How Psychologists Failed

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

One of the greatest paradoxes of human behavior is our tendency to say one thing and do something completely different. We think of ourselves as positive and fair-minded, caring about other people and our environment, yet our behavior lets us down time and time again. Part of the reason for this is that we may have two separate 'selves': two separate and dissociated mental systems - one conscious, reflective and rational, and one whose motives and instincts are rooted in the unconscious and whose operation resists reflection, no matter how hard we try. In all kinds of areas of our life – love, politics, race, smoking, survival - one system seems to make very different sorts of judgements to the other, and is subject to distinct, hidden biases. The Conflicted Mind explores how and why this system operates as it does and how we may use that knowledge to promote positive behaviour change. However, the ‘conflicted mind’ is a broader concept than just the clash between potential (hypothetical) systems of thinking, because in one form or another it forms the very pillars on which the edifice of social psychology is built. This unique book therefore examines key social psychology theories and research in a new light, including Festinger’s concept of cognitive dissonance, Milgram’s obedience experiments, Bateson’s description of conflict in communications, and Bartlett’s explorations of the constructive nature of human memory. Geoffrey Beattie argues that although these classic studies were sometimes great and imaginative beginnings, they were also full of flaws, which social psychology must remedy if it is to make the kind of impact it aspires to. In doing so, he offers a ground breaking perspective on why we think and act in the way we do, to see what lessons can be learned for the discipline of social psychology going forward. Written in the author’s distinct open and engaging style, The Conflicted Mind is a fascinating resource for researchers, specialists, and students in the field, as well as the general reader.

Psychology Gone Wrong: The Dark Sides of Science and Therapy explores the dark sides of psychology, the science that penetrates almost every area of our lives. It must be read by everyone who has an interest in psychology, by all those who are studying or intend to study psychology, and by present and potential clients of psychotherapists. This book will tell you which parts of psychology are supported by scientific evidence, and which parts are simply castles built on sand. This is the first book which comprehensively covers all mistakes, frauds and abuses of academic psychology, psychotherapy, and psycho-business.

First published in 1995. When did psychology become a distinct discipline? What links the continental and analytic traditions in philosophy? Answers to both questions are found in this extraordinary account of the debate surrounding psychologism in Germany at the turn of the century. The trajectory of twentieth century philosophy has been largely determined by this anti-naturalist view which holds that empirical research is in principle different from philosophical inquiry, and can never make significant contributions to the latter's central issues. Martin Kusch explores the origins of psychologism through the work of two major figures in the history of twentieth century philosophy, Gottlob Frege and Edmund Husserl. His sociological and historical reconstruction shows how the power struggle between the experimental psychologists and pure philosophers influenced the thought of these two philosophers, shaping their agendas and determining the success of their arguments for a sharp separation of logic from psychology. A move that was crucial in the creation of the distinct discipline of psychology and was responsible for the anti-naturalism found in both the analytic and the phenomenological traditions in philosophy. Students and lecturers in philosophy, psychology, linguistics, cognitive science and history will find this study invaluable for understanding a key moment in the intellectual history of the twentieth century.

If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.

The study reported in this volume grew out of some theoretical work, one phase of which bore specifically on the behavior of individuals in social movements that made specific (and unfulfilled) prophecies. We had been forced to depend chiefly on historical records to judge the adequacy of our theoretical ideas until we by chance discovered the social movement that we report in this book. At the time we learned of it, the movement was in mid-career but the prophecy about which it was centered had not yet been disconfirmed. We were understandably eager to undertake a study that could test our theoretical ideas under natural conditions. That we were able to do this study was in great measure due to the support obtained through the Laboratory for Research in Social Relations of the University of Minnesota. This study is a project of the Laboratory and was carried out while we were all members of its staff. We should also like to acknowledge the help we received through a grant-in-aid from the Ford Foundation to one of the authors, a grant that made preliminary exploration of the field situation possible.

"Ludden’s text is a breath of fresh air, enabling students of all backgrounds to see themselves reflected in well-researched and humanized portrayals of the pioneers of the field, working within the context from which psychological science has emerged." —Cynthia A. Edwards, Meredith College A History of Modern Psychology: The Quest for a Science of the Mind presents a history of psychology up to the turn of the 21st century. Author David C. Ludden, Jr. uses a topical approach to discuss key thinkers and breakthroughs within the context of various schools of thought, allowing students to see how philosophers, researchers, and academics influenced one another to create the rich and diverse landscape of modern psychology. Through detailed timelines and Looking Back and Looking Ahead sections, the book provides connections between movements and gives students a deeper appreciation for the transference of knowledge that has shaped the field. Included with this title: The password-protected Instructor Resource Site (formally known as SAGE Edge) offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides.