psychology at whatever level, this book is a must read.
It steers the reader on a thoroughly enjoyable and irreverently humorous whistle-stop
tour of psychology.... Fitting in the enormous wealth and diverse of knowledge-base
that constitutes psychology in 63 pages is no mean feat, yet Warren Mansell manages
extremely well. The author even finds space to comment on the psychology bluffer's
essential repertore of skills ... |
|
The
full review is in the July 2006 edition of
The Psychologist, the official
magazine of
The British Psychological Society |
| |
| Bluffer's
Guides are a quick read and chock full of the basic information on any subject
that's needed to pass yourself off as knowledgeable. |
| Toronto
Globe and Mail |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
| Table
of Contents | |
What
is Psychology? Why
Psychology Really Is A Science
The Early Days
The In-Between Years
The
Era of Behaviourism
The Cognitive Revolution
The End Result How
To Act Like A Psychologist
Develop an Air
Acquire Impressive Curios
Fend
Off Tricky Questions How
Do Normal People Become Psychologists?
Stage 1: Getting the Right Qualifications
at School
Stage 2: Getting a Degree
Stage 3: Choosing a Specialty
Stage
4: Training in a Specialty Experiments
in Psychology
Questionnaire Studies
Correlational Studies
The 'True'
Experiment Some
Important Areas
Perception and Attention
Learning
Memory
Emotion
Intelligence
Personality
Language Social
Psychology Brain
and Behaviour Developmental
Psychology Clinical
Psychology
Client-Centred Therapy
Behaviour Therapy
Cognitive
Therapy
Systemic/Family Therapy
And the Rest Positive
Psychology and Positive Psychotherapy Parapsychology
Big
Questions in Psychology
Do We Have Free Will?
What Is Consciousness
What
Is Humour
What Is the Power of Religion?
Is There Life After Death
Why
CanÕt People Tickle Themselves? Glossary
(Psychobabble) Reverse
Glossary (Psychologisms) |
|
|
| |
Fortune
Telling
