Controversies In Psychology

Synopsis

Findings in psychology that challenge existing moral, political and religious beliefs often lead to heated controversies and debate. In this book, Phil Banyard examines some of the issues that have generated the most controversy in psychology over the last hundred years. In particular, he looks at how psychology has contributed to our understanding of warfare and wartime propaganda, advertising, psychometric testing, and the cultural and gender biases that exist in psychology. The underlying themes of these controversies center around social control and manipulation, the perceived differences between one group of people and another, and our beliefs about human nature. Drawing out the central fault lines of the debates, the text presents the information in a clear and concise way that allows readers to come to their own decisions about the issues.