How Psychologists Failed
We Neglected the Poor and Minorities, Favored the Rich and Privileged, and Got Science Wrong

Psychologists must change direction, by attending to the needs of disadvantaged minorities and adopting a correct model of science.

Fathali M. Moghaddam (Author)

9781009069915, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 3 November 2022

200 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 1.4 cm, 0.4 kg

'In this tour de force, Moghaddam exposes the limits of individualized psychology and illuminates how economic inequity and social class affect issues such as mental health, educational performance, and injustice. This eye-opening book should be required reading for psychology students and psychologists.' Michael Wessells, Columbia University, USA

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.

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.

Subject Areas: Psychology [JM]